Popular Music Studies in the Context of Post-Communist Historiography in the Czech Republic

Abstract

The contribution focuses on the transformations of the field of Popular Music Studies in the Czech Republic within the transition to a post-communist historiography, both in academic and non-academic discourse. Attention is paid to the changes of the contents of the field of Popular Music Studies, specifically its conception and interpretation of popular music history, including thematic preferences and evaluative standards. In this respect, the paper will discuss the key determinants of Czech post-communist popular music historiography, especially in the form of the impact of authority figures, such as a dissident, writer, philosopher and president Vaclav Havel, who strongly influenced Czech humanities by his holistic concept of the function of art and music, based on the dialectical relation of aesthetic, noetic and ethical aspects, namely, relation of an artistic beauty, a true reflection of a specific reality and a service to a moral good.