|
|
The Story of Czech Immigrants in USA and their Legacy from the End of the 19th Century to Present: The Identity and Everyday Life of a Small Town in Minnesota
ZAVADILOVÁ, Eva
The aim of this thesis is to describe the fates, sorrows and joys of Czech peasants (and their descendants) who decided to emigrate to the USA between the second half of the 19th century and the First World War, where they left a legacy that persists to these days. The first part of the thesis is devoted to the general history and knowledge of the emigration of Czechs to the USA, its causes and course. Using collected letters, pamphlets and archival records, it then attempts to reconstruct the journeys of emigrants from Bohemia to their new home across the ocean. The work then describes the various problems that the compatriots had to deal with immediately after landing in the United States, on their way to find available land or to build their homes. The thesis also depicts the efforts to create expatriate communities and societies along with the traditions that Czech immigrants brought with them. The second part focuses on a specific town in Minnesota, but also mentions nearby settlements and towns whose names attest to the Czech origins of their founders. The work focuses on the history of New Prague and its surroundings, associations and traditions that are connected to Czech cultural heritage and still play an important role in maintaining the Czech-American identity of the local population. With the help of the informations from local residents, the thesis seeks to capture and then analyse their perception of their Czech origins and their efforts to maintain awareness of Czech culture and language. Finally, the thesis will focus on specific events and festivals in and around New Prague that serve as evidence of the continuing awareness of Czech culture among Americans.
|
|
| |
|
|
The motif of death in art in the years 1890-1918
Heřmánková, Klára ; Pech, Milan (advisor) ; Bendová, Eva (referee)
The aim of the bachelor's thesis is to deal with the motive of death in the visual arts at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The work introduces and analyzes various motives related to death and dying and their changes over the course of twenty years. It follows the content shift of these motives, such as the frequency of their occurrence, their connection with the development of society etc. Last but not least, the work introduces the topic from a sociological point of view, and therefore touches on statistical data on mortality and common causes of death in the years 1890 to 1910, etc.
|
|
|
Bedřich Vašek and the "Christian Sociology" in the Context of the Development of the Church's Social Teaching in the First Half of the 20th Century. Implications for the 21st Century
M. Demartini, Lenka ; Ovečka, Libor (advisor) ; Štica, Petr (referee) ; Halama, Jindřich (referee)
The dissertation seeks an answer to the question of the content of the somewhat paradoxical phrase "Christian sociology", specifically the content of Christian sociology as conceived by the Moravian scholar of the first half of the 20th century Bedřich Vašek (1882-1959). At the same time, however, as a result of the insights brought by the research itself, the original thesis was supplemented by the question of the current state of this specific rejuvenating field. The idea of Christian sociology remained virtually dormant from the 1950s until the later 1970s. The revival of the field can be seen as an apparent response to both the methodological changes of the Second Vatican Council and the advent of postmodern society. The research has provided a wealth of stimuli for exploring the relationship between the historical phenomenon of Christian sociology and contemporary notions of the Christian or Catholic perspective in sociology and, more broadly, the relationship between the social doctrine of the Church, theology and sociology in international and domestic settings. Through a specifically chosen methodological approach, which combines the study of authentic papal documents from the first half of the 20th century, the study of archival materials related to the person of Bedřich Vašek, the...
|
|
| |
|
|
Y. I. Zamyatin's novel We and its reception in Western literature
Sokolová, Dominika ; Hlaváček, Antonín (advisor) ; Vasilyeva, Elena (referee)
This bachelor's thesis describes Zamyatin's novel We and its influence on Western literature. The theoretical part of this thesis further defines the genre of dystopian fiction and examines its main features, introduces the author, his life and the historical and social contexts of this novel. It also delves into the specifics of other literary works that have been strongly inspired by We. The practical part deals with the literary analysis of the novel and compares it to various other influential dystopian fiction works of the 20th century, from both the thematic and linguistic point of view. The goal of this thesis is to show the timelessness of Zamyatin's novel, emphasize his legacy for the future generations and find similarities or differences in the interpretation of totalitarian regimes in Eastern and Western literature. KEYWORDS dystopia, totalitarianism, 20th century, literary analysis, George Orwell, 1984
|
|
| |
|
|
The ambiguity of the narrative structure in Daniel Keyes' Flowers for Algernon
Jelen, Vojtěch ; Higgins, Bernadette (advisor) ; Ženíšek, Jakub (referee)
This thesis aims to discuss the key narrative features in the short story and novel Flowers for Algernon through the lens of two different narrative frameworks. The first will focus on the traditionally established three-act structure widely recognised as standard in Western fiction. The second will analyse the work from the angle of kishotenketsu, the four-act structure of Oriental literature. The theoretical part will contain a brief description of both narrative structures, noting their main properties. In the practical part, the story will be analysed using both of the described frameworks to highlight the ambiguous nature of its plot progression. KEYWORDS Science fiction, Flowers for Algernon, 20th century, narrative structure, literary analysis, Daniel Keyes
|
|
|
Reflection of Napoleon in Czech literature at the beginning of the 20th century
Chadraba, David ; Vlnas, Vít (advisor) ; Pokorný, Jiří (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to acquaint the reader with Czech literature dealing with the person of Napoleon Bonaparte from the beginning of the 19th century to the first third of the 20th century. Furthermore, to objectively capture and try to explain the main views of the authors, which were reflected in their literary works. The thesis deals with the reflection of the person of Napoleon Bonaparte in Czech literature and is shaped to outline the development of the reflection of the French emperor from the beginning of the 19th century to the first third of the 20th century. The gradual chronological synthesis emphasizes key authors and their breakthrough literary works. Selected authors active at the beginning of the last century, namely Jan Miloslav Kryštůfek, Josef Svatopluk Machar and František Josef Čečetka, are subjected to key reflection. The analysis of the works with Napoleonic themes by the selected authors is complemented by the historical context of the time and the introduction of other authors who dealt with the same topic. At the beginning of the thesis, the possibilities of approaching a literary work as a source are presented. This chapter is expanded by an analysis of an essay by Lion Feuchtwanger dealing with the relationship between historical fiction and history. This...
|
|
|
Dispute of Sázava glassworks after Josef Kavalier's death
Havlová, Kateřina ; Pokorná, Magdaléna (advisor) ; Foltýn, Dušan (referee)
In the year 1835, František Kavalír founded glassworks in Sázava. It managed to prosper enough to take part in various international glass exhibition (for example in Paris and London) despite all obstacles, including natural ones. Sázava glassworks functioned without larger problems until the year 1903 when Josef, the son of František Kavalír, died. Since in his last will, there was written that his son Vladimír, who worked with his father on the operation of the factory for twenty years, was not to inherit the factory, instead he was to become a mere administrator, the ownership was to be given to Josef's grandson Vladimír Josef who needed to be of age at the time of his father's passing. Otherwise, the factory was to pass to Marie Srbová, daughter of Josef. But Vladimír Kavalier died in 1919 and his wasn't of age yet. Srb brothers had taken advantage of their mother's father's last will and started to demand Sázava glassworks. In the twenties of 20th century, both families led highly expansive judicial inquiry that culminated in indebtedness of both families up till the year 1941 when it came to the loss of all four existing glassworks. Thanks to the sources provided by Archive of the Czech National Bank and State Regional Archives Kutná Hora I will be able to use the direct method (study of the...
|
guest ::
