Re-Establishment of the Society for Social Research in the 1990s

Abstract

The Society for Social Research was a scientific society that contributed significantly towards the development of Czech sociology in the pre-Marxist era. Its members cultivated modern empirical methods and rejected the “priest-like” approach of the majority of contemporary sociologists. However, unlike the latter, this somewhat exclusivist society was, paradoxically, not dissolved after the Communist takeover even though many of its members were opponents of the regime (some of whom fled to safety abroad). The society was closed down only in 1980 after the death of its two chairmen; it was subsequently re-established by surviving members after the fall of communism in 1989/90. The Society for Social Research considered itself a non-Marxist alternative to the leading sociological organizations of the time which it condemned for their communist roots. However, the Society struggled for significant scientific or social success. It completed only one piece of empirical research and promoted a certain amount of popular education; its membership was small and the Society became practically a “one man show” dominated by its chairman, the late Bohumil Geist. The Society fell into decline and finally closed down when Geist became ill in 2003.