Microhistory and the History of Working-Class Culture: Examples from Current Czech Research

The author uses microhistory to understand working class and working-class culture. The major drawbacks for microhistorical research are the small number of authentic primary sources from the lower social classes in the nineteenth century and the frequent political manipulation of sources related to the history of the working class and its interpretation in the twentieth century. The current state of research into themes using microhistorical methodology demonstrates a lack of thorough methodological debate and exposes prob- lems within Czech historiography. It is from this frame of reference that the author analyses the historiography of the past decades and suggests possible trends for microhistorical research. The article makes a number of references to works from Czech historical studies using microhistorical methods in working-class contexts.The author uses microhistory to understand working class and working-class culture. The major drawbacks for microhistorical research are the small number of authentic primary sources from the lower social classes in the nineteenth century and the frequent political manipulation of sources related to the history of the working class and its interpretation in the twentieth century. The current state of research into themes using microhistorical methodology demonstrates a lack of thorough methodological debate and exposes prob- lems within Czech historiography. It is from this frame of reference that the author analyses the historiography of the past decades and suggests possible trends for microhistorical research. The article makes a number of references to works from Czech historical studies using microhistorical methods in working-class contexts