Recent Czech Sociological Publications in 1995.

This article comments on several Czech books on sociology published in 1995. There is still very little pure sociological literature, with most books lying somewhere on the boundaries between sociology and philosophy, aesthetics, history, political science, or even theology. There is still no systematic study of the process of transformation of Czech society. There is a lack of basic theoretical work and as yet there are no books dealing with the history of sociology as a whole, or with major figures in world sociology. The demand for popular guides and simple works of introduction is gradually being met and there are many such works on the market; while the need for such works is undeniable, there are still no specialist monographs on the horizon. There is a much needed move towards a greater variety of paradigms within the sociological community--the monolithic Marxism is giving way to more clear-cut theoretical and methodological approaches. This process is, however, only marginally reflected in books produced and then generally only in aesthetic terms. It is not the simple mastery of methodology that determines the value of a sociological statement, nor the grandiloquent theoretical rhetoric of the post-modern fog of words, but rather the gravity of the subject and the individual way it is understood.