Prázdný čas a dějiny. Časopisy Orientace, Spektrum, Česká literatura

This study focuses on problems associated with the so called search for a language of the history of ‘normalisation’. In order to examine discussions contemporary to the period in question and comprised of a multiplicity of perspectives, the author focuses on three journals ranging from official institu tional platform to samizdat [underground self published] magazine, namely Orientation, Spectrum, and Czech Literature. Bringing together various conflicting attitudes, these journals of the late 1960s point to a number of possible interpretations of the period of normalisation. Within this framework, the author draws attention to the spirit of controversy in which the conceptual framework of these journals was formed – even during the period of normalisation –, based on the opinions of individuals and groups both inside and outside the institutional context.