ČESKÝ ČASOPIS HISTORICKÝ
THE CZECH HISTORICAL REVIEW
3–4/2012

OBSAH / CONTENTS

PÁNEK Jaroslav – PEŠEK Jiří – VOREL Petr
Editorial, S. 401–402.

STUDIE A MATERIÁLY / STUDIES AND ARTICLES

VOREL Petr
Česká historiografie ve světle sjezdů historiků v letech 1993–2011
(Czech Historiography in the Light of the Congresses of Historians between 1993–2011). S. 403–430.
Die tschechische Historiographie im Lichte der Historikertage in den Jahren 1993–2011. S. 431–466.
This study is an expanded text of the opening address to the 10th Congress of Czech Historians held in Ostrava in September 2011. The author, as a long-term Committee member of the Association of Historians (since 1992) and the Association’s Chairman in the years 2005–2011, aims to present a retrospective analysis of the relationship between the social development in the Czech Republic after 1989 and the preparation and the course of four nationwide Congresses of Historians which took place between 1993–2011. He objectively records documented differences during the organisational preparation of the individual congresses and their programme contents, in addition to listing a number of important factual connections which, one would, potentially, be unable to reconstruct from preserved documents in the future. In his conclusion he contemplates the results of the latest Ostrava Congress in September 2011, at which, also based on their expertise, Czech historians identified tangible expressions of a social crisis, manifesting themselves in a form of radicalization of Czech society, amongst other things.
Key words: congress of historians, Czech Republic, history of historiography, 1993, 1999, 2006, 2011, Prague, Hradec Králové, Pardubice, Ostrava.

PÁNEK Jaroslav
Česká historiografie a svět
(Czech Historiography and the World). S. 467–481.
Die tschechische Historiographie und die Welt. S. 482–500.
This article declares that Czech historiography is a relatively unknown entity in the world (with the exception of neighbouring countries and specialised researchers on Czech history). This is true despite the fact that the generation of living classical researchers created outstanding works even in the period of the Communist regime and the fact that in the recent two decades an advanced infrastructure of the discipline emerged alongside a solid organizational inclusion in the international framework of historical sciences. This article summarises the positives and negatives of the contemporary situation. It places exceptional emphasis upon 1. Preparation of fundamental starting materials (syntheses, compendia, scientific encyclopaedias) upon which foreign Bohemian studies researchers may draw when establishing a bridge between Czech historiography and the world; 2. Continuity of translation of important monographs and their introduction into the Euro-American distribution network; 3. The emergence of the middle and younger generations whose most able representatives are achieving remarkable results, which are being accepted abroad; 4. Participation at world congresses of historical sciences.
Key words: Historiography, Czech Republic, Czech studies in the world, Congresses of historians, International relations.

JIROUŠEK Bohumil
Česká historiografie na počátku 21. století – mezi příběhem, strukturou a teorií
(Czech Historiography at the Beginning of the 21st Century – Story, Structure and Theory). S. 501–512.
Die tschechische Historiographie am Anfang des 21. Jahrhunderts – zwischen Erzählung, Struktur und Theorie. S. 513–527.
This study is devoted to the contemporary state of Czech historical science on two levels. 1) It deals with scientific procedures and texts considered to be the contemporary state of historical knowledge, including issues of the interpretation of modern history and the necessity of interpreting world history from a Czech point of view, so that the national history might be interlinked more closely with the general context of world development. It also draws attention to the changing the centres of world events, which shift more markedly to non Euro-Atlantic world thereby changing the total interpretation framework of history as well; 2) It interprets historical science as the institutional background and its transformations, based, to a greater degree, on the legislative framework which also influences the functioning of editorial boards of journals, the holding of conferences and the publishing of studies and books through the evaluation of the science by the advisory boards of Government.
Key words: Czech historiography, 21st century, the evaluation of the science, inter-disciplinary aspects, the changes of society and historical science.

BŮŽEK Václav
Proměny historických věd na nově vzniklých univerzitách v uplynulém dvacetiletí
(The Transformation of Historical Sciences at the Newly Founded Universities in the Recent Two Decades). S. 528–540.
Die Wandlungen der Geschichtswissenschaften an den neu entstandenen Universitäten in den vergangenen zwei Jahrzehnten. S. 541–557.
This study pays attention to the changes of the institutional status of the Departments and Institutions of History at the newly founded universities over the recent two decades, namely at the universities in České Budějovice, Opava, Ostrava, Plzeň, Ústí nad Labem, Hradec Králové, Liberec and Pardubice. It takes note of the role of regions when searching for the thematic and methodological differentiation of individual workplaces. It does not overlook the professional importance of individual schools of thought; it also deals with the assessment of research results achieved and in particular with new conceptual initiatives, which resulted in comprehensive works on the history of early modern society, modernisation processes, women and gender.
Key words: newly founded universitites, region, thematical and methodological differentiation of workplaces, macro-historical and micro-historical approaches, regional challenges in terms of syntheses of Czech and Czechoslovak history.

PEŠEK Jiří
Německá recepce české produkce k moderním a soudobým dějinám
(The German Reception of Czech Studies on Modern and Contemporary History). S. 558–574.
Die deutsche Rezeption der tschechischen Publikationen zur Modernen Geschichte und zur Zeitgeschichte. S. 575–595.
In his work on the history of historiography in terms of contemporary history, the author characterizes the uncontrolled explosion of contemporary history production in Germany (since 1989 the annual production has grown more than fivefold each year), the historiographic superpower which is the closest to the Czech historiographical environment. Basically, this rapid world-wide growth of literary production does hinder its comprehensive critical reception. Consequently, national historiographies, in fact, retreat into their own shells. In this context, the author poses the question on the relevance of quantification of historiographical production and its review reception and finds that, basically, it involves an exploration of the communication field of this discipline. The comprehensive examination of printed and also electronic German periodicals revealed that German historians without a Bohemian study specialisation, are not interested in modern Czech (nor any other neighbouring) history at all and consequently not interested in historiography itself either. Those historians specialising in the countries east of Germany do follow, in terms of reviews, the contemporary Czechoslovak/Czech history production in German and English languages reasonably comprehensively. Bohemian studies specialists exceptionally also review some Czech publications. Thanks to the Munich periodical Bohemia, Czech historiography also enjoys a unique access to German publication media. However, the question remains what degree of reception Bohemia enjoys from historians outwith the Bohemian studies community?
Key words: historiography of contemporary history, German historiography, reception of Czech production, academic communication.

ŘEZNÍKOVÁ Lenka – ŘEZNÍK Miloš
Hranice a identita v českém histori(ografi)ckém kontextu
(Frontiers and Identity in the Context of the Czech Historical Writing). S. 596–610.
Grenze und Identität im tschechischen histor(iograph)ischen Kontext. S. 611–626.
In the most recent decade, the thematic field of frontiers and identity, especially the interconnection of both concepts, has belonged among the symptomatic phenomena of Czech historiography. As a result, coordinated and mutually coherent works have been developed, which, in addition to research, also involved activities in the areas of historical education, the transfer of knowledge and international cooperation. It is one of the fields in which Czech historiography has been actively involved in international scientific communication, and in addition in a partly coordinator role. With the emergence of the new theme of frontiers and identity, Czech historiography relatively quickly responded to the developments in international scientific reflections. This contribution deals with reasons for this newly arisen focus, albeit neither the theme of frontiers nor the issue of identity were entirely novel categories of historical thought in the 1990s and in later years. However, at this time they attained rather new connotations and relevant meanings and in connection with this the manner of treating the subject matter has also changed. Post-modernist challenges – in terms of post-modern perspectives and critical responses to them – have become decisive preconditions of this phenomenon from the last stages of the 20th century. This contribution follows the formation of new concepts of collective identities, frontiers and space, especially in their mutual interconnection. At the same time attention is paid to mutual connections between international and Czech reflections. At its conclusion, comments are devoted to the special section of the 10th Congress of Czech Historians in Ostrava, which dealt with these issues.
Key words: frontiers, identity, space, historiography.

MAUR Eduard
Sociální aspekty demografického vývoje
(Social Aspects of Demographic Development). S. 627–638.
Soziale Aspekte der demographischen Entwicklung. S. 639–653.
In the first part of this study, the author draws attention to several new trends in contemporary historical demography, which respond to the shift of contemporary historiography from structural approaches and statistical methods, such as the gathering and use of extensive national databases and the application of relevant statistical techniques during their analysis, when the borderline between social history and historic demography becomes blurred to a significant degree. At the same time it draws attention to problems hindering a similar approach in the Czech Republic. It considers the study of smaller samples of the population to offer better prospects, as the qualitative analysis can also be utilised. With regard to the extensive range of problems associated with the interrelation of social and demographic development, some very important issues have been overlooked by historical demographers (for example, the social consequences of migrations, the impact of tightening serfs’ conditions on migrations and differentiated demographic behaviour of various social groups). The author maintains that it would be beneficial, when studying family, to use, amongst other things, extensive and valuable factual data on the working class family collected before 1989 and now unjustly neglected.
Key words: the Czech Lands, historical demography, the relation between population and social processes, demographical databases, the study of family.

ŠEBEK Jaroslav
Problematika mnichovské dohody a jejích politických reflexí v zrcadle komunistického tisku na příkladu Rudého práva 1948–1989
(The Subject of the Munich Agreement and its Political Reflections as Mirrored in the Communist Press giving the example of Rudé právo, 1948–1989). S. 654–670.
Die Problematik des Münchner Abkommens und seiner politischen Reflexion im Spiegel der kommunistischen Presse am Beispiel von Rudé právo 1948–1989. S. 671–691.
The Munich Agreement represents one of the most fundamental events in modern Czech history. Because of the topic’s resonance amongst the public, it also became an important part of propaganda during the ensuing Communist regime. The political instrumentalization of the Munich events was utilised to provide ideological support and justification of both the internal and external political initiatives of Communist power. This study aims to analyse the ways and means of reflection of these historical events in Rudé právo as the principal press propaganda organ of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The manner in which the consequences of the Munich Agreement were reported in this daily paper represented one of the ideological constants on which the regime based its legitimacy. Its editorials stereotypically assessed the consequences and causes of the Munich Agreement as evidence of the inability of the non-Communist parties to defend the independence and sovereignty of the state and to justify the alliance with the Soviet Union. Yet, understandably, external circumstances changed throughout the forty year existence of Communist supremacy during which constant reminders of 1938 Munich were invoked. The culmination of these propaganda efforts is particularly evident in the 1950s and in the first half of the 1960s. However, the year 1968 is another important milestone, when, after the August invasion, Rudé právo attempted to restore the positive image of the Soviet Union through the pro-regime interpretations of the Munich trauma. Following the conclusion of the December 1973 Agreement between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, which also addressed the disputed issues concerning the interpretation of the Munich Agreement, propaganda aspects did somewhat retreat into the background and Rudé právo and other Communist mass media devoted themselves primarily to the historical contexts of this event, although intentional reflections on the Munich of 1938 continued to be used for propaganda purposes, also.
Key words: Communism, the Munich Agreement, Czech-German relations, Czechoslovakia.

WOITSCH Jiří
Kam zmizela etnografie dělnictva?
(Whither the Ethnography of the Working Class?). S. 692–707.
Wohin verschwand die Ethnographie der Arbeiterschaft? S. 708–727.
The ethnography of the working class represented one of the most remarkable research directions of contemporary ethnography and folkloristics undertaken by the Academy of Sciences and the institutions of higher learning in the second half of the 20th century. Undoubtedly, despite partial ideological manipulations, the ethnographic study of factory workers and miners, in particular, achieved a number of remarkable results, which stand the test of international comparison. Some research projects focused on the themes and also methods previously neglected by historians (every day life of the working class, the material culture of daily living, folklore, etc.). A whole range of research projects – including comprehensive works and those by teams of authors – remained totally unpublished or have until now remained „hidden“ in practically inaccessible internal collections of works and monographs. After 1989 Czech ethnographers (ethnologists, socio-cultural anthropologists) have completely shifted away from the study of the working class, which is a situation which does not correspond with the topical interests of these disciplines, for example in Western Europe. This study defines the fundamental thematical and methodological trajectories of the ethnographic study of the working class and miners in terms of the development of the ethnographic discipline’s discourse. It also broadly outlines less well known or unpublished results, which could provide efficient starting points even for current research. At the same time, the author gives thought to current possibilities (non-existent, in fact) of the ethnography of the working class in the Czech Republic and the possibilities of cooperation between ethnographic institutions which have at their disposal very extensive and often unprocessed collections on these issues, and the historian community.
Key words: ethnography of the working class, theory and methodology, history of ethnology, Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic.

LENDEROVÁ Milena
Touhy a slasti těla. Poznámky k sexualitě 19. věku a jejím pramenům
(Bodily Desires and Pleasures. Some Remarks on the Sexuality of the 19th Century and its Sources). S. 728–737.
Begierden und Gelüste des Körpers. Anmerkungen zur Sexualität des 19. Jahrhunderts und ihren Quellen. S. 738–749.
For the entire „lengthy“ 19th century „procreation“ was seen as the only possible motivation for sexual intercourse, although there was a shift of emphasis in the last decades of the 19th century against a background of the attempts to legitimise prostitution and the fight against the spread of sexual diseases. A greater openness with regard to the issues of sexuality was, at the same time, one of the manifestations of the secularization of society. The reflection of these changes, which should not be overestimated, manifested itself in both serious academic and popular journalism.
Key words: the 19th century, sexuality, repression, sexology.

SOMMER Petr
Moderní technologie a historická metoda
(Modern Technologies and the Historical Method). S. 750–756.
Moderne Technologie und historische Methode. S. 757–764.
The enormous boom of technologies (mainly electronics) experienced by our world in the last two or three decades has caused a radical change in the understanding of the methodology of science as such, in our context the methodology of social sciences. The postmodern scepticism connected with the possibility of learning the complexity of historical processes and evaluating large collections of resources that cannot be coped with in traditional ‘human’ ways is often eclipsed precisely by references to the potential of modern technologies, which as very efficient tools manage what cannot be done by our weak human power and which correct the human tendency to err. Oftentimes, it is certainly true that these new tools, especially in the application of computers, unimaginably multiply the work capacity of individuals as well as teams. It is however also evident that the formulation of the point and purpose of the application of this capacity continues to be a merely human task. In general, this sense may be seen in learning and measured against the degree of this learning. A cursory look at the current state of historiography reveals that precisely that – the product of all research endeavours – is made the most problematic today. It is a task of the research community to return historical knowledge the position of an instrument bringing besides the undoubtedly subjective evaluation of resources and their testimony also conclusions that are controllably objective, because they have been achieved in a generally accepted and revisable way. At the same time, it is clear that no historical discipline can save itself but that a desirable principle of a historian’s work is the Braudelian ideal of total history, which still has contact points between individual historical disciplines and their resources. Not only does such an approach bring the priceless potential of the harnessing of source testimonies, but it also offers the exceptional possibility of a critical assessment of the conclusions of the individual fields, which must not contradict the conclusions of other disciplines. (Actually, they can, but then it is necessary, on the basis of convincing arguments, to decide whether the conclusion of a single discipline is right as opposed to the others or this single discipline is wrong.) Nevertheless, it is also crucial to know that a mere agreement of the sources and conclusions is not enough. Neither is a logically flawless argumentation model enough. Even here, it is essential to return to time-proven principles – namely that each conclusion should be a logical outcome of a stimulus of a source testimony, in no case vice versa. Free speculations on what a certain source stimulus might mean in total while not contradicting the source testimony, often with an unacceptable lowering of the threshold of argumentation’s sophistication, are at most a hypothesis. A hypothesis becomes a historical conclusion only if there is a generally accepted reason why it should be so. A reader of these lines may feel that I am quoting generally known banalities. My experience, however, takes me to the conclusion that it is a reminder of the frequently forgotten principles without which no historical work may claim scientific activity. We should realise that a historian’s work becomes a science only if it comes through a repeated path from a controllable resource base, through logical and clear methods, to generally acceptable conclusions. Only if these principles are generally not accepted can such absurdities occur that the official evaluation system of our research ostentatiously appraises the formal – not content – characteristics of its outcomes. The scientific quality of a work is determined by a correctly chosen opponent, the language used, the number of pages, the selected publication platform, index, in no case the correctness of the argumentation or the originality and novelty of the solution presented.
New technologies and methodologies (even if applied from other scientific areas) are an important part of current research. For instance, it is hard to imagine today’s archaeology without natural-science applications enabling dating, technological interpretations of resources, accumulation and interpretation of many types of ecofacts, computer processing of large information sets, utilisation of digital geodetic methods etc. Once all the ‘bricks’ arising from that have been collected, it is necessary to select the building process, in whose every phase it must be clear what questions we study. In this phase, every scientific discipline relies on the already-mentioned controllable process. A significant prerequisite for its efficiency is the critical awareness of what potential the individual types of resources contain and what potential is contained in the methodologies of individual historical disciplines or methodological applications from the area of other sciences. Banalities again? Perhaps rather an observation that learning about history has clear principles and consequences, the ignoring of which means that the result does not bring new knowledge or that it does not belong in the area of history.
Key words: history, research, interdisciplinarity, methodology, new technology.

STOČES Jiří
Prosopografie – od nadšení ke skepsi a zpět
(Prosopography – From Enthusiastic Welcome to Scepticism and Back Again). S. 765–775.
Prosopographie – von der Begeisterung zur Skepsis und zurück. S. 776–788.
Prosopography as a method in historical research was adopted in the 1990s with much enthusiasm by Czech historiography, yet without submitting it to a deeper critical analysis. In this polemical contribution the author, based on his own experience, ponders the exactness and efficiency of this method depending on the ratio of its biographical and statistical elements. He also draws attention to several continuing and false concepts connected to prosopographic projects and those carrying them out. Yet, the author maintains, that despite a number of critical and to a certain degree sceptical comments which he makes, prosopography remains an irreplaceable and enriching tool for research of different (clearly defined) social groups. It is, however, fundamental – as with any other method, indeed – to reflect on its limits or weak points and to take these into account during the interpretation of historical research results.
Key words: prosopography, biography, historical statistics, the Middle Ages, university.

OBZORY LITERATURY / REVIEW ARTICLES AND REVIEWS

Die Geschichte der böhmischen/tschechischen bildenden Kunst: Eine Basis und eine Herausfor­derung zum Nachdenken (Jiří Pešek) S. 789–806.

Tschechische biographische Wörterbücher (Jaroslav Pánek) S. 807–814.

PÁNEK Jaroslav a kol., Rožmberkové. Rod českých velmožů a jeho cesta dějinami (Die Rosenberger. Ein böhmisches Magnatengeschlecht und sein Weg durch die Geschichte); BŮŽEK Václav a kol., Světy posledních Rožmberků (Die Welten der letzten Rosenberger) (Tomáš Sterneck) S. 814–822.

MALÍŘ Jiří – MAREK Pavel a kol., Politické strany. Vývoj politických stran a hnutí v českých zemích a Československu 1861–2004, I. díl: období 1861–1938, II. díl: období 1938–2004 (Politische Parteien. Die Entwicklung der politischen Parteien und Bewegungen in den böhmischen Ländern und der Tschechoslowakei 1861–2004, 1. Teil: 1861–1938, II. Teil: 1938-2004) (Pavel Cibulka) S. 822–828.