Continuities in the Period of “Revolutionary Changes” and the “Dusk of the Peasant Status” (Contribution to the Study of Rural Life in Socialist Czechoslovakia)

• Main Author: Polouček Oto
• Format: Article
• Language: ces
• Published: Sciendo 2020-03-01
• Series: Slovenský Národopis
• Subjects: socialism; collectivisation of agriculture; countryside; czechoslovakia; continuity; normative ideas; social life
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.2478/se-2020-0002

The narratives from the socialist period remarkably resemble the discussions after 1989 when it comes to the statement that the second half of the 20th century brought discontinuities that changed the countryside, even though their evaluations are different: the “desired” progress promoted by the normalisation language had not admitted the listing of the negative impacts on the countryside and the environment which logically became the centre of discussion after 1989. There is, however, a consensus in that the collectivisation of agriculture and the modernisation of the countryside had a significant impact on the functioning of rural communities, the way of life and municipal hierarchies. The author of the study suggests, though, that it is impossible to fully grasp the impacts of the transformation of the countryside on the present if we only observe the discontinuities. His assumptions are based on his own interest in the memories about the social life in the late socialism period, while focusing on the observation of the continuities that can be based on a reflection of normative ideas and values. Thanks to an analysis of orally historical interviews and the evaluation of contemporary ethnographic research, the members of rural communities were shown to have successfully developed initiatives to ensure continuity in social life despite its changing form and inter-generational discussions. This can be explained with the observation of symbols with which people identify themselves – thanks to their embeddedness in the values system and high adaptability to external interventions. It is impossible to fully understand the strategies of adaptabilities, so characteristic of this period, without observing the impact of the continuities (e.g. the need to use hypernormalised language to advocate one’s own interests).