CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2014
| Author | Buffry, Vanessa Elizabeth |
|---|---|
| Title | Subjectifying Socialism: Existentialism in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1968 |
| Summary | This thesis explores the influence of the French Existentialists on their Czechoslovak contemporaries during the height of its popularity, between 1940-1970. Although no clear group adhered to the philosophy, it had a palpable influence nevertheless. Existentialism was first visible in Czechoslovakia in the classes and books of Václav Černý between 1945-1948, at which point the Communists came to power. Existential sentiment and debate would resurge again in the late 1950s and into the 60s, playing an important role in the artistic and philosophical output and debate of the Prague Spring. This thesis involves an interdisciplinary examination that combines history, philosophy, art and politics, all of which are characteristically linked in the Czech case and cannot be considered separate from each other. Through studying the use of political concepts, it argues that even in the absence of a concrete allusion to Existentialism, the philosophy informed part the Czechoslovak conception of their position relative to their world and the Communist regime. The work will examine the intellectual output of Czech’s primary thinkers through their debates, personal essays on the philosophy, articles in the journal Literarní Noviný, and the prevalence of Existential themes in the film, theatre, and art scenes. Czech translations from the original French works often are prefaced with commentary that reflects the contemporary sentiment regarding the philosophy. Transcripts from conferences on the topic reveal an interest in establishing parallels between national existential figures and the in-vogue French ideas. These sources ultimately underline the demonstrable influence of the philosophy in the pre-Spring Czechoslovak discourse. |
| Supervisor | Trenscenyi, Balazs; Lojko, Miklos |
| Department | History MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2014/buffry_vanessa.pdf |
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