Collecting and Identity. Meanings and Interpretations
Kapitola“A Museum of Vanity and Life” – Queer Collecting and Its Reproduction in the Era of State Socialism
Rok vydání: 2026https://doi.org/10.5817/CZ.MUNI.P280-0874-2026-9
Abstrakt
The paper examines the formation and reproduction of queer collections in Czechoslovakia during the era of state socialism. It explores how collecting practices functioned as a means of preserving memories, experiences, and identities that remained largely absent from official cultural institutions. Particular attention is devoted to the ways in which queer individuals and communities created alternative forms of cultural memory and transmitted them across generations despite social marginalisation and political constraints. The study demonstrates that collections served not only as repositories of objects but also as instruments of self-representation and belonging. By analysing the reproduction of queer collecting in the Czechoslovak context, the chapter highlights the role of collections in negotiating identity and safeguarding cultural memory beyond official narratives.
Klíčová slova
Czechoslovakia, queer collecting, cultural memory, state socialism, identity