Course: Etnographic Sources in Regional Research

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Course title Etnographic Sources in Regional Research
Course code KSKA/ETRV
Organizational form of instruction Lecture
Level of course Bachelor
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 5
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Kašpar Oldřich, doc. PhDr. CSc.
  • Pokorný Ondřej, Mgr. Ph.D.
Course content
The basic characteristics of an ethnographic source. Practical use of ethnographical sources in historical scientific disciplines. The importance of ethnography for the definition of ethnographical sources and for work with them. Ethnography as a discipline that deals with folk (traditional) culture. The concept of folk (traditional) culture. The role of ethnography in science development; its relation to connected disciplines, and its inter-disciplinary character. General terms of the field; general and specific methods of examination. Outline of ethnographical research developments in Czech countries, considering the context of historical and methodological movements in Europe. Fields of scientific work in ethnography; the pivotal phenomena of folk culture. Specification of relations in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia; the issue of ethnographical regions and micro-regions; folk culture in contemporary society. Connections and bindings of ethnographical sources: written (of a personal and official character, narrative, literary), unwritten (oral, linguistic, material) and visual. Institutions preserving ethnographical sources (archives, libraries, museums, ethnographical work places, etc.). Searching for ethnographical sources and individual phases of work with these sources form the study of the materials, the way of their accumulation to criticism, and interpretation. Methods and ways of examining and interpreting. Practical use of theoretical knowledge in work with ethnographic sources, demonstrated on selected fields of Czech folk culture. Methods and technicalities of ethnographic field research: rules of research management and its further utilization (bases of field work, rules of contact with informants, creating questionnaires, research documentation) and presentation (preparation of abstracts and articles). Gaining material artifacts, their utilization. Museum collections; specific types of ethnographic sources. The mission of a professional worker - the ethnographer in a museum; conditions and prerequisites of their work. Utilization of museum collections. Possibilities of using museum funds in regional and specialized museums. Excursion: ethnographic collections in the "Východočeské muzeum Pardubice"; excursion analysis. Making use of basic skills for working with ethnographic sources in independent work will the prove the graduate's ability to make a conclusion based on the analysis of sources.

Learning activities and teaching methods
Monologic (reading, lecture, briefing), Dialogic (discussion, interview, brainstorming)
Learning outcomes
The aim of this course is to focus on the everyday lives of rural dwellers in history, particularly their general and regional signs.
Students will be provided with information on sources, methods and history of this research field. The possibilities of present terrain survey, the creation of museum collections and the application of research results in practice, especially in museology, will be stressed.
Prerequisites
unspecified
KSKA/MEFI and KSKA/USA

Assessment methods and criteria
Oral examination, Home assignment evaluation

The student is expected to bring a paper of at least fifteen pages (appendix excluded) to the examination; the topic is chosen in consultation with the lecturer. The work has to be built upon search and the processing of ethnographic sources that clarify problems in a given region. The lecturer needs to study the paper in advance; therefore, it needs to be submitted well before the date of the oral examination. The examination, in the form of an interview, will center around the student's ability to demonstrate independent work with sources and literature in order to reach a specific conclusion.
Recommended literature
  • viz khv.upce.cz/predmety.
  • viz khv.upce.cz/predmety.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Philosophy Study plan (Version): Social Anthropology (2015) Category: Social sciences 2 Recommended year of study:2, Recommended semester: Summer
Faculty: Faculty of Arts and Philosophy Study plan (Version): Social Anthropology (2013) Category: Social sciences 3 Recommended year of study:3, Recommended semester: Winter