Though there has been much research on the incomplete emancipation project of state socialism in East and Central Europe, very little has been published on how the state and its institutions conceived of gender as a concept. This book seeks to understand if and how this conceptualization developed in the second half of the twentieth century, and what impact it had on everyday life and on culture. This study moves beyond the dichotomous gender perspectives and towards a nuanced understanding of the diverse discursive negotiations, agendas, actors and agency involved in state-socialist gender practices. Including a detailed case study on Czechoslovakia, contributors explore these issues in a series of independent, but collaboratively developed studies, placing their research in the context of other East Central European countries. The studies collected in the volume bring to light fresh material and consider it from the combined perspective of current gender theory and internal ideological dynamics of state socialism, breaking new ground in gender theory, cultural theory and studies of state socialism.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of gender studies, socialism, Cold-War politics and Eastern European politics and culture.

About the Author
Hana Havelkova is a Sociologist at Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. Libora Oates-Indruchova is Reader at Palacky University, Czech Republic.

Reviews

"This book of Czech experts on gender culture and politics during state socialism proposes a significant new view on life within a totalitarian regime in Central Europe. Focusing not only on ideology and politics but on social practice as well, the book is an important contribution to understanding the gap between official ideology and everyday life during particular stages of state socialism. The results of the newest research presented in the book significantly add to our understanding of former state socialist countries and totalitarian systems in general"

--Gabriela Dudekova, Slovak Academy of Sciences

Book Information
ISBN 9781138101470
Author Hana Havelkova
Format Paperback
Page Count 268
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 408g