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"Fiat lux!" Public Lighting in Czech Towns in 19th and the Beginning of 20th Century
Jelínek, David ; Himl, Pavel (advisor) ; Pokludová, Andrea (referee)
The phenomenon of introducing public lighting in Czech cities is mainly associated with the increase in population in regionally important centres of industry, trade, craft, or administration. Unlike classical historiographical monographs, this work aims to investigate how the introduction of public lighting took place, who was involved in it, and what was at stake. Through the analysis of literary sources, particularly newspaper articles (both national and local) and archival records, the thesis seeks to highlight the attributes of light not only as a purely practical urban element, but also as a carrier of symbolic levels of security and progress. It is shown that light played an important role as a maintainer of security and prevented criminal behaviour by its presence. It is further revealed that light was a manifestation of civilization, education, and progress. Having public lighting on the streets was therefore not only a practical but also a symbolic issue. It was also reflected in the electoral programs of local political parties. It was not, however, the municipalities that incurred considerable costs in upgrading the lighting infrastructure (setting up gas plants, power stations, laying pipes); it was private entities that entered into contracts with municipalities for decades. However,...
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Patočka and Modernity: a study of Patočka's dialogue with Max Weber and its importance in the context of contemporary civilizational analysis
Homolka, Jakub ; Arnason, Johann Pall (advisor) ; Skovajsa, Marek (referee) ; Cajthaml, Martin (referee)
Patočka and Modernity Jakub Homolka Abstract: This thesis deals with the work of Jan Patočka (1907-1977), probably the most important Czech philosopher of the twentieth century, and with his understanding of modernity. More precisely, the thesis focuses on Patočka's work from the perspective of contemporary civilizational analysis, which leads our attention especially to Patočka's dialogue with the work of the German sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920). The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part introduces Patočka's work in general; it summarizes the situation of Patočka's heritage, subsuming existing findings and future challenges. The second part discusses the perspective of civilizational analysis, a subdiscipline of contemporary historical sociology, and explains the link between this field of research and Patočka's work. Finally, the third part presents an interpretation of Patočka's work which emphasizes the very perspective of civilizational analysis: the focus is on Patočka's dialogue with Weber's work, which is most notably expressed in the philosopher's idea of "rational civilization". In this way, the thesis contributes to the existing interpretations of Patočka's work as well as to the discussions of the theoretical concept of civilizational analysis. Key words: Jan Patočka; Max Weber;...
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"Disenchanted" Democracy at the Crossroads of Late Modernity (Two German Concepts)
Potocký, Tomislav ; Preuss, Ondřej (referee)
"Disenchanted" Democracy at the Crossroads of Late Modernity (Two German Concepts) Abstract The Thesis introduces two descriptions of democracy which represent recent contribution of German social science to the international academic discourse on the crisis of democratic governance in changing conditions of contemporary modernity. Specifically, these are the concepts of "simulative democracy" by Ingolfur Blühdorn and "decentered democracy" by Helmut Willke. Within the German academia, both social theorists are respected personalities; meanwhile in the Czech environment, their conceptualizations reaching beyond the normative borders of liberal democracy have not yet been reflected. The question whether liberal democracy is an adequate form of political self-organization of a society at its current stage of development is approached by each of the authors from a different analytical perspective: Blühdorn critically analyzes traditional intentions of the post-enlightenment democratization and its ambition towards the formation of emancipated and responsible citizen. He considers the evaluation of modern emancipatory processes as a necessary step before assessing prospects for an authentic and environmentally sustainable democratic order. The starting point for Willke's reflections on democratic forms of...
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Disenchanted" Democracy at the Crossroads of Late Modernity (Two German Concepts)
Potocký, Tomislav ; Kysela, Jan (advisor) ; Kosek, Jan (referee)
"Disenchanted" Democracy at the Crossroads of Late Modernity (Two German Concepts) Abstract The Thesis introduces two descriptions of democracy which represent recent contribution of German social science to the international academic discourse on the crisis of democratic governance in changing conditions of contemporary modernity. Specifically, these are the concepts of "simulative democracy" by Ingolfur Blühdorn and "decentered democracy" by Helmut Willke. Within the German academia, both social theorists are respected personalities; meanwhile in the Czech environment, their conceptualizations reaching beyond the normative borders of liberal democracy have not yet been reflected. The question whether liberal democracy is an adequate form of political self-organization of a society at its current stage of development is approached by each of the authors from a different analytical perspective: Blühdorn critically analyzes traditional intentions of the post-enlightenment democratization and its ambition towards the formation of emancipated and responsible citizen. He considers the evaluation of modern emancipatory processes as a necessary step before assessing prospects for an authentic and environmentally sustainable democratic order. The starting point for Willke's reflections on democratic forms of...
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Ambivalence of Identity: Cultural Traditions As a Theme in Contemporary Czech and Slovak Art
Maixner, Miroslav ; Klodová, Lenka (referee) ; Janečková,, Zuzana (referee) ; Zálešák, Jan (advisor)
The dissertation focuses on the phenomenon of a new presence of references to traditional folk culture in contemporary Czech and Slovak art. Emphasis is placed on the period from the year 2000 to the present. The core of the work consists of chapters devoted to artists who in this period significantly thematized various aspects of traditional folk culture, either as a partial element of specific projects or in the form of continuous interest in the field. The essence of this part is to show the breadth and heterogeneity of the examined manifestations across the media spectrum. The main purpose of the work is to analyze and place the researched phenomena in a relevant context within the theory and history of art. The reason is their different nature from thematically similar manifestations in the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, when compared with current trends abroad, a number of connections are shown, such as links to environmental issues, criticism of the state of society and, above all, to new issues related to personal and collective identification. Therefore, I base the analysis of these phenomena on a hybrid interdisciplinary basis using theoretical approaches to identity in the social sciences and humanities. I do so in the introductory theoretical chapters, but the main focus is on the final analytical synthesis. To a large extent, it also builds on data obtained from interviews with artists, the transcripts of which the reader will find in the appendix. Finally, the documentation of curatorial projects and exhibitions realized as a practical part of the dissertation project is attached.
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Modern states and genocides : the fate of Turkish Armenians and European Jews
Šeferna, Václav ; Kosek, Jan (advisor) ; Pithart, Petr (referee)
Modern states and genocides: the fate of Turkish Armenians and European Jews This thesis primarily explores the relationship between modernity, modern thinking and modern state on one hand and the Holocaust, Armenian genocide or other genocides, on the other. The purpose of my thesis is to answer the question whether a modern state can be considered a perpetrator of both these tragedies. Furthermore, in my thesis I investigate the causes of these genocides and mainly the influence of nationalism, bureaucracy and racism. The first part of the thesis is devoted to genocide and implementation this concept in international criminal law. I deal with the emergence of this concept and its subsequent development as an independent crime under international law. In the second part I deal with the classification of genocides. First, I deal with the typology of genocides by individual authors. I also examine the differences between traditional massacres and modern genocide, name the pivotal features of modern genocide and try to answer the question of whether it makes sense to use the term "traditional genocide" at all. In the next chapter I focus on the Armenian genocide. This part begins with a short introduction of the Armenians, a quick overview of their history and a description of the Armenian situation in the...
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