ROM1B140 Czech Queer History

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024

The course is not taught in Autumn 2024

Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Taught in person.
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Jan Seidl, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Jan Seidl, Ph.D.
Department of Romance Languages and Literatures – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Romance Languages and Literatures – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
Upper-intermediate proficiency in English.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 39 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
During last 150 years, a period corresponding roughly to the existence of a „modern homosexual“ identity in Europe, several millions of non-heterosexual people have lived in what is now the Czech Republic. The aim of this course is to provide students with a systematic insight into the past of this country from the perspective of the situation of these people, be their respective identities labeled as „sodomites“, „urnings“, „tribadists“, „homosexuals“, „lesbians“, „gays“ or, most recently, „queers“. Since about 20 years ago, this focus has produced quite a large amount of research in the historiography of the Czech Lands, which will thus make it possible to address a rich range of topics during the course.
Learning outcomes
During the course, students gain insight, from various perspectives, into the developments of the situation of non-heterosexual people in the past of the Czech Lands, especially in the 19th and 20th centuries.

After completing the course, a student will be able to:

- explain main features of the development of situation of queer people in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, setting them in a broader (Central-)European context
- launch his or her own research into queer history, if he or she wishes so
Syllabus
  • Lectures will be structured around these axes:

    (1) Issues of identity (construction of the homosexual subject: role of medicine, media freedom, foreign influences, trans-generational tradition etc.; medical experiments aimed at the „treatment“ of homosexuality)
    (2) Persecution of homosexuality (judicial persecution based on the Criminal Code of 1852, extra-judicial persecution during the WWII, forms of discrimination during the Communist era)
    (3) Emancipatory movements (first attempts before 1918, the Czechoslovak League for Sexual Reform in the 1930s, limited possibilities for civic activism between 1948-1989, contemporary Czech LGBT movement after 1989)
    (4) Everyday life (with a focus on the 1930s and 1940s, based on archival sources produced by police institutions, and on the 1960s to 1980s, based on oral history research)
    (5) Homosexuality in arts (depiction of homosexual experience in Czech literature, theatre, cinema and the visual arts; popular culture as a source of „gay folklore“)

    For the needs of international students, the issues addressed will be, as necessary, set within a broader context of the Czech history. Comparison to other national contexts will be encouraged.

    The course stems from a long-term research interest and published works of the lecturer (inter alia, co-founder of the Society for Queer Memory in Prague).
Literature
    required literature
  • SEIDL, Jan. Decriminalization of Homosexual Acts in Czechoslovakia in 1961. In Vērdiņš, Kārlis; Ozoliņš, Jānis. Queer Stories of Europe. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016, p. 174-193. ISBN 978-1-4438-9790-7. info
    recommended literature
  • SEIDL, Jan, Ruth JOCHANAN WEINIGER, Ladislav ZIKMUND and Lukáš NOZAR. Queer Prague. A Guide to the LGBT History of the Czech Capital. Brno: Černé pole, 2014, 172 pp. info
  • CORNWALL, Mark. The Devil's Wall. The nationalist youth mission of Heinz Rutha. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2012. 352 p. ISBN 9780674064898.
  • RADZISZEWSKI, Karol (ed.). DIK Fagazine no. 9 (Czechoslovakia Issue). 2014.
  • SOKOLOVÁ, Věra. State approaches to homosexuality and non-heterosexual lives in Czechoslovakia during state socialism. In Havelková, H., Oates-Ondruchová, L.: The Politics of Gender Culture under State Socialism. London: Routledge, 2014, s. 82-108.
  • SOKOLOVÁ, Věra: Representations of Homosexuality and the Separation of Gender and Sexuality in the Czech Republic Before and After 1989, in: Isaacs, Ann Katherine (ed.): Political systems and definitions of gender roles, Pisa 2001, s. 273–288.
  • NEDBÁLKOVÁ, Kateřina. The Changing Space of Gay and Lesbian Community in the Czech Republic. In Beyond The Pink Curtain. Everyday Life of LGBT in Eastern Europe. Ljubljana: Peace Institute, 2007, p. 57-71, 14 pp. Politike Symposium series. ISBN 978-961-6455-45-9. info
  • SOKOLOVÁ, Věra. Identity Politics and the (B)orders of Heterosexism. Lesbians, Gays and Feminists in the Czech Media after 1989, in: Leeuwen-Turnovcová, J.; van Richter, N. (eds.): Mediale Welten in Tschechien nach 1989. München 2005, s. 29–44.
  • POLÁŠKOVÁ, Eva and Kateřina NEDBÁLKOVÁ. Czech Republic. In The Greenwood Encyclopedia of LGBT Issues Worldwide. USA: Greenwood Press, 2009, p. 101-110. vol 2. ISBN 0-313-34231-8. info
  • NEDBÁLKOVÁ, Kateřina. Community at the Backstage: Gays and Lesbians in the Czech Republic. In Taylor, Y., Addison, M. Queer Presences and Absences. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, p. 31-50. Queer Presences and Absences. ISBN 0-230-00871-2. info
  • NEDBÁLKOVÁ, Kateřina. Idle Ally: LGBT Community in the Czech Republic. In Jusová, I., Šiklová, J. Czech Feminisms: Perspectives on Gender in East Central Europe. Neuveden: Indiana University Press, 2016, p. 205-221. ISBN 978-0-253-02193-9. info
  • SEIDL, Jan, Jan WINTR and Lukáš NOZAR. Od žaláře k oltáři. Emancipace homosexuality v českých zemích od roku 1867 do současnosti (From Prison to Altar. Homosexual Emancipation in the Czech Lands from 1867 to Present). Brno: Host, 2012, 584 pp. vyšlo mimo edici. ISBN 978-80-7294-585-6. info
  • PUTNA, Martin C. Homosexualita v dějinách české kultury. Vyd. 1. Praha: Academia, 2011, 494 s. ISBN 9788020020000. info
  • HIML, Pavel, Jan SEIDL and Franz SCHINDLER. "Miluji tvory svého pohlaví". Homosexualita v dějinách a společnosti českých zemí ("I Love Creatures of my Own Sex". Homosexuality in the History and Society of the Czech Lands). Praha: Argo, 2013, 650 pp. ISBN 978-80-257-0876-7. info
    not specified
  • HALPERIN, David M. How to be gay. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2012. viii, 549. ISBN 9780674067516.
Teaching methods
One 2-hour lecture per week.
Assessment methods
For the assessment, students will be given a choice between:

(1) oral exam or
(2) written test covering the topics presented during the course and an essay on a topic linked to the course focus.

This will account for 70 % of the final mark. Lecture attendance will account for 30 % of the final mark.
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
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