Theory of History

The course deals with the most important reasons of conceptual history, problem areas of epistemological questions, which relate to history writings and the study of the past by historians. Students are acquainted with the history of historiography and reflection on the impartiality of a historian, historical truth, the legitimacy of reconstruction of the witnessed, the significance of narration, chronological division (historical time, history of the long duration, event and structure) and the role of interdisciplinarity in individual historical areas (social, historical anthropological, demographic history).
Students are acquainted with modern historiographical guidelines and most current historiographical discussions on historical use of written and oral testaments (regression analysis, inductive methods, oral history, use of photography as historical sources), on the writings of national and ethnocentric history. Special emphasis is on the discussion on the public use of history, relations between memory and history, relation between individual and collective memory, between history and memory.