Unwriting local commemoration in the Czech countryside: Between socialist modernization and rural memory

POLOUČEK, Oto. Unwriting local commemoration in the Czech countryside: Between socialist modernization and rural memory. In SIEF2025 17th Congress, Aberdeen, Scotland. 2025.

Základní údaje

Originální název

Unwriting local commemoration in the Czech countryside: Between socialist modernization and rural memory

Autoři

POLOUČEK, Oto ORCID

Vydání

SIEF2025 17th Congress, Aberdeen, Scotland, 2025

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Další údaje

Jazyk

angličtina

Typ výsledku

Prezentace na konferencích

Obor

60101 History

Stát vydavatele

Velká Británie a Severní Irsko

Utajení

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

Odkazy

Webové stránky konference

Označené pro přenos do RIV

Ne

Organizační jednotka

Filozofická fakulta

Klíčová slova česky

Venkov; postsocialismus; paměť; komemorace; Československo

Klíčová slova anglicky

Rural; postsocialism; memory; commemoration; Czechoslovakia

Příznaky

Mezinárodní význam

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Anotace

V originále

The dominant Czech postsocialist narrative is based on emphasizing the peaceful way to freedom after the 1989 Velvet Revolution, along with denying the communist past. Another culture of remembering is relevant for a significant part of rural inhabitants. The countryside was forcibly collectivized in the 50s but later benefited from modernization efforts to overcome ineffective collectivized agriculture. Alongside investments in infrastructure, building houses of culture, etc., modernization has also changed the way of life, including leisure time. Many people experienced a social rise. After 1989, they then faced a decline due to privatization and cuts. It is thus logical that in the countryside, nostalgia for socialism is present. It is often not about adoring communism but about local identity and social aspects of life. People were proud that they hosted famous artists in the new house of culture or were on collective vacation by the sea in Bulgaria. During my field research, I noticed local opportunities for communal remembering. These opportunities are more connected to the local environment and landscape than the nationwide politics of memory. In this paper, I want to open a discussion on connections between local commemoration and the politics of memory in and outside the postsocialist frame of remembering.