Ladislav Holy brings to this timely study of national identity the skills of a seasoned researcher, a cosmopolitan perspective, and the insights of an insider. Drawing on historical and literary sources as well as ethnography, he analyzes Czech discourses on national identity. Arguing that there were specifically "Czech" aspects to the Communist regime and to the "velvet revolution", he explores how notions of Czech identity were involved in the debates surrounding the fall of Communism, and the emergence of a new social system.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Serious students of Czech culture and politics can ill afford to ignore Holy's fascinating book." H. Steck, Choice
"As it challenges recent understandings of central and eastern European economic and political developments as 'natural' in themselves, the material within The Little Czech and the Great Czech Nation will be extremely useful to anthropologists who work in the region." Rebecca Nash, American Anthropologist
"...a valuable and suggestive study....to enrich our understanding of the domestic transitions from communism Carol Skalnik Leff, Slavic Review
"As it challenges recent understandings of central and eastern European economic and political developments as 'natural' in themselves, the material within The Little Czech and the Great Czech Nation will be extremely useful to anthropologists who work in the region." Rebecca Nash, American Anthropologist
"...a valuable and suggestive study....to enrich our understanding of the domestic transitions from communism Carol Skalnik Leff, Slavic Review
Book Description
Drawing on historical and literary sources as well as ethnography, this study analyzes Czech discourses on national identity. It explores how notions of Czech identity were involved in the debates surrounding the fall of Communism, and the emergence of a new social system.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Comprehensive and valuable book,
By
This review is from: The Little Czech and the Great Czech Nation: National Identity and the Post-Communist Social Transformation (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) (Paperback)
As a member of czech nation and student of anthropology I have found this book very useful, comprehensive and in fact breathtaking. The foregoing objection about Moravian "nation" is irrelevant. The Majority of "Morava" inhabitants conceptualize themselves as members of the Czech nation, living in the region of Morava. Therefore speaking about "Moravian" nation is not common in our culture.
A few of the historical details and citations of some documents are not listed properly.
4 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a narrow picture of identity in the Czech Republic,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Little Czech and the Great Czech Nation: National Identity and the Post-Communist Social Transformation (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) (Paperback)
Holy claims to be writing about the 'Czech nation' and thus very irresponsibly lumps Moravians into that grouping. This is my main complaint. As an anthropologist who has done fieldwork in the area, it seems elementary to make this distinction. Holy is Czech and this may be the best explanation for his neglect
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First Sentence:
The recent demise of socialism in Eastern and Central Europe has produced an avalanche of writing on various aspects of the socialist system. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pro etnografii, symbols invoked, cultured nation, shared cultural meanings, socialist property, nationalist symbols Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Communist Party, Czechoslovak Republic, World War, Prague Spring, Jan Hus, Czech Republic, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Soviet Union, Wenceslas Square, Federal Assembly, Hradcany Castle, United States, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Battle of White Mountain, Civic Forum, National Theatre, Slovak National Council, Old Town Square, Warsaw Pact, East Germans, Jan Nepomucky, Czech Protestant, Good Soldier Schweik, North America New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The recent demise of socialism in Eastern and Central Europe has produced an avalanche of writing on various aspects of the socialist system. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pro etnografii, symbols invoked, cultured nation, shared cultural meanings, socialist property, nationalist symbols Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Communist Party, Czechoslovak Republic, World War, Prague Spring, Jan Hus, Czech Republic, Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Soviet Union, Wenceslas Square, Federal Assembly, Hradcany Castle, United States, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Battle of White Mountain, Civic Forum, National Theatre, Slovak National Council, Old Town Square, Warsaw Pact, East Germans, Jan Nepomucky, Czech Protestant, Good Soldier Schweik, North America New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 39
books:
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8
books
cite this book:
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- Muslim Society (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) by Ernest Gellner in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- Outline of a Theory of Practice (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) by Pierre Bourdieu in Front Matter
- Inequality Among Brothers: Class and Kinship in South China (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) by Rubie S. Watson in Front Matter
- Honor and Grace in Anthropology (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) by J. G. Peristiany in Front Matter
- Social Reproduction and History in Melanesia: Mortuary Ritual, Gift Exchange, and Custom in the Tanga Islands (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) by Robert John Foster in Front Matter
See all 39 books this book cites
- Hastening Toward Prague: Power and Society in the Medieval Czech Lands (The Middle Ages Series) by Lisa Wolverton in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- History and Theory in Anthropology by Alan Barnard in Back Matter
- Myths and Nationhood by George Schopflin on page 134
- Myths and Nationhood by George Schopflin on page 134
- The New Racism in Europe: A Sicilian Ethnography (Cambridge Studies in Social and Cultural Anthropology) by Jeffrey Cole in Back Matter
See all 8 books citing this book
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