56th ASEEES Annual Convention 2024

This panel explored the role of human science expertise - such as psychology, sociology, medicine (including psychiatry and sexology), criminology, and defectology—in shaping perceptions of delinquent teen girls, youth criminality, unwanted children, and sadistic women during the state socialist era in Czechoslovakia and Poland. 

Through analysis of archival materials and expert discourses, we aimed to elucidate the evolving understanding of individuals who deviated from socialist norms related to gender, health, and normalcy. Our discussion will delve into the methodologies employed by different fields of expertise, the diagnostic processes they utilized, and the solutions they proposed for addressing deviant behavior. 
Furthermore, we explored how knowledge circulated among various disciplines and transcended national borders, tracing shifts in perceptions over time. By centering our inquiry on human science expertise, our panel seeks to deepen insights into how state socialism interpreted and responded to deviant behavior and gender roles. 
 
Vjačeslav Glazov presented a paper Human sciences expertise solving the problem of youth criminality in state-socialist Czechoslovakia ; Kateřina Lišková presented a paper Unwanted children in Czechoslovakia and beyond; Theo Finsterschott presented a paper Sadistic Woman in State-Socialist Czechoslovakia: Nosological Continuities and Discontinuities. 
 
Our co-panelist was also Barbara Klich-Kluczewska (Jagiellonian University in Kraków) who presented a paper The troubled teen girls. Polish expert debate on juvenile delinquency in the context of women emancipation processes in the People's Republic of Poland.