Literary Ventures

The talk will focus on the evolution of Czech popular culture from its origins in the National Revival of the nineteenth century through communism and up to the present. He will cover the films, songs, books, and TV shows that every Czech knows by heart and what they tell us about Czech national character. The talk will conclude with a discussion of some recent controversies in Czech popular culture. Andrew Roberts is Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University and author of the book, From Good King Wenceslas to the Good Soldier Švejk: A Dictionary of Czech Popular Culture. In addition to writing on the politics of Eastern Europe, he follows popular culture in post-communist countries.