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Jaký obraz člověka nabízejí současné společenské a humanitní vědy? Tato otázka je středobodem zájmu autorského kolektivu, v němž má své zastoupení sociologie, antropologie, filosofie, historiografie, andragogika, psychologie i evoluční biologie. Ač je publikace jako celek svým zaměřením především teoretická, v jednotlivých kapitolách nalezneme množství konkrétních příkladů z reálného světa: od umění a vážení přes čtverylku a hokej až po panenku Barbie či vztah lidí k horám. Kniha ukazuje, že obrazy člověka v různých oborech nejsou zcela nesourodé, ale že naopak umožňují vzájemné obohacení. Nejde o soupeřící „pohledy“ na tentýž předmět zájmu, ale spíše o možnost mezi jednotlivými společenskovědními „hrami“ svobodně volit – s vědomím toho, že každá z nich má nejen své meze a pravidla, ale i svůj vlastní půvab.

This collection of fourteen (auto)biographically oriented texts has been published to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Arts at the Charles University in Prague. Eleven texts written specifically for this publication and three reprinted texts compose a detailed account of the historical development, as well as personal reflections of the founding scholar personalities and students from the sixties. In the introduction, Markéta Sedláčková provides a brief overview of all chapters, and notes that science is not only about impacted publications, but also about peoples'fates, encounters and clashes. This is precisely the idea behind the collection. The first part captures the authentic perspective of the founding generation, memories of the two great women Jiřina Šiklová and Jitka Havlová, and contributions dedicated to the “-ek splendid trio” – Eduard Urbánek, Jan Sedláček and Miloslav Petrusek. The second part is composed of reflections of the Department's history from early students'point of view (many of them later becoming teachers as well). First part of the collection is opened with the text by Jiřina Šiklová, who was amongst the founding members of the Department of Sociology. She describes the foundation of the Department in 1965 in broader context of the fate of sociology as a discipline in the post-1948 communist Czechoslovakia. As she notes, in the mid-1960's, the Department members may have lacked expertise and scientific background, but they were filled with excitement in the rebirth of their discipline. Next are two texts dedicated to the Department's first head, Eduard Urbánek: psychologist Jaromír Janoušek – Urbánek's life‑ long friend – and sociologist Jiří Šubrt – Urbánek's grateful student – sketch out the picture of his personality and scientific interests in a complementary manner. Both of them agree that amongst Urbánek's central topics, the substantial question of social role, personality, freedom and historical context were always present. Three following chapters are reprinted from earlier publications. Fourth chapter, written by the late Miloslav Petrusek, is a commentary on the work of his colleague Jan Sedláček. Sedláček's very humble, but brave approach to life and sociology is a topic of the following contribution, which is an interview with him being an expert on history of sociology and social philosophy. The sixth chapter represents a beautiful academic “vengeance” as Jan Sedláček commemorates vast work and life‑ long contributions of Miloslav Petrusek to Czech sociology. Alena Miltová, Petrusek's wife and founder of the Czech Sociological Publishing House, recalls the love of her husband for fiction, which was for him an important source of sociological knowledge. Jitka Havlová closes the first part of the book with a text that provides valuable personal insights on the Department's history, as well as represents a testimony of the sensitive teacher's experiences. Second part of the collection is open by playful and humorous contribution of Richard Růžička, one of the early students of sociology in the late 1960's and also one of the teachers still teaching today. Růžička considers the times of his studies (1966–1972) as especially epoch‑ making for the entire Czechoslovak society, and reflects on some of its implications. In the tenth chapter, Tatjana Šišková highlights the friendly vibe at the Department, not only among the students, but also in the student–teacher relationships, and vividly describes the turbulent year 1968 and the atmosphere after Jan Palach's self‑ immolation. Following text by Věra Majerová describes the growing doubt and unsafety in the Czechoslovak academia during the 1970's, as well as the emergence of the underground scholar institutions. Jana Duffková, one of the post-1989 teachers at the Department, dedicates her text to her own teachers “with love”, but does n