První světová válka v prezidentských projevech

Abstract

Abstract:The paper focuses on reflection of the First World War in presidential speeches in years 1990-2013. This period delimits mandates of former Czech presidents Václav Havel and Václav Klaus. Ways in which both presidents referred to the historical event and in which they utilized its interpretation for legitimization of their political goals are compared. As its theoretical framework, the study utilizes an approach that has been developed by Jeffrey Alexander and Philip Smith as part of their program in cultural sociology. The study aims to identify the most significant cultural codes and narrative strategies of the analyzed speeches and to relate them to (supra)nationalistic metanarratives that they help to maintain. The study also points to the fact that presidential speeches represent an important case of utilization of past for the purposes of legitimization of state policy while also being a practice with which states are established.

Continuity in Discontinuity: The Recurrent Motif of Cultural Autonomy in the Development of Czech Sociology of Culture

“…Several younger authors had their Strong Program moment before moving to ANT, cognitivist and other perspectives. Their cultural sociological work includes a culturalist reinterpretation of Durkheim's early sociology (Horák, 2012), a study of rationality and emotions in the civil sphere (Frantová, 2014), and an analysis of the cultural coding of the past in Czech presidential speeches (Kalenda and Karger, 2014).…”