‘Gender Activists Will Kidnap Your Kids’: The Construction of Feminist and LGBT+ Rights Activists as Modern Folk Devils in Czech Anti-Gender Campaigns

This chapter examines how internet forums such as Facebook can be used in creating and spreading misleading stories and stimulating fear and panic. With the example of the Czech society, the author analyses various web forums that are based on anti-LGBT rights and anti-feminist ideologies, promoting these as threats to nuclear families and traditional gender norms. The text shows the paradoxical portrayal of LGBT activists as, on the one hand, freaks living on the fringe of society, not much more than a laughing stock, and, on the other hand, as a threat with the potential power to destroy traditional values in Czech society.

Illustrating the Ostracized : the Depiction of Villain, Soldier and Jew in the Passional of Abbess Cunegund

The first treatise of the so‑called Passional of Abbess Cunegund was composed by the Dominican lector Colda of Colditz at the abbess’ behest in 1312, and illustrated by an unknown artist. In this study, images of three specific character‑types are analysed: villain, soldier and Jew, who not only act out their part in the treatises’ account of Christ’s Passion, but also appear to provide a window onto certain aspects of contemporary, medieval Czech society. By examining the iconography of the illustrations it is shown how, through characterisation, caricature and dress, the viewer is led to adopt an attitude either of disgust towards the malefactors, or a certain sympathy towards a chosen few.

The Reform Communist Interpretation of the Stalinist Period in Czech Historiography and Its Legacy

This article is concerned with the continuities in the interpretation of the 1950s in Czechoslovakia from 1956 to the present. It first concentrates on the way the year 1956 (one that remained quiet in the country, as opposed to Poland and Hungary) has been treated in Czechoslovak historiography. It aims to show that an almost exclusive focus on political history has produced until today a misleading image of this apparent communist stability as based on repression rather than on a genuine basis of support for the communist rule. The German historiography of communism shows the usefulness of a socio-political approach that could serve as model. The article then further retraces the permanence of this misleading interpretation to the influence of a highly politicized narrative of the terror period inspired by the work of historian Karel Kaplan and other intellectuals of the Prague Spring era. For this it makes use of Kaplan’s autobiography, which has only ever appeared in French. One particular point of interest is the historiographical treatment reserved to the Stalinist leader Klement Gottwald. The article suggests that this reform communist narrative, which blames the terror on the Soviets without questioning the responsibility of Czech society, has kept the history of the 1950s in Czechoslovakia from evolving at the same pace as the historiography of the post-1968 period. It therefore needs to be acknowledged and challenged.

PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN CZECH REPUBLIC: OPPOSITION’S TRIUMPH

The article examines the results of the parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic, which took place on October 8-9, 2021. During them, the ruling ANO movement, headed by Prime Minister A. Babis, suffered an unexpected defeat. The winner of the vote was Together coalition, a three-party coalition with the goal of removing the Prime Minister due to his controversial reputation and alleged violation of democratic governance. The paper substantiates the decline in the popularity of ANO movement, outlines the opposition’s tools in the fight against the main competitor. Author characterized the reasons that led to the reduction of the representation of the Czech Pirate Party in the new composition of parliament, one of the favorites of pre-election sociological research. The factors of support growth for the movement «Mayors and Independents» are identified. Author paid attention to the historical failure of the Czech left. The author notes that according to the vote results, the Czech society remains polarized and disunited due to the presence of a large population group that does not agree with the ideology of the victorious forces

Do Praguers differ from Czechs? Selected topics of recent intergroup antagonism attempts

Due to the recent attempts to divide Czech society based on the antagonism between Prague and the countryside, this study researches some of the aspects of this division—basic human values and the national identity of the inhabitants of Prague. These very basic level sources of the antagonism are researched via a combination of ISSP (National identity III module) and ESS (Round 8) surveys and two focus groups with Prague inhabitants. The results show that there are no real, or wrongly interpreted, differences between Praguers and people in the countryside with respect to both basic human values and Czech national identity. Regarding the basic human values of the two groups, only the conservation value dimension is stronger outside Prague. However, this value dimension is inherently ambiguous because its value of security is stronger within Prague, which is in contrast to values of conformity and tradition that are stronger outside Prague. In addition to this, conservation is still the stronger dimension within Prague compared with the openness to change value dimension. Praguers are rather compelled to be open and they are capable of adapting, even if their values are more conservative. The same values prevail among people within and outside Prague, which has been confirmed in the focus groups. There are also more similarities between the two groups in their national identities, e.g., when they are less nationalistic than patriotic. Both groups are of similar strength for patriotism and nationalism. The sources of national pride among the two groups are very similar and Praguers are those who can be labeled as being prouder in a few of the aspects of the Czech nation. The division between Praguers and non-Praguers seems to be rather artificial and based on inaccurate perceptions and/or interpretations.

Językowe świadectwa przemian społeczno-kulturowych w najnowszej czeszczyźnie (na materiale Czeszczyzny 2.0.)

This dissertation focuses on characteristic of modern Czech language, reflecting the socio-cultural changes taking place in Czech society in last decades. It is obvious that new experiences require new words to refer to them clearly and efficiently, that is why cultural and social background in general and its relation to language will be considered. Attention is paid to the most important terms of the topic under study – vulgarism, cultural correctness, loanwords, economy of language, colloquialization of written and spoken Czech.

Men’s Explanations for Being Childless; a dynamic perspective

Research on childlessness in contemporary society still focuses mainly on women. This article conversely examines childlessness among men in Czechia – a European post-socialist country in which becoming a parent was a strong social norm before 1989. This article asks how men’s explanations for being childless or childfree change over time and what this says about changing norms attached to parenthood in different historical and social contexts. It draws on an analysis of 24 problem-centred interviews conducted in two rounds about a decade apart on the same sample of child-less or free men. This approach is not usually applied in research on this subject. In the first interviews, the men’s narratives mainly reveal their different views on the impact the post-1989 social transformation had on their lives in relation to their perceived resources and life chances. The follow-up interviews show how the men’s views on their lives change with age, the different emphasis they place on free choice versus the effect of external factors over time, and the narrow line that they construct between ‘involuntary’ and ‘voluntary’ childlessness. The narratives of child-less or free men unveil that the norm of becoming a parent is growing weaker in Czech society, but age norms and the norms regarding pathways to parenthood are still strong. The article seeks to understand how Czech men construct their childlessness over time, thus contributing to the discussion of childlessness among men and filling the gap in knowledge on men’s childlessness in CEE.

Civic engagement and self-empowerment of second-generation Vietnamese in Czechia

The first cohort of Czech second-generation Vietnamese has only recently reached adulthood. Raised by Czech nannies, they received early socialization into Czech society, while Vietnamese culture remained unfamiliar. With this childhood experience, the generation grew into young adulthood questioning their identity/identities. Caught between social and normative pressures from both the Vietnamese community and Czech society, the formation of associations by second-generation Vietnamese can be a means to respond to their disadvantaged position. Based on in-depth interviews with leaders of these associations and participant observation of their activities, the article examines the goals and activities of second-generation associations (SGAs) and compares them with first-generation immigrant organizations. SGAs are shown to fill the gap of parents as key role models of socialization in Czech society and as platforms to enhance the self-confidence and sense of social responsibility of second-generation Vietnamese in Czechia.