Course: Unofficial Culture in the Period of Normalization

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Course title Unofficial Culture in the Period of Normalization
Course code KHI/PV122
Organizational form of instruction Lecture
Level of course Bachelor
Year of study not specified
Semester Summer
Number of ECTS credits 4
Language of instruction Czech
Status of course Compulsory-optional
Form of instruction Face-to-face
Work placements This is not an internship
Recommended optional programme components None
Lecturer(s)
  • Brožová Markéta, Mgr.
  • Jiříček Lukáš, Mgr.
Course content
1. 70s and 80s in Czechoslovakia and the socalled (non)Normalization 2. Oficial vs. non-official culture 3. Samizdat 4. Independent initiatives for a better environment 5. Underground and other unofficial music streams 6. Theater, film and radio 7. Oral history method 8.-13. Interviews with witnesses During the seminar, individual topics will be supplemented by work with period texts and audiovisual recordings. A specific topic will be audiovisual recordings. A specific topic will be followed by a discussion with a witness.

Learning activities and teaching methods
unspecified, unspecified, unspecified, unspecified
Learning outcomes
The aim of the course is not to acquaint students with the historical and political events of the period of the so-called Normalization, but to draw their attention to the accompanying phenomena related to this period, which gave rise to the unofficial cultural scene. The thematic areas, of course, will also touch on the historical and political realities, without which the core of the seminar would not have its basis. The aim of the seminar is to acquaint students with events in the fields of culture that deviated from the state-promoted cultural line. One of the other tasks of the seminar will be to draw attention to individual cases of persecution of the unofficial cultural and underground scene with reference to its confrontation with official government circles. Students will get acquainted with the sources mapping and pointing to te given issue.
By completing the course, students will gain knowledge about the specific development and specific form of culture, referred to as unofficial. They are able to orientate and critically work with archival sources, samizdat texts and editions, as well as with period texts, which are written by typical normalization rhetoric. Based on discussions with witnesses, students will be able to master the method of oral history (the method will be introduced to them in lectures). They will be able to use this method in other scientific disciplines, such as sociology, anthropology, ethnography or psychology. Last but not least, the student will be able to orient in the basic literature that deals with the issue.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of Czech history of the period is assumed.

Assessment methods and criteria
unspecified
Participation in lectures, an essay on a given topic.
Recommended literature
  • Anticharta. Praha, 2002.
  • Tentokrát to bouchne. Edice dokumentů k organizaci a ohlasům proti signatářům Charta 77. Praha, 2007.
  • Chadima, M. Alternativa I.
  • Chadima, M. Alternativa II. Praha, 2018.
  • Kudrna, L., a kol. Reflexe undergoundu. Praha, 2017.
  • Kudrna, L. Stárek, F. Kniha v barvě krve. Praha, 2020.
  • Riedel, J. Plastic People a český underground. Praha, 2016.
  • ŠVEHLA, M. Magor a jeho doba. Praha, 2017.
  • Vaněk, M., a kol. Ostrůvky svobody: kulturní a občanské aktivity mladé generace v 80. letech v Československu. Praha, 2002.
  • Vaněk, M., Houda, P. (eds.). Střípky mozaiky: každodenní život české společnosti v období normalizace a transformace z pohledu orální historie. Praha, 2006.
  • Vaněk, M., Krátká, L. (eds.). Příběhy (ne)obyčejných profesí: česká společnost v období tzv. normalizace.
  • Vaněk, M., Urbášek (eds.). Vítězové? Poražení? Životopisná interview. Díl II. Politické elity v období tzv. normalizace. Praha, 2005.
  • Vladimir 518 a kol. Kmeny 0. Praha, 2013.


Study plans that include the course
Faculty Study plan (Version) Category of Branch/Specialization Recommended year of study Recommended semester
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Cultural History (A14) Category: History courses - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): History (Single Subject) (A14) Category: History courses - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer
Faculty: Faculty of Arts Study plan (Version): Documentation of Historical Memorials (A14) Category: History courses - Recommended year of study:-, Recommended semester: Summer