Book Review of Píchová, Hana: The Case of the Missing Statue: A Historical and Literary Study of the Stalin Monument in Prague

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2017-01-01
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Zarecor, Kimberly
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Zarecor, Kimberly
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Agricultural Education and Studies

The Department of Agricultural Education and Studies was formed in 1989 as a result of the merger of the Department of Agricultural Education with the Department of Agricultural Studies. Its focus includes two these fields: agricultural education leading to teacher-certification or outreach communication; and agricultural studies leading to production agriculture or other agricultural industries.

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The Department of Agricultural Education and Studies was formed in 1989 from the merger of the Department of Agricultural Education and the Department of Agricultural Studies.

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1989–present

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Architecture

The Department offers a five-year program leading to the Bachelor of Architecture degree. The program provides opportunities for general education as well as preparation for professional practice and/or graduate study.

The Department of Architecture offers two graduate degrees in architecture: a three-year accredited professional degree (MArch) and a two-semester to three-semester research degree (MS in Arch). Double-degree programs are currently offered with the Department of Community and Regional Planning (MArch/MCRP) and the College of Business (MArch/MBA).

History
The Department of Architecture was established in 1914 as the Department of Structural Design in the College of Engineering. The name of the department was changed to the Department of Architectural Engineering in 1918. In 1945, the name was changed to the Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering. In 1967, the name was changed to the Department of Architecture and formed part of the Design Center. In 1978, the department became part of the College of Design.

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1914–present

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  • Department of Structural Design (1914–1918)
  • Department of Architectural Engineering (1918–1945)
  • Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering (1945–1967)

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Agricultural Education and StudiesArchitecture
Abstract

In this intriguing and at times frustrating study, Hana Píchová makes a compelling case for the Stalin Monument in Prague as both an object and an idea in physical space and cultural consciousness. The book came about with Píchová’s unexpected acquisition of a cache of unpublished photographs of the 1955 monument as it was slowly being demolished in 1962. Taken secretly by Josef Klimeš, the last surviving sculptor to have worked on the project, he hid them for decades since photography had been banned during the year-long demolition process. He gave them to Píchová after an interview in 2012. Of this encounter, Píchová writes that “his patient explanations of the [monument’s] technical aspects […] made me appreciate the endeavor in spite of its political symbolism” (p. 5). This statement encapsulates Píchová’s binary approach, which is to contrast the monument’s overwhelming physicality and technical complexity with its sinister symbolic presence both in the past and present.

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This book review is published as Book Review of Hana Pichova, The Case of the Missing Statue: A Historical and Literary Study of the Stalin Monument in Prague. Bohemia-Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Kultur der böhmischen Länder, vol. 57, no. 1 (2017): 246-249. Doi: 10.18447/BoZ-2017-4252. Posted with permission.

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Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2017
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