Miloslav Petrusek (15 September 1936 – 19 August 2012) was a prominent

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

sociologist who served as a

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of Faculty of Social Sciences at

Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = Carolinum_Logo.svg , image_size = 200px , established = , type = Public, Ancient , budget = 8.9 billion CZK , rector = Milena Králíčková , faculty = 4,057 , administrative_staff = 4,026 , students = 51,438 , undergr ...

between 1992–1997, as well as the

prorector Academic rank (also scientific rank) is the rank of a scientist or teacher in a college, high school, university or research establishment. The academic ranks indicate relative importance and power of individuals in academia. The academic rank ...

for academic affairs of the university in 1997–2000. For his consistent contribution to sociology and education, he received numerous awards, such as

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music and jazz, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/ concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes and grew in scope to comprise up to five dances, sometimes with ...

or Golden Medal of

Masaryk University Masaryk University (MU) ( cs, Masarykova univerzita; la, Universitas Masarykiana Brunensis) is the second largest university in the Czech Republic, a member of the Compostela Group and the Utrecht Network. Founded in 1919 in Brno as the se ...

. In 2012, Petrusek received The VIZE 97 Prize ('' in memoriam''). Petrusek is one of the three founders of

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Václav Havel Václav Havel (; 5 October 193618 December 2011) was a Czech statesman, author, poet, playwright, and former dissident. Havel served as the last president of Czechoslovakia from 1989 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1992 and then ...

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

together with former

First Lady of the Czech Republic The First Lady of the Czech Republic is the hostess of the Prague Castle, advisor to the president, and often plays a role in social activism. The position is traditionally held by the wife of the president of the Czech Republic, concurrent with ...

and wife of Václav Havel,

Dagmar Havlová Dagmar Havlová (born Dagmar Veškrnová on 22 March 1953) is a Czech actress. She married Václav Havel, the former Czech President, on 4 January 1997. She has one daughter, Nina Veškrnová (born 1976), from a previous marriage to Radvít Nov ...

and former Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Karel Schwarzenberg Prince Karel of Schwarzenberg (, born 10 December 1937) is a Czech politician, former leader of the TOP 09 party and was its candidate for president of the Czech Republic in the 2013 election. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies ( ...

Biography

Before 1989

Petrusek studied philosophy and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

between 1954-1959 at

in Brno. He wrote his thesis on ''"World view of

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech and Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas. It may refer to: * Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850–1937), first President of Czechoslovakia * Tomáš Baťa (1876–1932), Czech footwear entrepreneur * Tomáš Berdyc ...

"'' and Masaryk's contribution to sociology became one of Petrusek's lifelong interests. After an obligatory army service (1959-1961), Petrusek became a professor of philosophy and formal logic at Pedagogical Institute in Zlín ( Gottwaldov at the time), but actively worked in sociology, a limited field in 1950s

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. During short time of liberalization, the Prague Spring, Petrusek earned his doctoral degree (1966) and worked at the Institute of Social-Political Sciences at Charles University. During this time, under the lead of another prominent Czech sociologist of that time, Pavel Machonin, Petrusek co-authored probably the most important work of sociology in communist Czechoslovakia till that time, ''"Československá společnost - Sociologická analýza sociální stratifikace"'' (Czechoslovak society - sociological analysis of social stratification), as well as ''"Malý sociologický slovník"'' (Small sociological dictionary) for which he prepared numerous entries. Shortly after 1968

Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia refers to the events of 20–21 August 1968, when the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Rep ...

, in 1970, Petrusek was expelled from the communist party and banned by the communist regime from publishing and actively pursuing research during the whole period of normalization until the end of communism in 1989, except one book, the Introduction to Study of Sociology, a textbook published in 200 copies by Charles University. Under these circumstances, he worked within a frame of ''"alternative sociology"'', based on analysing literature as well as performing arts, which, combined with his deep knowledge of classical and contemporary sociology. He used this approach to analyse social themes in former Czechoslovak society such as

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...

, social stratification, problematics of higher

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

as well as (at that time) approaching

post-communist Post-communism is the period of political and economic transformation or transition in former communist states located in Eastern Europe and parts of Africa and Asia in which new governments aimed to create free market-oriented capitalist economi ...

times without access to the usual tools of sociological research.

After 1989

Soon after the

Velvet Revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

in 1989, Petrusek habilitated himself as a

Docent The title of docent is conferred by some European universities to denote a specific academic appointment within a set structure of academic ranks at or below the full professor rank, similar to a British readership, a French " ''maître de con ...

of Sociology (1990) at Faculty of Philosophy, Charles University. During an attempt of dissolution of Faculty of Journalism, which was heavily controlled by communists, Petrusek persuaded the Rector (academia), rector of the university, Radim Palouš, to attempt to transform the faculty into modern educational institution, the present Faculty of Social Sciences. Later on, Petrusek served as a dean for two terms between 1992 and 1997, after which he was one of the 10 Rector (Academia), prorectors of the university in 1997–2000. During these later years of his life, Petrusek published and re-published large collection of materials that were previously released semi-officially in samizdat, as well as a number of new works both in theoretical sociology, as well as textbooks of practical sociological methods and history of sociology. One of his last monographies, ''"Societies of late time"'' (Společnosti pozdní doby), contemplates the state of (not only) Czech society and strives to ''"answer the question in which society we live in"''.Svět podle Petruska
– review of book in the Sedmá generace 2/2007 magazine

Bibliography

* P. Machonin a kol. ''Československá společnost - Sociologická analýza sociální stratifikace'' (Czechoslovak society - sociological analysis of social stratification). Epocha, Bratislava 1969 (co-author) * ''Sociometrie - teorie, metoda, techniky'' (Sociometry - theory, method, techniques). Svoboda, Prague 1969 * ''Malý sociologický slovník''. (Small sociological dictionary). Svoboda, Praha 1970; Bratislava 1970 (editor an author of multiple entries) * ''Alternativa - Úvahy o postavení sociologie v nealternativní společnosti'' (Alternative - Reflections on role of sociology in alternative-less society) - under pseudonym ''Petr Grňa'', published in samizdat, 1986; officially published in KOS, Praha 1992. * ''Sociologie a literatura''. (Sociology and literature). Čs. spisovatel, Praha 1990. * ''Il postcomunismo come concetto e problema sociopolitico.'' In: Václav Bělohradský, V. Bělohradský, P. Kende e J. Rupnik (eds.), Democrazie da inventare. Culture politiche e stato in Ungheria e Cecoslovacchia. Torino: Fondazione Giovanni Agnelli 1991, s. 71–88. * ''Teorie a metoda v moderní sociologii''. (Theory and methods in modern sociology). Karolinum, Praha 1993. * ''Sociologické školy, směry, paradigmata''. (Sociological schools, movements and paradigms). SLON, Praha 1994. * ''Sociologie, literatura a politika''. (Sociology, literature and politics). Karolinum, Praha 1996. * ''Velký sociologický slovník''. (Big sociological dictionary). Karolinum, Praha 1996. * ''Dyskusja postmodernistyczna w Czechach lat dziewięćdziesiątych.'' In: Hudzik, Jan P. – Mizińska, Jadwiga (eds.), Pamięć, mięjsce, obecność. Współczesne refleksje nad kulturą i ich implikacje pedagogiczne. Lublin: Wydawnictwo UMCS 1997, s. 187–196. * ''Zur Mythologie der Massenkultur in den postkommunistischen Gesellschaften. Eine soziologische Reflexion.'' In: Ivo Bock, Wolfgang Schlott, Hartmute Trepper (koncepce a redakce), Kommerz, Kunst, Unterhaltung. Die neue Popularkultur in Zentral- und Osteuropa. Bremen: Edition Temmen 2002, s. 23–50. * ''Společnosti pozdní doby''. (Societies of late time) SLON, Praha 2006, 459 pages, 339 Kč, . * ''Dějiny sociologie.'' (History of Sociology). Praha: Grada 2011, 236 pages, co-authors: Jan Balon, Tomáš Holeček, Michal Kotík, Jan Maršálek, Miroslav Paulíček a Marta Svobodová. * ''České sociální vědy v exilu.'' (Czech social sciences in exile). Praha: Sociologické nakladatelství (SLON) 2011, 291 pages. * ''Lifestyle in the Age of Liquid Modernity or the Consciousness of Necessity – Life in a Society of Keen Senses.'' In: Helena Kubátová et al., Ways of Life in the Late Modernity. Olomouc: Palacký University 2013, pp. 35–39. (posthumously)

Biography

Before 1989

After 1989

Bibliography

References

External links