University History in the Czech Republic
| Autor | Lukas Fasora - Jiri Hanus |
| Cargo | Masaryk University Brno |
| Páginas | 41-70 |
CIAN-Revista de Historia de las Universidades, 20/1 (2017), 41-70 - DOI: https://doi.org/10.20318/cian.2017.3728
ISSN: 1988-8503 - www.uc3m.es/cian
University History in the Czech Republic
Lukáš Fasora - Jií Hanuš *
Masaryk University Brno
Recibido
Aceptado
Historia de la Universidad en la República Checa
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20318/cian.2017.3728
Abstract This text provides a historio
graphical overview of research into universi
ty history in the Bohemian lands The authors
point to the limited standing that the speciali
zed discipline of university history has within
Czech historiography and summarize the
methodological dificulties which prevent this
discipline from gaining more respect This is
mainly due to it being too closely connected
with anniversaries and consequently the
uncertain existence of research teams From
a methodological perspective this organiza
tional problem results in the overrepresen
tation of institutional biographies in the port
folio of studies while a greater proportion of
the publications interpret university history
in isolation from the rest of the society and
are a priori success stories It has only been
over the past two decades that there have
been changes in the discipline which have
rapidly brought it up to speed in methodo
logical terms with other more traditional
historical disciplines The text also focuses
Resumen Este texto ofrece una visión
historiográica de la investigación sobre la his
toria de las universidades en Bohemia Los au
tores apuntan a que la disciplina especializada
de la historia de la universidad tiene una posi
ción limitada dentro de la historiograía checa
y resumen las diicultades metodológicas que
impiden que esta disciplina gane más presen
cia Esto se debe principalmente a que la his
toria de las universidades está demasiado vin
culada con los aniversarios y por consiguiente
con la incertidumbre de los equipos de investi
gación Desde un punto de vista metodológico
este problema organizativo da como resultado
la sobrerepresentación de las biograías ins
titucionales mientras que una mayor propor
ción de las publicaciones interpreta la historia
universitaria aislada del resto de la sociedad y
son historias de éxito a priori Sólo en las dos
últimas décadas se han producido cambios en
la disciplina que lo han acelerado rápidamen
te en términos metodológicos con otras dis
ciplinas históricas más tradicionales El texto
* fasoraphilmunicz jirhgmailcom
42
CIAN, 20/1 (2017), 41-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.20318/cian.2017.3728
LUKÁŠ FASORA - JI
Í HANUŠ
on an overview of important breakthrough
works in the discipline and their place within
sociopolitical changes with special attention
paid to the oldest Czech university in Prague
though there is also an examination of inter
esting trends in the research into the history
of newer provincial Czech universities
Keywords university history Bohe
mian lands historiographical overview
también se centra en una visión general de los
trabajos importantes de avance en la discipli
na y de su lugar
Los cambios sociopolíticos con una
atención especial a la universidad checa más
vieja en Praga aunque hay también un examen
de tendencias interesantes en la investigación
en la historia de las universidades checas más
nuevas provinciales
Palabras clave historia de la universi
dad territorios de Bohemia panorama histo
riográico
The historical discipline known as university history has not yet fully esta
blished itself in the academic world of the Czech Republic Researchers in
volved in this area recognize that most studies relating to university history
emerge on an adhoc basis depending on various anniversaries and are ba
sed on the methodological approaches of institutional history rather than
comparative works focusing on the history of the universitas using sophis
ticated methodology which is clearly deined in relation to other areas of
historical research The main reason why university history does not have a
clear identity as a research area is its uncertain methodological background
and permeable boundaries in relation to other more established ields of re
search Curiously enough the entire institutional superstructure for the afo
rementioned commission thus predates the debate about the actual identity
of the ield of university history by many years
The discipline of university history will not gain the respect of other
ields of Czech history if it is solely based on works describing the institutio
nal history of universities which are partly hagiographical and partly critical
though in every case written as a history of success It is dificult for them not
to be as these works are commissioned by university oficials inanced by the
university are usually given a tight deadline and are written by historians who
are not even particularly interested in the subject thought their involvement
is more or less a political necessity Subsequently researchers resort to using
a master narrative in an attempt to demonstrate their erudition while comple
ting the task
This has its obvious advantages and disadvantages In addition to the
fact that this approach meets the expectations of those who commissioned
the study it is also a tool with which to holistically understand a university
in its vast diversity its multidisciplinarity the differences in perceptions of
tradition as a tool to bridge the wide range of interuniversity conlict lines
and inally as a way to defend the credibility and usefulness of historical re
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