The World of Violence: Sociological and Historical Perspective - YBAJ217

• Title: The World of Violence: Sociological and Historical Perspective
• Guaranteed by: Programme Liberal Arts and Humanities (24-SHVAJ)
• Faculty: Faculty of Humanities
• Actual: from 2023
• Semester: summer
• E-Credits: 4
• Examination process: summer s.:
• Hours per week, examination: summer s.:2/0, MC [HT]
• Capacity: 50 / unknown (50)
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Note: course can be enrolled in outside the study plan; enabled for web enrollment
• Guarantor: Mgr. Karel Bauer
• Teacher(s): Mgr. Karel Bauer
• Class: Courses available to incoming students

Annotation

English

Last update: Bc. Veronika Kučabová (20.12.2022)

The course deals with a sociological and historical perspective of Violence. The theoretical part of the course will provide basic orientation in the phenomenon, its particular fields, issues, topics, ideas and concepts. The practical part should mediate the view of violence through the eyes of people specializing in violence on daily basis (f.e. armed forces personnel with foreign mission experience, lawyer, professional fighter). The main aim is to provide better understanding of violence at different levels and from different perspectives. In other words, the main goal of the course is to open the door to the mysterious world of violence, which whether we like it or not, it's a part of human lives.

Aim of the course

English

Last update: Bc. Veronika Kučabová (20.12.2022)

After completing the course students are expected to answer to following questions: What is violence?

Are Humans naturally predisposed to violence? How does violence arise? What role does social

psychology play in violence research? What do the processes of dehumanization and deindividuation

mean? Who are the specialists in violence? What is the most extreme form of violence? Have violence

declined or is it rising? How people used and still using violence for their benefits? How violence has

changed over time? What is the role of violence in sport, culture and religion? How to deal with

violence?

Teaching methods

English

Last update: Bc. Veronika Kučabová (20.12.2022)

Class sessions will consist of lectures and discussions. The course consists of 10 lectures and 2 special

discussion lessons with experts specializing in violence.

Syllabus

English

Last update: Bc. Veronika Kučabová (20.12.2022)

Lecture 1.
Introduction:

• Structure of the course

Lecture 2.
What is violence?

• Different definitions, forms and levels of violence

• Violence transformed into numbers

Lecture 3.
How does violence arise?

• The leading sociological theories of violence

• The special concepts: J. Galtung, R. Collins, S. Maleševič,

Lectures 4.
Nature vs Nurture?

• Are we genetically predisposed to violence?

• Are we particularly violent creatures?

Lecture 5.
The rise or fall of violence?

• Is the rate of violence on its rise or decline

• Two main perspectives and arguments

Lecture 6.
Invited guest lecture I.

• Students will discuss preprepared topics with expert specializing in violence

• Guest: Jiří Pavlovský (decorated war veteran, participant in foreign mission in Kosovo 2000 -

2002, Liberia 2003-2005, Georgia 2006-2007, Afghanistan 2008 - 2010, Ukraine 2015 -

2016, Iraq 2020 and 2021)

Lecture 7.
What is the most extreme form of violence?

• Why is genocide the most extreme form of violence?

• What does the term genocide mean?

• Why is important to study genocide?

Lecture 8.
Social psychology and violence

• What social psychology has taught us about violence?

• Zimbardo´s Stanford prison experiment

• Milgram´s experiment on obedience to authority

• Asch conformity experiment

Lecture 9.
The two cruelest psychological processes and violence

• Dehumanization

• Deindividuation

Lecture 10.
A role of violence in modern society?

• Violence and Sport

• Violence and Culture

• Violence and Religion

Lecture 11.
When society accepts violence?

• Justified violence

• From Spartan education to MS-13 gang

Lecture 12.
Invited guest lecture II.

• Students will discuss preprepared topics with expert specializing in violence

Lecture 13.
Final discussion and Test

Course completion requirements

English

Last update: Mgr. Karel Bauer (05.02.2024)

Students are expected to take an active part in discussions during classes and attend classes regularly.

* Terms of passing the course
First option: The student is obliged to pass a written test to successfully complete the course.

Second option: The student is obliged to write a final essay to successfully complete the course
- Deadline: July 1st, 2024 (EMAIL: [e-mail])
- Final essay (1 500 - 1 800 words long) on a pre-agreed topic needs to contain exact references
and to state all their sources, i.e., also a bibliography.
- Clear, precise, and comprehensive citation is absolutely essential.

The course passing requirements may be adjusted slightly based on the number of students enrolled.

Learning resources

English

Last update: Bc. Veronika Kučabová (20.12.2022)

Required reading:
COLLINS, R. 2008. Violence: A Micro-sociological Theory. Princeton, Oxford: Princeton

University Press.

MALEŠEVIČ, S. 2017. The Rise of Organised Brutality: A Historical Sociology of Violence.

Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.

Recommended reading:
GALTUNG, J. “Cultural Violence” in Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 27, No. 3. (Aug., 1990),

pp. 291-305. Available at:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0022343390027003005

MALEŠEVIČ, S. 2013. Forms of Brutality: Towards a Historical Sociology of Violence.

European Journal of Social Theory, 16(3): 273-291. Available at:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1368431013476524

PINKER, S. 2012. The Better Angels of our Nature: Why Violence has Declined. New York,

Toronto, London: Penguin Books.

TILLY, C. 2002. The Politics of Collective Violence. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge

University Press.

WALLER, J. 2002. Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass

Killing. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.