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Lecturer(s)
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Course content
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To show how the culture industry shapes public consciousness and influences our experience of art, the course draws on the disciplines of critical theory, media theory, and cultural criticism. By situating artistic production within broader historical and economic structures, the course invites students to critically reflect on the role of art in contemporary society and the possibilities for autonomy, critique, and emancipation within the culture industry. Students will engage with key texts by thinkers such as Walter Benjamin, Theodor W. Adorno, Albert Schweitzer, Herbert Marcuse, John Berger, Marshall McLuhan, and Neil Postman, among others. Topics include mechanical reproduction, mass culture, commodification, authenticity, spectatorship, popular music, media environments, and the political dimensions of aesthetic experience. 1. Albert Schweitzer: Philosophy of culture 2. Albert Schweitzer: Music and spirituality 3. Theodor W. Adorno: The culture industry and popular music 4. Theodor W. Adorno: Regression of listening 5. Theodor W. Adorno: The Recovery of Experience 6. Walter Benjamin: Radio and the democratization of listening 7. Herbert Marcuse: One-dimensional culture 8. John Berger: Art and hidden ideologies 9. Marshall McLuhan: The medium is the message 10. Neil Postman: Entertainment culture 11. Kyle Devine: The Political Ecology of Music 12. Liz Pelly: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Monologic Lecture(Interpretation, Training), Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming)
- Attendace
- 26 hours per semester
- Semestral Work
- 24 hours per semester
- Homework for Teaching
- 50 hours per semester
- Preparation for the Exam
- 25 hours per semester
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Learning outcomes
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This course examines the relationship between art and the culture industry, with particular emphasis on music. It covers themes including: authenticity, alienation, technology, aesthetic expression, and social control.
Students will gain a critical understanding of how media, technology, economic structures, and the culture industry shape the production, circulation, and experience of art and music. With particular attention to music, they will develop tools for analyzing authenticity, commodification, ideology, and artistic autonomy, while reflecting on the possibilities for art to resist dominant cultural forces and contribute to social critique and emancipation.
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Prerequisites
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There are no prerequisites for taking this course.
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Written exam
Students are expected to read the assigned texts and arrive prepared for discussion. Regular attendance: a maximum of two absences is allowed to accommodate for personal emergencies. In case of absence, the student should be prepared for the next lesson regardless. Active participation in class. To pass the course, students must pass the examination held at the end of the semester.
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Recommended literature
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Adorno, T. W. Philosophie der neuen Musik, Ullstein, Frankfurt am Main, 1958.
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Adorno, Theodor. (2007). Philosophy of Modern Music. London and New York.
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Adorno, Theodor. (1992). Quasi Una Fantasia: Essays on Modern Music. London and New York.
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Adorno, Theodor. The Culture Industry: Selected Essays on Mass Culture. London. 2005.
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Benjamin, Walter. (2006). Selected Writings, 3: 1935-1938. London.
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Berger, John. Ways of Seeing, Penguin: London, 1972..
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Devine, Kyle. Decomposed: The Political Ecology of Music. London. 2019.
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Marcuse, Herbert. (2002). One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the Ideology of Advanced Industrial Society. London.
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McLuhan, Marshall. (2008). The Medium is the Massage. London.
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Pelly, Liz. (2025). Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist. New York.
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Postman, Neil. Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business. London. 2006.
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SCHWEITZER, Albert et al. Závod s časem: Texty z morální ekologie. Praha, Torst 1996..
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