Comparative and Conceptual History - JTM048

• Anglický název: Comparative and Conceptual History
• Podoba výuky: cvičení
• Zajišťuje: Katedra ruských a východoevropských studií (23-KRVS)
• Fakulta: Fakulta sociálních věd
• Platnost: od 2026
• Počet semestrů výuky: 1
• Semestr: zimní
• E-Kredity: 6
• Způsob provedení zkoušky: zimní s.:
• Rozsah, examinace: zimní s.:0/2, Zk [HT]
• Počet míst: neurčen / neurčen (0)
• Maximální kapacita předmětu: 0
• Minimální obsazenost: neomezen
• 4EU+: ne
• Virtuální mobilita / počet míst pro virtuální mobilitu: ne
• Stav předmětu: vyučován
• Jazyk výuky: angličtina
• Forma uskutečňování: prezenční
• Možnost opakovaného zápisu: 2 / 2 / 1 / 2
• Poznámka: předmět je možno zapsat mimo plán; povolen pro zápis po webu; při zápisu přednost, je-li ve stud. plánu
• Garant: doc. Adrian Brisku, Ph.D.
• Vyučující: doc. Adrian Brisku, Ph.D.
• Třída: Courses for incoming students
• Je prerekvizitou pro: JTM049

Anotace

čeština

Od svého vzniku v 60., respektive 70. letech 20. století se komparativní dějiny, transnacionální dějiny a dějiny pojmů staly významnými výzkumnými perspektivami ve společenských a historických vědách. Tyto přístupy se v mnoha ohledech liší; například dějiny pojmů jsou vnímavější k sémantickému kontextu jednotlivých konceptů. Podobají se však v tom, že ačkoli se komparace do značné míry opírá o teoretické modely, tyto modely představují pojmové systémy, které prošly procesem vyjasňování, definování a vyčlenění ze svého původního kontextu. Tento kurz nabízí ucelený a kontextualizovaný přehled o podstatě, metodologiích a využití srovnávacích (kvalitativních), transnacionálních a pojmových dějin v obou zmíněných oblastech. Kurz podrobně představí a podrobí diskusi jejich přednosti i nedostatky, a pomůže tak studentům při koncipování vlastních transnacionálních výzkumných projektů.

Poslední úprava: Bartůšek Jaroslav, Bc. (16.09.2026)

angličtina

Since their emergence, respectively, in the 1960s and 1970s, comparative history, transnational history and conceptual history have become important research perspectives in social sciences and historical studies scholarship. These perspectives are different in many ways; for instance, conceptual history is more sensitive to concepts’ semantic context. They are similar in that, while comparisons are largely informed by theoretical models, such models are nonetheless conceptual systems that have gone through a process of clarification, definition, and detachment from their original context. This course provides a solid and contextualized overview of the nature, methodologies and usages of comparative (qualitative), transnational and conceptual history in these two fields. It will do so by detailing and discussing their strengths and shortcomings and, in the process, help students design transnational research projects.

Poslední úprava: Brisku Adrian, doc., Ph.D. (08.09.2026)

Cíl předmětu

This course aims at providing students with a solid and contextualized overview of the nature, methodologies and usages of comparative (qualitative) and conceptual history in historical studies and social sciences. It will do so by detailing and discussing their strengths and shortcomings and in the process help students design comparative and conceptual research projects. 

Poslední úprava: Brisku Adrian, doc., Ph.D. (08.09.2026)

Podmínky zakončení předmětu

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

1) Attendance is mandatory as the course is designed as a seminar where substantial student participation is needed.

2) Mid-term exam in week seven with five open-ended questions based on readings from weeks 2 to 6.

3) In week 12, using a ‘workshop’ format, students present & get feedback from the lecturer and coursemates on their first draft of their final paper.

4) A final paper of around 2500 words will be uploaded on Moodle with an indicated deadline.  

5) Active class participation –20%, position papers –30%, final paper draft (for the workshop) – 20%, final paper –30%.  

 

COURSE EVALUATION

A - "výborně - A" - "excellent - A"
B - "výborně - B" - "excellent - B"
C - "velmi dobře - C" - "very good - C"
D - "velmi dobře - D" - "very good - D"
E - "dobře - E" - "good - E"
F - "neprospěl/a - F" - "fail - F"

See Dean´s provision https://www.fsv.cuni.cz/opatreni-dekanky-c-172018aj

More in SMĚRNICE S_SO_002: Organizace zkouškových termínů, kontrol studia a užívání klasifikace A–F na FSV UK.

Poslední úprava: Brisku Adrian, doc., Ph.D. (30.09.2026)

Literatura

BRISKU, Adrian. 2013. Bittersweet Europe: Albanian and Georgian Discourses on Europe, 1878-2008. New York: Berghahn Books

—. 2017. Political Reform in the Ottoman and the Russian Empires: A Comparative Approach.
—. 2022. “Dealing with Smallness in Habsburg Bohemia, Ottoman Albania, Tsarist Georgia in the Late 19th to the Early 20th Centuries.” In Politics of Smallness, edited by S. Kruizinga, 35–54. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

BLOCH, Marc. 2021. “A Contribution towards a Comparative History of European Societies.” In The Rise of Comparative History, vol. 1, edited by Balázs Trencsényi et al., 89–123. Budapest: CEU Press.

HANDLESMAN, Marceli. 2021. “The Development of Nationalities in Central-Eastern Europe.” In The Rise of Comparative History, vol. 1, edited by Balázs Trencsényi et al., 281–298. Budapest: CEU Press.

HROCH, Miroslav. 2000. Social Preconditions of National Revival in Europe. New York: Columbia University Press.

KOCKA, Jürgen. 1993. “Comparative Historical Research: German Examples.” International Review of Social History 38: 369–379.
—. 1999. “Asymmetric Historical Comparison: The Case of the German Sonderweg.” History and Theory 38 (1): 40–50.

KOCKA, Jürgen, and Heinz-Gerhard Haupt. 2009. “Comparison and Beyond: Traditions, Scope and Perspectives of Comparative History.” In Comparative and Transnational History, edited by Jürgen Kocka and Heinz-Gerhard Haupt, 1–32. New York: Berghahn Books.

KOSELLECK, Reinhart. 2004. “Three Bürgerliche Worlds.” In Futures Past: On the Semantics of Historical Time, 209–217. New York: Columbia University Press.

KUZIO, Taras. 2002. “History, Memory and the Nation-Building in the Post-Soviet Colonial Space.” Nationalities Papers 30 (2): 241–264.

MARAT, Erica. 2007. “State-Propagated Narratives about a National Defender in Central Asian States.” The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies 6/7. [Online].

RAGIN, Charles C. 1987. The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

SEWELL, William H. 1967. “Marc Bloch and the Logic of Comparative History.” History and Theory 6 (2): 208–218.

SKOCPOL, Theda, and Margaret Somers. 1980. “The Uses of Comparative History in Macrosocial Inquiry.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 22 (2): 174–197.

TRENCZÉNYI, Balázs, et al., eds. 2021. The Rise of Comparative History, vol. 1. Budapest: CEU Press.
—. 2021. “Introduction.” In The Rise of Comparative History, vol. 1, 4–25. Budapest: CEU Press.

VALJAVEC, Fritz. 2021. “Southeast Europe and the Balkans.” In The Rise of Comparative History, vol. 1, edited by Balázs Trencsényi et al., 393–402. Budapest: CEU Press.

WAGNER, Peter. 2003. “As Intellectual History Meets Historical Sociology…” In Handbook of Historical Sociology, 168–179. London: Sage.

WALLERSTEIN, Immanuel. 2007. World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

WELSKOPP, Thomas. 2004. “Crossing the Boundaries? Dynamics of Contention Viewed from the Angle of a Comparative Historian.” International Review of Social History 49: 122–131.

Poslední úprava: Brisku Adrian, doc., Ph.D. (08.09.2026)

Metody výuky

The course is seminar-based and takes place in person, which means that the lecturer will open up the discussion on the reading material of the week by laying out the main concepts and questions which will be followed by students' interventions and analytical discussions.

Poslední úprava: Brisku Adrian, doc., Ph.D. (08.09.2026)

Sylabus

Week 1: Introduction

Week 2: Comparison as Uncovering Universal Laws, Historical Information & as Explanation: The Annales School Input

Week 3: Comparison as Causality, Change & Variation: The Modernisation Thesis & Social Sciences Input

Week 4: Asymmetric Comparison: The Social History Input

Week 5: Comparative Conceptual History: The Linguistic Turn Input

Week 6: Comparative, Entangled & Transnational History: The Cultural History Input

Week 7: World System Analysis: The Political Economy Input

Week 8: Comparing (within) Regions: East-Central and South-East Europe

Week 9: Comparing Post-Soviet Societies

Week 10:  Comparative Conceptual History: Europe, Reform

Week 11:  Comparative Conceptual History of Small Nations

Week 12:  Workshop

Poslední úprava: Brisku Adrian, doc., Ph.D. (08.09.2026)

Výsledky učení

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

• Understand the main methodological approaches to comparative history (Annales School, modernization theory, cultural and linguistic turns);
• Explain the differences between various forms of comparison (symmetric, asymmetric, transnational, and entangled history);
• Apply principles of comparative analysis to specific historical cases, particularly within East-Central, South-East, and post-Soviet Europe;
• Analyze the role of concepts, language, and discourse in shaping historical comparisons;
• Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of different comparative frameworks (e.g., modernization vs. cultural approaches).

Poslední úprava: Brisku Adrian, doc., Ph.D. (08.09.2026)