Abstract
The paper will, first, shortly summarize the origins of African studies in the Czech Lands in the 19th and early 20th century, within the context of the "colonial fantasies" of the Czechs and their aspirations for belonging among the "civilized", dominating European nations, and the subsequent development in the second half of the 20th century, that is, within the frame of the Cold War. The core of the presentation will rest in analyzing the role of African studies in Czech academia in the period after 1989.
The end of the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia brought about a paradigmatic shift. At the same time there was a sharp break with the previous ways of approaching the "Third World" and its problems.
And this, with respect to African studies, meant to certain degree closing and not opening of the horizons. At the same time, the revival of this specific branch of area studies in the past years needs to be understood in the broader political and cultural context.
