University of Pardubice
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for academic year 2025/2026
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Course: Political Anthropology

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Course title Political Anthropology
Course code KSKA/BPOA
Organizational form of instruction Lecture + Seminar
Level of course Bachelor
Year of study 3
Semester Winter
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)
  • Durňak Milan, Mgr. Ph.D.
  • Dušek Libor, Mgr. Ph.D.
Course content
unspecified

Learning activities and teaching methods
Monologic (reading, lecture, briefing), Dialogic (discussion, interview, brainstorming), Work with text (with textbook, with book)
  • Writing a seminar paper - 40 hours per semester
  • Contact teaching - 26 hours per semester
  • Independent critical reading - 60 hours per semester
  • Preparation for an exam - 25 hours per semester
Learning outcomes
The objective of the course is to provide the students with general overview of political anthropology as a sub-discipline of social (cultural) anthropology. Students will acquire basic knowledge of the problems of power, authority and violence in the society. Students will be able to understand the processes of formation and development of political institutions and to understand different types of social control, leadership and government. They will learn to use appropriate terminology. The students will be able to analyze current political ideologies from anthropological point of view.

Prerequisites
unspecified

Assessment methods and criteria
Oral examination, Written examination, Creative work analysis

Attendance at the lectures and study of literature (including texts assigned during the course). 1 analytical essay - problems of direct and indirect democracy - the problem of "civilisation clash". Are the Islamic countries a threat for Europe and the European-Atlantic civilisation? - democracy vs. corporate capitalism (political power of multinational corporations, privatisation of public space, mediocracy) - Migration Written test and oral exam
Recommended literature
  • BALANDIER, G. Politická antropologie. Praha: Dauphin, 1999.
  • Gellner, E. Národy a nacionalismus. Paraha: Hříbal, 1993.
  • GIRARD, R. Obětní beránek. Praha: Vyšehrad, 1995.
  • GLEDHILL, J. Power and Its Disguises. Anthropological Perspectives on Politics. London: Pluto, 2000.
  • Hauser, Michal. Depolitizace a soumrak liberální demokracie. In: Kritika depolitizovaného rozumu. Paraha: Grimmus, 2010.
  • Hertzová, N. Plíživý převrat: globální kapitalismus a smrt demokracie. Paraha: Dokořán, 2003.
  • Keller, J. Tři sociální světy. Praha: Slon, 2010.
  • Kleinová, N. Bez loga. Praha: Argo - Dokořán, 2005.
  • KRADIN, N. N. Političeskaja antropologija. Učebnoe posobie. Moskva, 2003.
  • KURTZ, D. V. Political Anthropology. Paradigms and Power. Boulder: Westview Press, 2001.
  • Laclau, E. Emancipation. London: Verso, 2007.
  • LEWELLEN, T. C. Political Anthropology, 2nd ed.. Westport: Conn., 1992.
  • Pospíšil, L. Etnologie Práva. Teze ke studiu práva z mezikulturní perspektivy. Praha: Set Out, 1997.
  • SKALNÍK, P. ed. Politická kultura: antropologie, sociologie, politologie. Praha: Set Out, 2004.
  • VINCENT, J. Anthropology and Politics: Visions, Traditions, and Trends. Tucson: University of Texas Press, 1990.
  • VINCENT, J. ed. The Anthropology of Politics: A Reader in Ethnography, Theory, and Critique. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002.
  • Žižek, S. Jednou jako tragédie, podruhé jako fraška - aneb proč musela utopie liberalismu zemřít dvakrát. Praha: Rybka Publishers, 2011.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
University of Pardubice, date of update: 16.03.2026 23:51. Data created for academic year 2025/2026