Sylabus
Lecture 1: Introduction, Concept of Public and Private in History
Course outline, themes discussed in the course, requirements. Public and Private in history (ancient Rome, Greece, etc.). Basic understanding of the concepts. Developments until 19. century.
Lecture 2: The Concept of Public Sphere in the work of Jurgen Habermas.
Reading: Habermas, J. (1991). The structural transformation of the public sphere: An inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. MIT press. Chapter: VI/20: From the Journalism of Private Men of Letters.
Lecture 3: Reception and Feminist Critiques
Reading: Fraser, N. (2021). Rethinking the public sphere: A contribution to the critique of actually existing democracy. In Public Space Reader (pp. 34-41). Routledge.
Lecture 4. Richard Sennett and The Fall of Public Man
Reading: Sennett, R. (2017). The fall of public man. WW Norton & Company. Chapters: 10, 11.
Lecture 5: Christopher Lasch: The Culture of Narcissism
Reading: Lasch, C. (2018). The culture of narcissism: American life in an age of diminishing expectations. WW Norton & Company. Chapter: II (The Narcissistic Personality) and IV (The banality of Pseudo-Self-Awareness).
Lecture 6: Discussion seminar I
Discussion of: Fraser, N. (2021). Rethinking the public sphere: A contribution to the critique of actually existing democracy. In Public Space Reader (pp. 34-41). Routledge.
Topics for presentation: Lasch. The culture of narcissism. Chapters: Chapter VI (schooling) or Chapter V (sport)
Lecture 7: Robert Putnam: Bowling Alone.
Reading: Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. Simon and Schuster. Chapters: 1 and 14.
Lecture 8: Eva Illouz: Cold Intimacies
Reading: Illouz, E. (2007). Cold intimacies: The making of emotional capitalism. Polity. Chapters: I.
Lecture 9: Discussion seminar II
Discussion of: Illouz, E. (2007). Cold intimacies: The making of emotional capitalism. Polity. Chapter: I.
Topic for presentation: Chapter III. Romantic webs.
Lecture 10: Ari Adut: Public sphere as spectatorship
Reading: Adut, A. (2018). Reign of appearances: The misery and splendor of the public sphere. Cambridge University Press. Chapters I and II.
Lecture 11: Lecture 10: Privatism and relation to public sphere in post-communist countries of CEE
Reading: Hirt, S. A. (2012). Iron curtains: Gates, suburbs and privatization of space in the post-socialist city (Vol. 27). John Wiley & Sons. Chapter 2.
Lecture 12: Discussion seminar III, wrap up, summary
Reading: Hirt, S. A. (2012). Iron curtains: Gates, suburbs and privatization of space in the post-socialist city (Vol. 27). John Wiley & Sons. Chapter 2.
Topic for presentation: Adut. Reign of appearances: Chapter 8. Defense of spectatorship.
Lecture 13: Test
Anotace
The aim of the course is to introduce the important sociological works that have focused on the public sphere and the relationship between the private and public spheres in recent decades. The course will focus on how the transformation of the public has been understood in sociological thought, how the boundaries of what is understood as the private sphere have changed, and how sociologists have described the transformation of public life in recent decades. Attention will be paid to the progressive individualization and isolation of contemporary life and the concept of anomie, including recent developments will be discussed.
The course begins with a discussion of the work of Jurgen Habermas; in particular with his seminal work, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. The content of the lectures will include not only an analysis of the work, but also its later critiques (e.g. by Nancy Fraser from feminist perspectives).
Several lectures will be devoted to the psychological dimension of contemporary public life. Therefore, the works of Richard Sennett, Christopher Lasch and Evo Illouz will be discussed. The focus will be on emotional side of capitalism, narcissism in public culture etc.
The contemporary decline of public and political life based on the concept of social capital will also be discussed. In this sense, the book Bowling Alone by R.D. Putnam will be the focus of discussion. Attention will also be paid to civic and public life in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Focus will be on the concept of privatism as was introduced recently by Sonia Hirt in the post-communist context.