Course: Critique of Populism

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Course title Critique of Populism
Course code KFHS/K758
Organizational form of instruction Lecture
Level of course Master
Year of study not specified
Semester Winter and summer
Number of ECTS credits 4
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Šimsa Martin, PhDr. Ph.D.
Course content
1) Preliminary definitions of criticism and populism 2) Rhetoric, sophistry and demagogy in ancient democracy 3) People and populism 4) Modern democracy and populism 5) Nationalism, socialism, fascism, Nazism 6) Populist movements 7) Typical features of populism 8) Arguments for populism 9) Arguments against populism 10) Populism and civil society/society 11) Opinion, truth, post-truth in democracy 12) Theory of representation and distorted democracy 13) Critical reflection on the theories of populism 14) Criticism as therapy?

Learning activities and teaching methods
unspecified
Learning outcomes
The aim of the course is to introduce and explain important concepts of democracy and populism in the history of philosophical and political thought and to situate them in historical and contemporary contexts.
Based on lectures and seminars, students will understand these individual concepts, be able to compare and contrast them, evaluate strong and convincing and weak and problematic arguments for or against them. Through oral and written papers, students will learn to express and defend individual philosophical positions or, conversely, criticize and refute them.
Prerequisites
None

Assessment methods and criteria
unspecified
1. Minimum 70% attendance 2. Reading of at least two studies or books on the subject 3. Seminar paper or seminar paper 4. Colloquium on seminar texts
Recommended literature
  • Canoven, Margaret. The People. 2005.
  • Charvátová, Denisa. Jménem lidu / Instantní populismus po česku. Ústí nad Labem. 2024.
  • Milligan, Tony. Pravda v době populismu. Praha. 2019.
  • Mudde, Cas; Kaltwasser, Cristóbal Rovira. Populism in Europe and the Americas. Threat or Corrective for Democracy?. 2012.
  • Müller, Jan-Werner. Co je to populismus?. Praha. 2017.
  • Šimsa, Martin. Relativismus a (post)pravda v demokracii. Se třemi studiemi Ladislava Hejdánka. Ústí nad Labem. 2018.
  • Urbinati, Nadia. Znetvořená demokracie. Praha. 2018.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester