About the Course

The course reacts to the challenges in the Visegrad region posed by the current development in social issues such as migration, minority rights, unemployment or marginalization of ethnic minorities. It introduces the concept of social inclusion and opens discussion on a variety of its interpretations and applications. The course aims to connect theory with practice and offer insights into the areas where principles of social inclusion are applied. Moreover, the course aims to provide an opportunity for students to meet the practitioners dealing with social inclusion as a part of their professional career, inside, but also outside of academic setting.

The format of the course includes an introductory theoretical lecture, a series of thematic seminars led by external lecturers with expertise on social inclusion in the fields of education, public policy, employment, public space and social innovation, a methodology seminar, and field trips to selected institutions in Brno and Budapest. The course builds on interactive teaching and active contribution of all partakers, the lecturers, but also students themselves.

Course objectives

• To expose students to key theoretical concepts and debates about social inclusion and related sociological concepts.
• To introduce a variety of fields within which social inclusion is discussed, to show practical implications of inclusive approaches and to touch upon emerging problematic issues related to its application.
• To discuss the good practices with theoreticians and practitioners from Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and Czech Republic.
• To prepare students for writing research proposals and give them a chance to design (and eventually also conduct) their own research in relation to social inclusion.
• To provide guidance in writing blog contribution and create a space for public engagement.
• To offer contacts on different institutions researching or actively promoting social inclusion in the society.
• To enhance students' language competence and communication skills in English.

The course is open for enrollment to undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students of Sociology and other related fields. The language of instruction is English.

Course structure

The structure of the course is a combination of lectures, seminars, methodological seminars and field trips. Benefiting from this variety of teaching approaches it aims to connect theoretical knowledge with practical skills useful for students’ future carriers in both academic, or applied scientific field.

The core of the course is based on lectures and seminars taught by experts from academic milieu, research institutes or organisations active in promotion of inclusive measures. Whereas the lectures will serve to familiarize students with main concepts, during the seminars students will discuss required readings and engage in discussion with the experts. Lectures and seminars will be organised in a week long intensive block starting with the introductory lecture on theories of social inclusion. This lecture will be followed by a series of lectures and seminars focused on different fields of application – public policies, education, public space and social innovations.

Another essential part of the course will be a field trip to selected organisations (in the Czech Republic and Hungary) advocating for or directly implementing inclusive measures in relation to various groups of beneficiaries, such as for instance Roma, disabled, youth, migrants, prisoners, or other. The profiles of organisations will be carefully considered taking into account different fields, approaches and target groups. So far we selected a list of organizations and institutions which for instance includes Roma education fund, Menedék and TASZ Hungarian Civil Liberties Union, all based in Budapest, or Nesehnutí in Brno.

Drawing on theoretical framework acquired during the lecture and based on practical examples and experience gained during seminars and field trips, students will be asked to design their own research project proposal. We assume that this practise is crucial for social scientists as research is sponsored mainly on the basis of grant proposals. Research proposal will also show how students understood the concept, what they learned from the lectures and field trips, what gaps and problems they identified and how they would address these problems.

Bearing in mind the need to discuss social inclusion also on public, as a part of the course students will be given an opportunity to try to translate their academic thoughts into the language more accessible to the general public. This will be done through blog contributions published on the website of the course and/or other platforms such as Respekt weekly review blog.

The course will close up with the final workshop focusing on the presentations of students' research proposals, feedbacks and closing discussion.