Course: Abolitionism and Slavery in Culture and Religion

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Course title Abolitionism and Slavery in Culture and Religion
Course code KFR/BAOKN
Organizational form of instruction Lecture
Level of course Bachelor
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 6
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Rokyta Jan, doc. ThDr. Ph.D.
Course content
1. The Definition of Slavery, Orlando Patterson, Social Death. Distinction of types of slavery. The slave as an object of law, the language of slavery, hierarchical thinking applied to human beings, slavery as part of the political system and the freedom of citizens. Slavery as a universal phenomenon. 2. The concept of slavery in ancient philosophy. Social dimension. Metaphors. The slavery of the passions, the contrast between the unconscious body and the guiding reason. Overlap with social and political argumentation. 3. Aristotle, Politics. Hierarchical and purposive thought in relation to slavery. Overlap with the evaluation of women, participation in the ration as a criterion. Rational justification of phenomena "common" in society. 4. Slavery and rights in ancient Rome. Social and political reasoning. 5. The relationship to slavery in Christianity. Theological argumentation. Paul, Hippolytus of Rome, Clement of Alexandria, Gregory, Ambrose of Milan, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas. 6. Slavery in Islam. Arguments, concepts, history to the beginning of the 19th century. The end of slavery in the Mediterranean. 7. Papal encyclicals on slavery, Valladolid 1550-1551. Bartolomé de las Casas, Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda. Real impact. 8. French thought in relation to slavery. Charles Louis Montesquieu On the Spirit of the Laws. The French Revolution, abolition by way of law. 9. British abolitionism. Clapham sect, motivations, Wilberforce, Thorton. Social consensus, linking British abolitionism to wider social issues, including status of women. Unitarians, Methodists, Quakers, Abolition Society. Sierra Leone. 10. Abolitionism in the United States. Baptists, Quakers, John Woolman. Arguments in favor of abolitionism. Abolitionism in A. Lincoln. 11. Forced labor in the 20th century. The Third Reich and the USSR in terms of the concept of forced labour. Robert Conquest. 12. Slavery in today's world. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 1956 UN Convention. Forced labour today, sex slavery, forced marriage, child soldiers.

Learning activities and teaching methods
unspecified, Work with text (with textbook, with book)
  • Contact teaching - 26 hours per semester
  • Home preparation for classes - 62 hours per semester
  • Independent critical reading - 26 hours per semester
  • Preparation for an exam - 66 hours per semester
Learning outcomes
The seminar is focused on the history of thought. It is not a description of the historical development of slavery. The topic is the argumentation in favor or denial of slavery in human history and the concept of man related to it. The relationship of religion to the phenomenon of slavery is also emphasized.

Prerequisites
unspecified

Assessment methods and criteria
Oral examination, Student performance assessment

Recommended literature
  • Davis B. D. Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World. Oxford University Press, 2006.
  • Davis B. D. The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Revolution 1770?1823. Oxford University Press, 1996.
  • Garnsey P. Ideas of slavery from Aristotle to Augustine. Cambridge University Press, 1996.
  • Křížová M. Otroctví v Novém světě. Praha: NLN, 2013.
  • Patterson O. Slavery and Social Death. Harvard University Press, 1982.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester