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Franz Kafka and his Prague Contexts
Franz Kafka is by far the Prague author most widely read and admired internationally. However, his reception in Czechoslovakia, launched by the Liblice conference in 1963, has been conflicted. While rescuing Kafka from years of censorship and neglect, Czech critics of the 1960s “overwrote” his German and Jewish literary and cultural contexts in order to focus on his Czech cultural connections. Seeking to rediscover Kafka’s multiple backgrounds, in Franz Kafka and His Prague Contexts Marek Nekula focuses on Kafka’s Jewish social and literary networks in Prague, his German and Czech bilingualism, and his knowledge of Yiddish and Hebrew. Kafka’s bilingualism is discussed in the contex...
Art Nouveau Prague
Since the collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1989, Prague has become one of Europe's--and the world's--most popular tourist destinations. As in London, Paris, and Rome, visitors flock to the gorgeous buildings and monuments that grace the streets of Prague, entranced by structures ranging from Gothic and baroque to cubist and neoclassical. And while hundreds of thousands stroll over Charles Bridge and gaze up at St. Vitus Cathedral each year, far fewer venture away from the crowds to seek out the countless gems of art nouveau peppered throughout Prague. With Art Nouveau Prague, Petr Wittlich--one of Europe's leading experts on nineteenth- and twentieth-century architecture--tours those monument...
The Prague of Charles IV
This publication, written by Czech professor of art history Jan Royt, renders a vivid image of the capital of the Bohemian Kingdom in the High Gothic period in the broader historical context of the circumstances that were particularly favourable for Prague during Charles IV's reign (1347-1378). For the first time in history, after Charles's coronation as the Holy Roman Emperor in 1355, the capital of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown was simultaneously the metropolis of the Holy Roman Empire. Thanks to the royal and imperial care, which in addition to Charles' monarchical post in Europe also reflected his Western-European education and cosmopolitan openness as well as his belief in and respect for the Premyslid tradition, Prague flourished, becoming a unique and beautiful city. The cathedral, the stone bridge, the university and construction of the New Town and its churches laid out in a magical cross pattern, remain today as the "stone seals" on the face of Prague's Gothic architecture, endorsed by the paintings, sculpture and the entire realm of spiritual culture. The book contains around 100 photographs of Prague monuments, sights and documentary images.
Rus - Ukraine - Russia
An outspoken opponent of pro-Russian, authoritarian, and far-right streams in contemporary Czech society, Martin C. Putna received a great deal of media attention when he ironically dedicated the Czech edition of Russ–Ukraine–Russia to Miloš Zeman—the pro-Russian president of the Czech Republic. This sense of irony, combined with an extraordinary breadth of scholarly knowledge, infuses Putna’s book. Examining key points in Russian cultural and spiritual history, Russ–Ukraine–Russia is essential reading for those wishing to understand the current state of Russia and Ukraine—the so-called heir to an “alternative Russia.” Putna uses literary and artistic works to offer a rich...
Baroque Prague
Baroque Prague is a lavish excursion through Prague's important baroque period, beginning with the defeat of Czech Protestants at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620 and ending with the philosophical era of Enlightenment in the eighteenth century. In this book, acclaimed art historian V t Vlnas explores both the material and spiritual transformations the city went through during this boisterous period, treating the baroque epoch as a cultural phenomenon vital to the current genius loci of the great Central European capital. Vlnas guides readers through the city from Prague Castle to the Lesser Town, Old Town, and New Town, as well as Vysehrad, the important historic fortress. In a special s...
The Irish Franciscans in Prague 1629–1786
At the end of the sixteenth century, Queen Elizabeth I forced the Irish Franciscans into exile. Of the four continental provinces to which the Irish Franciscans fled, the Prague Franciscan College of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary was the largest in its time. This monograph documents this intense point of contact between two small European lands, Ireland and Bohemia. The Irish exiles changed the course of Bohemian history in significant ways, both positive — the Irish students and teachers of medicine who contributed to Bohemia’s culture and sciences— and negative — the Irish officers who participated in the murder of Albrecht of Valdštejn and their successors who served in the Imperial forces. Dealing with a hitherto largely neglected theme, Parez and Kucharová attempt to place the Franciscan College within Bohemian history and to document the activities of its members. This wealth of historical material from the Czech archives, presented in English for the first time, will be of great aid for international researchers, particularly those interested in Bohemia or the Irish diaspora.
A Nation of Bookworms?
Nation of Bookworms takes an in-depth look at the reading culture of the Czech Republic--the country with the highest number of libraries per capita worldwide. Drawing on studies and oral interviews of Czech readers conducted by the National Library of the Czech Republic and the Institute of Czech Literature between 2007 and 2018, the book presents intriguing new research on Czech readership and society. Jiří Trávníček deftly sifts through hard data and first-person reportage, illuminating the myriad components that make up reading culture, such as print-reading, screen-reading, libraries, book sales, the social lives of readers, time spent reading, and reading preferences. Trávníček also takes a global look at literary love, exploring the parallels between the reading cultures of other countries and the Czechs’ unique fervor for the written word. Nation of Bookworms is essential reading for bibliophiles on every continent.
Renaissance Prague
At the end of the fifteenth century, when the Jagiellons and first Habsburg rulers sat on Prague's throne, the character of the city's municipalities began to transition from medieval to Renaissance. In Renaissance Prague, historian Eliska Fučíková paints a vivid picture of the Bohemian capital during this time of sweeping change. As Fučíková reveals, this period saw the evolution of new architectural motifs across the city. In particular, there was a distinct transformation of Prague Castle, including the construction of well-known features such as the Ball Game Hall and Queen Anne's Summer Palace. Featuring a concise historical overview and a guide to prominent figures of the time, as well as a variety of illustrations--from artwork to archival images, contemporary photographs, and maps--Fučíková's book is a beautiful, enlightening tour through the Renaissance metropolis of the Bohemian Kingdom.
Trial by Theatre
The motto Národ sobě – “From the Nation to Itself” – inscribed over the proscenium arch of Prague’s National Theatre symbolizes the importance theatre holds for the Czechs. During the National Awakening of the 19th century, theatre took the place of politics, becoming an instrument of national identity in the hands of the revivalists. In what was then part of a German-speaking empire, the Czechs devised a complex and evocative theatre language made up of allegory, allusion, juxtaposition, games, wordplay, legend, history, illusion and music. A sophisticated avant-garde theatre flowered in Czechoslovakia between the wars, and became a symbol of independence during the Nazi occupat...
Philosophy en noir
Thought necessarily reflects the times. Following the tragedy of the Holocaust, this fact became ever more clear. And it may be the reason postwar philosophical texts are so difficult to understand, since they confront incomprehensibly traumatic experiences. In this first English-language translation of any of his books, Miroslav Petříček — one of the most influential and erudite Czech philosophers, and a student of Jan Patočka — argues that to exist in the second half of the twentieth century and beyond, Western philosophy has had to rewrite its tradition and its discourse, radically transforming itself. Should philosophy be capable of bearing witness to the time, Petříček contends, this metamorphosis in philosophy is necessary. Offering an original Central European perspective on postwar philosophical discourse that reflects upon the historical underpinnings of pop culture phenomena and complex philosophical schools — including Adorno, Agamben, Benjamin, Derrida, Husserl, Kracauer, and many others — Philosophy en noir is a record of this transformation
