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At home in Prague : representations of home in the Czechoslovakian interwar

The First Republic of Czechoslovakia existed from October 1918 to March 1939. Formed from territories previously part of the Austro-Hungarian or Habsburg Empire, the nation of Czechoslovakia was a unique democratic state in a Central European region of less stable entities, establishing a modern and future oriented nation. This thesis is an examination of the representations of the concept and idea of home across several different spheres of ideation, examining in turn: the space of nation building, nationalism and nationhood, showing the uses of home in the creation of and the running of the state; architectural theorisation and modernist building projects that sought to refashion living styles and housing, and social and socialist planning manifestos are compared to the initial energy and enthusiasm of avant garde explorations of everyday life; the concept of home and home life, coupled with the housewife's life within them are examined in the stances of the populist periodicals of the era which were directed towards a female audience. The final section of the thesis examines, in the penultimate chapter, the concept of home by in-depth readings of literature and personal writings, feuilleton, diaries, letters and poetry. The final chapter presents the testimonies of residents of Prague during the interwar, using life histories and questionnaire responses, to present a completed picture of the multi-level meanings of home.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:606010
Date January 2013
CreatorsHarrison, Michèle Jayne Philippa Cealey
PublisherUniversity of Sussex
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Sourcehttp://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/48912/

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