Sociology in the Czech Republic: Between East and West

Description

This book offers the first comprehensive overview in English of the history of sociology in what is today the Czech Republic. Divided into six chapters, it traces the institutional development of the discipline from the late 19th century until the present, with an emphasis on the periods most favorable for sociology’s institutionalization: the interwar years, the 1960s and the post-1989 era. The narrative places the institutions, persons and ideas that have been central to the discipline into the broader social and political context. Marek Skovajsa and Jan Balon show that sociology in the Czech Republic has been wedded to the dominant political projects of each successive historical period: nation- and state-building until after WWII, the communist experiment in 1948-1989, liberal democratic reconstruction after 1989, and internationalization after 2000. This work will appeal to social scientists and to a general readership interested in Czech culture and society. Front Matter ....Pages i-xiii Introduction: An Institutional History of Sociology in the Czech Republic (Marek Skovajsa, Jan Balon)....Pages 1-11 Sociology in Service to Nation-Building: The Legacy of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (Marek Skovajsa, Jan Balon)....Pages 13-25 A False Beginning? The Growth and Destruction of Czech Sociology 1918–1950 (Marek Skovajsa, Jan Balon)....Pages 27-47 1950–1969: Becoming a Counselor to the Socialist Prince (Marek Skovajsa, Jan Balon)....Pages 49-71 1969–1989: The Long Hour of Party Ideologists (Marek Skovajsa, Jan Balon)....Pages 73-95 The 1990s: Reconstruction and the Turn to the West (Marek Skovajsa, Jan Balon)....Pages 97-117 After 2000: Plugging into the European Context (Marek Skovajsa, Jan Balon)....Pages 119-142 Back Matter ....Pages 143-150