Analýza české institucionální kultury. Proměny hranic mezi soukromou a veřejnou sférou v podmínkách každodennosti a svátečnosti od poloviny 19. století do současnosti

Abstract

The aim of this article is to propose an interpretation and a critical assessment ofinstitutional culture and its transformation in the Czech historical context. The framework of the analysiscovers four succeeding nation-forming periods, from the mid-19th century up until the present day. Itdraws upon a sociological interpretation of the visual fact depicting a memorial of statehood, whichwas erected in 1919 in the village of Dolní Černošice. The analysis is further based on seven semistructuredinterviews with local councillors (from Černošice), on the quantitative questioner, and onparticipant observation. Silhouetted against the interpretation of the statehood memorial, the articleattempts to answer questions regarding the main determinants of the transformation of institutionalculture by drawing upon the dynamics of the relationships between the public and private spheres, theirconfigurations and implications. The article contends that historically rooted asymmetries between thepublic and private spheres, which were embedded in the emancipation process of modern Czech society,have been greatly strengthened by the Communist period. In the post-communist period, institutionalculture in the Czech Republic has been characterised by a high degree of institutional distrust and publicstigmatisation of politics, as well as by a weakly developed virtue of (cognitive and political) oppositionwhich is imbued with a discernible disrespect for discursive civic culture. A system of civic education isurgently needed if Czechs want to overcome the ominous deficits of their institutional culture.