Historical Sociology Master's Program

Accreditation (both in Czech and English)

Plan of studies

The Historical Sociology Master’s Program at Charles University is a two-year program, open to applicants with bachelor degrees following successful written entrance examinations.

Roughly half of the subjects in the curriculum are theoretical; the other half are focused on learning research methods and techniques, both from quantitative and qualitative methodology. The study is not too closely professionally-oriented and is not based on just one theory or method. In the theoretical part there is constant emphasis on the multi-paradigmatic character of the field, while the research area emphasizes the plurality of methodological approaches. The subjects taught overlap with other disciplines, primarily in history, but also in anthropology, political science, and economics.

The aim of this master’s program is not to produce narrowly focused specialists, but rather humanities-educated individuals with a wide range of knowledge and skills.

Course Structure

The courses taught can be divided into the three following basic blocks:

Theoretical-Historical Block

The first is the theoretical-historical block, which offers courses dedicated to the general theoretical conceptions of historical sociology and civilizing analysis, as well as to the perspectives of historical sociology on the issues of knowledge, culture, religions, nations, nationalism, economics, politics, law, democracy and everyday life. The core subjects include courses in Comparative Historical Sociology (J. Šubrt) and Introduction to Civilizing Analysis (J. P. Arnason). Other lecturers include L. Cviklová (the sociology of knowledge and religion), A. Marková (the formation of nations and nationalism), Nicolas Maslowski (the historical sociology of politics and international relations), Karel Muller (economic processes), B. Šalanda (everyday life) and J. Šubrt (collective memory and its examination, and specific problems of historical sociology). Occasionally this block may also include courses by foreign professors such as W. Spohn, Georges Mink and Jaroslaw Kilias.

Methodological-Research Block

The second block is the methodological-research block, which familiarizes students with the basic approaches and problems of sociology, and to some extent history and methodology. The study of research methods and techniques is focused on the application of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies in areas such as biographical research, oral history, grounded theory, discourse analysis, case studies, stratification research, and secondary data analysis from archives. The teaching of these subjects is conducted by Jiří Šafr, Radka Dudová, Martin Vávra and others.

Optional Thematic Block

The third block consists of four optional subject areas of which only one must be chosen:

1. Theory of social change and modernization processes

2. Historical sociology of culture and quotidian life

3. The historical sociology of politics and international relations

4. Long-term Developmental Processes in the Perspective of Historical Sociology (for students enrolled in 2023 and later)

Employment of Graduates

The historical sociology master’s program is envisaged to prepare students both in terms of knowledge and in essential practical skills for the future exercise of their professions, whether in the academic or professional sphere (offices, agencies, educational institutions, consulting firms, editors, etc.). The study program is designed so that students may acquire a relatively broad set of professional bases which can be used in various types of employment dealing with information of a socio-historical nature. Graduates should be skilled in seeking out information and accessing it as well as being able to treat, evaluate, compare, and analyze it using quantitative and qualitative approaches. They should also have an expansive intellectual outlook and be able to put the issues they deal with and the dilemmas they encounter into a broader, especially socio-historical, context.