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Overview

I am a postgraduate researcher and MPhil candidate at Cardiff University, specialising in  Normalisation in Czechoslovakia. 

My thesis, entitled ‘The Rudolf Battěk Case of Non-Conformity in Normalised Czechoslovakia' is a case study of political trials in Czechoslovakia during Normalisation, 1969-1989. I focus on the repeated experience of the sociologist and non-conformist politician, Rudolf Battěk.

I am a member of the British Czech and Slovak Association (BCSA), the Czech National Trust (CNT), and the Royal Historical Society (RHS). I am a registered reader at the Bodleian Libraries.

Research

Thesis

‘The Rudolf Battěk Case of Non-Conformity in Normalised Czechoslovakia'

My thesis, entitled ‘The Rudolf Battěk Case of Non-Conformity in Normalised Czechoslovakia' is a case study of political trials in Czechoslovakia during Normalisation, 1969-1989. I focus on the repeated experience of the sociologist and non-conformist politician, Rudolf Battěk. His experience with extended periods of detention in 1969, 1971, 1979, 1980, and 1989 provides a scope to view the experience of non-conformists (often labeled 'dissidents' by Western media) and the use of the judicial system in aiding repression of a cohesive human rights agenda within the country.

My research approaches the 'dissident' problem which has permeated the historiography over the previous few decades and will question the narrow narrative that has arisen regarding non-conformists, triangulating conclusions using sources from Security Police (StB) and state material, non-communist and western 'Eurocommunist' media, and testimonies/documentation from the non-conformists themselves. My approach uses the extensive access to the StB archives that I have been granted, and analysis of the legal aspect of the judgments against the non-conformists.

Funding sources

Self-funded, with support from the Chizel Educational Trust, and a grant from the Bill John Travel Scholarship (administered through Cardiff University).

Biography

I am a postgraduate researcher and MPhil candidate at Cardiff University, specialising in Normalisation in Czechoslovakia. I previously read my undergraduate degree (History BA (Hons)) at Cardiff University. I have studied the Czech language at three universities in the Czech Republic, Palacký University in Olomouc, Masaryk University in Brno, and Charles University at the campus in Poděbrady.

Professional memberships

  • British Czech and Slovak Association (BCSA)
  • Czech National Trust (CNT)
  • Postgraduate Member, Royal Historical Society (RHS).
  • Reader, Bodleian Libraries.

Speaking engagements

  • Speaker on the Communist Repression panel, Czechoslovak Studies Group Conference 2021 (University of Oxford)

Supervisors

Mary Heimann

Mary Heimann

Professor of Modern History, Deputy Head of History

Tetyana Pavlush

Tetyana Pavlush

Lecturer in Modern European History

Research themes

Specialisms

  • European history
  • 20th Century
  • Czech history

External profiles