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The bra in a culturological perspective
Reichelová, Kateřina ; Czumalo, Vladimír (advisor) ; Hubáček, Ondřej (referee)
This thesis is a presentation of the bra in a culturological perspective. It gives an overview of the historical, technological and current socio-cultural context of the garment and suggests an empirical study that would help to answer the question why women wear bras. The bra is a cultural element that is perceived by most people living in current western society as an integral part of everyday life. For many women it is an essential component of their wardrobe. However, it plays more roles than that of a practical "gadget". The brassiere is, in its own way, a social phenomenon; a multidimensional entity that can be viewed from many different angles and in different contexts. The thesis compiles basic information on the origins, evolution and functions of the bra. The first part presents the most important milestones in the history and development of clothing of the shaping of the female bust before invention of the bra. The second part of the paper presents the evolution of the bra as an element of the material part of current western culture. Section three considers the changes in attitude toward the brassiere and its symbolism during the 100 or so years of its existence; namely in the framework of the women's emancipation movement and the feminist/gender discourse. It focuses on three periods: the end...
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Man and landscape in culturological perspective
Hubeňáková, Julie ; Czumalo, Vladimír (advisor) ; Lapka, Miloslav (referee)
This thesis focuses on the border land on the Czech-Austrian border. It deals with the development of the landscape from a geomorphological point of view and against a social and cultural background and development of major historical events also trying to show the development of cultural landscape. Particular attention is paid to specific villages, whose fate in the 50th affected local scenery very much. Work points to the possibility of studying the relationship between man and landscape in the perspective of cultural studies. At the end it shows and offers strategies of reanimation and possibilities of protecting the values that this landscape is.
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Function of the pilgrimage in history of European culture
Lebedová, Šárka ; Matějů, Martin (referee) ; Czumalo, Vladimír (advisor)
We surely can maintain that peregrination is as old as mankind itself. Since the dawn of Christian events, pilgrimage is an universal phenomenon closely tied to European culture, mainly thanks to long-ago wanderings to Rome and Santiago de Compostela. Today, Santiago de Compostela is protected by UNESCO and the so called 'Camino Francés' is accepted as allegedly the first European pilgrimage trail. The immemorial pilgrimage trails of Saint James form the key historical and symbolical system of Spanish and Galician trails across regions and countries. They amalgamate Europeans as subjects and witnesses of their common past and present. The main source of information putting a seal upon it is the Codex Calixtinus, one of the crucial world-renowned pieces of medieval writings. The 'Way of Saint James' became most popular in the eighties, in paradox endangering Santiago de Compostela with all the downsides of mass tourism. In this perspective the year 1993 constitutes an important landmark, which marks the beginning of modern religious wandering in the region. In effect, the devotional pilgrims became tourists themselves, unwittingly growing and creating a specific travel product.
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Fado in the context of the city Lisbon
Kuhnová, Kristýna ; Matějů, Martin (referee) ; Czumalo, Vladimír (advisor)
The thesis focuses on the Lisbon cultural phenomenon of the traditional urban music, fado, with an emphasis on its professional practice. The paper informs about different cultural/historical approaches to the origins and evolution of fado music in the city of Lisbon, stressing the point of view of the Portuguese musicologist Rui Vieira Nery. It then moves on to explain the impact of dictatorship and later Salazar's fascist regime on the professionalization of fado during the years 1926 - 1974, which entailed a radical change of status of a fadista artist, who was abruptly separated from the original popular practise of fado. The next chapter focuses on the history of specific places of professional fado performance called fado houses, which emerged during the 1930s. The theoretical knowledge of the chapters "History of Fado Music", "Professionalization of Fado Music" and "History of Fado Houses" unites in a case study of a fado house called Mesa de Frades in the historical quarter of Lisbon - Alfama. The case study is based on a two-month field research in the city of Lisbon and aims at fado as a performance genre involving performers and audience in a communicative process using verbal, musical, facial and bodily expression. It includes observation of the musical roles of fado performers and their mode of...
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Wandering trought Genius loci (Cultural landscape of Bohemia)
Dryjová, Eva ; Opletalová, Lenka (referee) ; Czumalo, Vladimír (advisor)
The thesis focuses on landscape in the context of culture, or "cultural landscape" from the perspective of genius loci - "spirit of a place" - which on one hand consists of unique subjective feelings, yet also transcends subjectivity. At one level the atmosphere of a place is created by nature. However, at another level the presence of the human element is indispensable - "dead men" determine the overall spirit of each location. The overall spirit is thus an expression how landscapes appropriate us. (From this perspective the spirit of the place is not just a fleeting and purely subjective impression, but an expression of the fact that, in a manner of speaking, we are appropriated by the land ourselves.) This thesis discusses in fact two different points of view: the anthropological perspective (the subject produces nature, nature produces the subject) and the perspective of the landscape itself (landscape has its own quality - from nature's own point of view the Baroque period is a meaningless term). In order to study genius loci it is necessary to find some tools to help us describe it within the context of human history and culture. One possibility is to start with a description of cultural landscape. The theoretical explanations in the chapter "The Historical Developement of Landscape as of a Natural...
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The new age of the old self - the New Age spirituality in the light of Advaitic teaching
Masojídek, Milan ; Matějů, Martin (referee) ; Czumalo, Vladimír (advisor)
This work deals with a phenomenon of New Age movement and summarizes its fundamental visions. Afterwards these visions are interpreted in context of spiritual teaching and practicing of Advaita Vedanta. This approach enables studying of New Age spirituality from existential point of view and one gains an idea about its position not only in terms of eternal contemporary selfsearching but also more complex in terms of specific situation of modern man and his culture due to culturologic perspective. New Age within the scope of such approach appears as an environment where one can live more spiritually and which can be good base on a journey of deep spiritual understanding due to emphasis on individual selfsearching, freedom, internal responsibility and idea of Unity. However, for this seems to be necessary to step out of limited and comfortable New Age category - if it is comfortable mainly for ego and its needs, valuables and interrelated category of limited individual thinking. It is a level on the journey of understanding which has to be leaved as well as "searching" itself provided that the understanding would be fully realized. Such conclusion challenges deeper culturologic reflection of category or more likely of manifestations or statuses of odd principle of conscious existence and their relation to the...
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Franken and their culture
Klemová, Tereza ; Matějů, Martin (referee) ; Czumalo, Vladimír (advisor)
Franken (Franconia) are a historical area in Germany, today included in Bavaria. In early Middle Ages it was occupied by Franconia tribes, and became a part of Frankish empire. Franconia was a country of bondsmen, aristocracy (Castell, Hohenzollern, Schwarzenberg, Seckendorf), agricultural and nonindustrial land. The inhabitans are still proud of theirs origin, traditions and their way of life, behaviour. They have their own flag, national anthem, secular trend to constitute a separate state again. Franconia is consisting of three parts, Upper, Middle and Lower Franconia, which are specific with dialect, climatic conditions, special beer and wine districts. In Franconie exist many interesting places, conservation areas, every town is different of agriculture, political, economical, culture and social structures. Frankish cuisine is world-famous, typical is frankish roasted carp. Francoria has the most density of brewery all over the world and velvety frankish wine, called Bockbeutel. Customs, rules and habits are adhered up to date.
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The phenomenon of a stranger in male and female culture
Kučerová, Jitka ; Czumalo, Vladimír (referee) ; Soukup, Václav (advisor)
Modern society does not support variety. Globalization proves this and it affects gender, as well. Society tends to negate variety and reacts inappropriately - by segregation, ridicule, suspicion, etc. Variety is still understood as something of little value. This work studies the issue of variety in gender, whose problems it compares to problems of a stranger. It analyzes both issues in the perspective of modern Western society and offers the analogy of gender issue and the issue of a stranger. This analogy is outlined in three major areas of social life: family x society, specific male and female occupations, and partner relationships. Our work especially stresses tolerance and willingness to find what is realistic in contrast to prejudices. Any kind of discrimination not only disturbs the discriminated but also the discriminating. The obscurity of gender roles in modern times and difficulties in understanding these roles lead to negative effects for both sexes, including a lack of freedom.
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Sociocultural impacts of the destruction of the od town Most
Rak, Ondřej ; Matějů, Martin (referee) ; Czumalo, Vladimír (advisor)
The thesis Sociocultural Impacts of the Destruction of the Old Town Most analyzes the circumstances and situation that arose after the destruction the historical town Most. The thesis approaches the topic via the description of the original situation, analysis of the consequences of the destruction and via outlining the possibilities of potential solutions of the current situation. Historical resources mapping the topic were used to describe the situation. The current state was analyzed via a field study mapping attitudes of the participants who went through the situation. Potential proposals to solve the situations were outlined with the help of foreign case studies related to the topic. Czech cultural context was taken into an account for this purpose. The thesis suggests that the decision to destroy the old town Most has left severe and irreversible consequences in many aspects. The consequences are to be seen in the context of historical, cultural, ecological, psychological and sociological levels.
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Film festival
Šedivá, Kristina ; Soukup, Václav (referee) ; Czumalo, Vladimír (advisor)
The theme of this thesis is the film festival from historical and contemporary perspective. The first chapters are mainly focused on the development and decosecration of festivities, sabbaths and celebrations. I have conducted an analysis of the ancient official sabbaths focusing on the process of a gradual separation of sabbaths and folklore festivities, in which order and formality are suppressed, from those festivities which have standing order and rules. As a connecting thread between the traditional festivities and contemporary form of the festivals I have chosen the theme of spontaneity, liberation from hierarchical relations, norms and commitments. Further more I was looking for an interconnection based on the ritualistic behavior of festival and festivity participants. I found a certain similarity between the ritualistic behavior of traditional community members, people from the Middle Ages, renaissance era, and modern contemporary society. I have observed forms of ritualistic behavior among festival visitors particularly those visiting Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. For several years I have been professionally involved with this Festival and simultaneously have had the opportunity to compare KV IFF with other Czech and European festivals, which I attend regularly.
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