Roads And Off-Roads Of Political Correctness (B-Learning Course)

Timetable

B-learning / TBC

Module aim (aims)

The subject of the course is the phenomenon of political correctness. It is understood as a set of opinions dominating a particular political community. According to these opinions, the range of acceptable expressions in public discourse is limited. Along with the development of the PC, moral, social and legal norms of public debate are renegotiated and reformulated. Therefore, PC can bring both opportunities and risks, and, consequently, benefits and losses, for the individual as well as for society. This is because all restrictions on freedom of expression remain controversial and can both relieve and exacerbate conflicts of worldview. The interpretation of these restrictions is not fixed and can evolve toward either overindulgence or excessive rigorism. The main purpose of the course is to expand students’ knowledge about contemporary forms of political correctness. During it, students will become acquainted with various concepts of political correctness, its forms in current social practices and regulations inspired by it, as well as with issues that shape the context in which political correctness is formed and influences reality.

Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)

The course has a b-learning character: 50% (15h) of classes are held at the Faculty of Political Science and Journalism (students and lecturer are meeting together to discuss the subjects of the course and the works delivered by students on the Internet); 50% (15h) of classes are held on the moodle platform (students are fulfilling tasks and exercises on the Internet).

Syllabus

Subject 1. Political correctness and regulations inspired by it – introduction 2h

Subject 2. Regulations inspired by political correctness – critique 4h

Subject 3. Blasphemy and its combating 4h

Subject 4. Blasphemy from the perspective of “the clash of civilizations” 4h

Subject 5. Hate speech and its combating 4h

Subject 6. Religious expression versus the democratic secular state of law 4h

Subject 7. Political correctness versus negationists. History, memory, narratives about the past, “the clash of sensitivities” 4h

Subject 8. Freedom of expression, extreme speech and democratic functions of the media 4h

Reading list

1. Achebe Ch., An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness', https://yale.learningu.org/download/ae5ac277-5cc2-483a-9541-37aaef9a0e67/C2116_Chinua%20Achebe.pdf 

2. Allan K., Burridge K., Forbidden words. Taboo and the censoring of language, Cambridge 2007

3. Blasphemy, insult and hatred. Finding answers in a democratic society, Strasbourg 2010

4. Brasher J.W., Intimidation by Political Correctness: A Distinctively Democrat Phenomenon, Bloomington 2010

5. Butler J., Excitable Speech. A Politics of the Performative, New York-London 1997

6. Conrad J., Heart of Darkness, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/219/219-h/219-h.htm

7. Crawford R., Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGY6Uru3t-0&t=1s

8. Duignan P., Gann L. H., Political Correctness. A Critique, Stanford 1995

9. Friedman M., Narveson J., Political Correctness. For and Against, London 1995

10. Fox C. and Saunders J. (Eds.), Media Ethics, Free Speech, and the Requirements of Democracy, Taylor & Francis 2018, https://www.crcpress.com/Media-Ethics-Free-Speech-
and-the-Requirements-of-Democracy/Fox-Saunders/p/book/9781138571921 

11. Hare I., Weinstein J. (red.), Extreme speech and democracy, Oxford 2009

12. Hughes G., Political correctness. A history of semantics and culture, Malden 2010 

13. Ngozi Adichie Ch., The danger of a single story, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg

14. Ng E., Cancel culture. A critical analysis. Palgrave Macmillan 2022

15. Nguyen T., Political Correctness in the English Language, Norderstedt 2007

16. Schroeter M., Political Correctness Gone Woke in Polarised Society: the Emergence of a New Keyword in an Old 'Culture War' Discourse, "Journal of Corpora and Discourse Studies" 2025, vol. 8, 123-158

17. Thiele M., Political correctness and Cancel Culture – A question of power! The case for a new perspective, "Journalism Research", 2021, no. 4(1), 50–57, https://doi.org/10.1453/2569-152X-12021-11282-en

18. Thiele M., Cancel culture, "Journalistikon" 2022, https://journalistikon.de/cancel-culture/

19. Weber A., Manual on hate speech, Strasbourg 2009

20. Weigel M., Political correctness: How the right invented a phantom enemy. The Guardian (30.11.2016), https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/30/political-correctness-how-the-right-invented-phantom-enemy-donald-trump