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Lecturer(s)
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Bláhová Sylvie, Mgr. Ph.D.
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Prázný Aleš, doc. PhDr. Ph.D.
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Course content
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1. Introductory lecture (23/9) 2. The Bias of Reason in Political Thought (30/9) Reading: *Rawls, J., 2005. Political Liberalism: Expanded Edition. New York: Columbia University Press. pp. 47-64. 3. Emotions as Epistemic and Moral Resources (7/10) Reading: *Solomon, R., 1976. The Passions: The Myth and Nature of Human Emotions. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday. pp. 1-26. *Damasio, A., 1995. Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain. New York: Avon Books. pp. 3-19. 3. Emotions as Political Forces (14/10) Reading: *Haidt, J., "The Moral Foundations of Politics." In J. Haidt, The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. New York: Pantheon Books. pp. 146-174. 4. Emotions and Political Legitimacy (21/10) Reading: *Krause, S., 2008. Civil Passions: Moral Sentiments and Democratic Deliberation. Princeton: Princeton University Press. pp. 1-26; 111-141. *Srinivasan, A., 2018. "The Aptness of Anger." The Journal of Political Philosophy. 26(2): 123-144 5. Populism: Threat or Opportunity? (4/11) Reading: *Laclau, E., 2005. On Populist Reason. London: Verso. pp. 3-20; 157-172. 6. Emotions in Justice and Reconciliation (11/11) Reading: *Ahmed, S., 2004. The Cultural Politics of Emotion. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 20-41; 62-80. 7. Interactive Seminar: Transitional Justice (18/11) 8. Emotions and Political Protest (25/11) Reading: *Jasper, J., 2018. The Emotions of Protests. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, pp. 1-57. 9. Interactive Seminar: Emotional Analysis of Political Protest (2/12) 10. Emotions in Democratic Decline and Radicalization (9/12) Reading: *Brown, W., 2019. In the Ruins of Neoliberalism: The Rise of Antidemocratic Politics in the West. pp. 161-188. 11. Can Political Emotions Be Cultivated for Democratic Resilience? (16/12) Reading: *Nussbaum, M., 2013. Political Emotions: Why Love Matters for Justice. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 200-256. 12. Interactive Seminar: Emotions in the Public Space (TBA)
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Dialogic (discussion, interview, brainstorming)
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Learning outcomes
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The course explores how emotions shape political agency, legitimacy, and public discourse, challenging the traditional assumption that political actors are primarily rational. Students will gain knowledge of emotions as epistemic and moral resources, and they will also examine how emotions can be understood as legitimate political forces. We will analyze the phenomenon of populism and consider whether it should be seen solely as a threat. In addition, we will study the role of emotions in justice and political protest, as well as their impact on democratic decline and, conversely, their potential to be cultivated for democratic resilience.
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Prerequisites
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Knowledge of English.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Written examination, Student performance assessment
Assessment The final assessment consists of four parts: 1. Seminar attendance: one missed class without any official excuse is allowed; any other non-attendance has to be excused based on relevant grounds. 2. Short critical reflection of assigned texts: before each seminar, students are required to write a short critical reflection (one paragraph) on one of the assigned texts. Specifically, they should identify what they find most interesting or most problematic in the reading, which will then serve as a basis for seminar discussion. During each seminar, one student will randomly be chosen to be a moderator (facilitator of a discussion). Students can obtain up to 2 points for each reflection and participation in the discussion. 3. Interactive seminars: One of the interactive seminars will be devoted to the debate on transitional justice. Students will be divided into two groups, one of them taking on the role of perpetrators, the second one taking on the role of victims. The aim is to attain reconciliation. The seminar's objective is to understand the emotional and moral dynamics of transitional justice; to explore the roles of forgiveness, apology, anger, grief, and empathy in reconciliation; to reflect on the institutional and symbolic dimensions of justice beyond legal frameworks; and to practice dialogical skills for navigating difficult conversations involving harm and accountability. Students can obtain up to 10 points for this task. In the second interactive seminar, students will work in two groups to carry out an emotional analysis of specific protests. The aim is to identify which emotions were central to the protest, how they were expressed, and to discuss whether they were proportionate to the perceived injustice and whether they fostered solidarity or rather exclusion. Students will then compare and debate the emotional structure and political legitimacy of each protest. Students can obtain up to 10 points for this task. In the last seminar, students will study the manifestation of public emotions in the city of Prague. The goal is to understand the city as an affective space by analyzing how specific monuments, memorials, graffiti, posters, and public art from Czech history function as carriers of political emotions (hope, anger, pride, shame, solidarity, fear, etc.). Students will subsequently choose one of the symbols and write a short emotional analysis (2-3 standard pages). Students can obtain up to 10 points for this task. 4. Conference: students will choose a topic related to one of the themes discussed in the course and write an essay of approximately 8 standard pages. The topic must be discussed with the teacher in advance. Students will then present their papers at the course conference. It is assumed that all students will distribute their papers to their classmates in advance so that everyone can take part in the discussion. Both the essay and the presentation will be evaluated on a scale of 0-30 points.
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Recommended literature
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John Rawls. A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Mass. and London, England, 1971.
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Michael J. Sandel. Liberalism and the Limits of Justice. Cambridge, 1982.
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