O undergroundu stále dokola a nikdy jinak
On Underground Over and Over Again and Never Otherwise

Summary/Abstract: In her summary review, the reviewer assesses three collective volumes on the Czechoslovak, or rather Czech, underground culture of the 1970s and 1980s, which were published under the titles "Reflexe undergroundu" [Reflections on the Underground], "Podhoubí undergroundu" [Hotbed of the Underground] and "Od mániček k undergroundu" [From Long-hairs to the Underground], and edited by Ladislav Kudrna (Prague, Ústav pro studium totalitních režimů 2016, 2018 and 2019). The individual volumes summarize contributions from three conferences on the issue of the underground during the normalization period. According to the reviewer, the books suffer considerably from the fact that the original papers have been only minimally edited for publication. They vary greatly in terms of quality as well as genres, from personal reflections to attempts to contextualize some of the events and texts related to the environment of the Czech underground scientifically. Most contributions, however, contribute only little to the existing knowledge in terms of concepts, thoughts or facts, while repeating various clichés.

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