Cowboys and Bohemians

Recreation, Resistance, and the Tramping Movement in West Bohemia

Authors

  • James Symonds University of Amsterdam
  • Pavel Vařeka University of West Bohemia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.v1i1.165

Keywords:

contemporary archaeology, tramping movement, woodland recreation, cultural resistance, Czech Republic, Bohemia

Abstract

In this paper we examine a prominent but little studied aspect of everyday life in Central Europe, the Czech tramping movement. We aim to show how workers and students from Czech industrial towns and cities created and sustained imaginary rural spaces and flamboyant alternative personas. In some cases these shared fantasy worlds were understood to be a simple leisure pursuit. In other instances tramping activity was a form of resistance and provided a means of escape from the monotony of everyday life, and political repression by the Communist authorities.

Author Biographies

  • James Symonds, University of Amsterdam

    Professor of Historical Archaeology, Department of Archaeology University of Amsterdam (Netherlands).

  • Pavel Vařeka, University of West Bohemia

    Docent in Historical Archaeology Department of Archaeology University of West Bohemia, Pilsen (Czech Republic).

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Published

2014-09-23

Issue

Section

Research Article

How to Cite

Symonds, J., & Vařeka P. (2014). Cowboys and Bohemians: Recreation, Resistance, and the Tramping Movement in West Bohemia. Journal of Contemporary Archaeology, 1(1), 165-193. https://doi.org/10.1558/jca.v1i1.165