Book Discussion: Streetscapes of War and Revolution: Prague, 1914 – 1920, by Claire Morelon

Session Submission Type: Book Discussion Roundtable

Brief Description

This roundtable discussion explores Claire Morelon's Streetscapes of Revolution: War and Change in Prague, 1914-1922 (Oxford University Press, 2023), a groundbreaking study of the First World War and imperial collapse as experienced and enacted in the streets of Prague. Moving beyond traditional top-down narratives, Morelon examines how the Habsburg state attempted to control urban space during wartime and how ordinary people, in turn, used the streets as a site of protest, mobilization, and ultimately, revolution. The roundtable will engage with the book's key contributions to our understanding of Central European history, including its innovative methodology of reading the city, its analysis of the wartime experience, and its exploration of the complex relationship between popular mobilization and state power. Participants will discuss how Streetscapes of Revolution sheds new light on the collapse of the Habsburg Empire, the emergence of Czechoslovakia, and the transformative impact of the First World War on urban life. We will also consider the broader implications of Morelon's work for the study of war, revolution, and urban space in other contexts.

Sub Unit

• History: 1900-1945

Chair

• Hugh LeCaine Agnew, George Washington U

Roundtable Speakers

• John D Deak, U of Notre Dame

• Kathryn E. Densford, U of Texas at Rio Grande Valley

• Ke-chin Hsia, Indiana U Bloomington

• Claire Morelon, U of Manchester (UK)