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The role of women in the world of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale & The Testaments
Beránková, Anna ; Topolovská, Tereza (advisor) ; Chalupský, Petr (referee)
This thesis is concerned with the world of The Handmaid's Tale (1985) and The Testaments (2019), works of Margaret Atwood. The dystopian theocratic totalitarian regime featured in these novels invites a socio-historical and anthropological analysis and interpretation from the perspective of the subjugated female characters. The theoretical part, introduced by an overview of Atwood's work, provides the reader with crucial information regarding the historical parallels which inspired the narrative, as well as a delimitation of relevant anthropological concepts, such as liminality or status reversal. Subsequently, using both the knowledge gathered in the theoretical and in Atwood's works, the rise of the fundamentalist cult of the Sons of Jacob and their project, the Republic of Gilead, is explained, and their ideology is uncovered in the first section of the practical part. Second part of the interpretation focuses on the position of women within the system that subjugates and oppresses them. The analysis is performed by the means of comparing and contrasting the ideal models of the positions of women as designed by the architects of the system with the actual application on the example of selected characters. The ultimate aims of this thesis are to prove the innate sexism and misogyny of the...
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Liminality and career termination among professional ice-hockey players
Neuman, Michal ; Numerato, Dino (advisor) ; Háková, Lucie (referee)
The bachelor thesis deals with the topic of termination of professional ice-hockey career. In particular, it focuses on the period of one's life, which comes after the termination or the decision about the termination of the career. It uses the concept of liminality, which allows focussing on the transition from the sport to post-sport life. Within the analysis, 6 semi- structured qualitative interviews have been done with the former professional ice-hockey players. Those were chosen for different characteristics, for the sample to be miscellaneous. In the transition period, the bachelor thesis focuses on the manifestations of liminality in particular. Those are for example the ambiguity of the individual, the anti-structure, the revaluation, rethinking one's self and the society and the experimenting with the new possibilities, which come to light in this phase of transition. The entry to the new social structure is also dealt with in this thesis. The involvement within the new structure is viewed by the concept of resocialization and the construction of identity. The analysis uses the method of qualitative content analysis with the usage of deductive category application. That means prior formulated categories were used and those were being connected with the text. At the end of this thesis, the...
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"Techno-communitas": Transformation of the Freetekno phenomenon from the perspective of Social and Cultural Anthropology
Beaufort, Martin ; Heřmanský, Martin (advisor) ; Jurková, Zuzana (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to provide a social anthropological analysis and interpretation of the freetekno party phenomenon in the Czech Republic from synchronic and diachronic perspective. The author bases his argument on both his own field research and professional literature on the topic. An extended case method serves as a basic methodological Framework. After introduction of selected theoretical concepts (music scene, neotribes, youth subculture, rites de passage, liminality and liminoidity, spontaneous communitas and rhizom) as well as outline of the current state of research in the area of study of the freetekno party phenomenon, there is an empirical part of the thesis which consists of two main parts: the historical-ethnographic and the analytical-interpretative. The first part describes the first rave party in Great Britain, expansion of this phenomenon in continental Europe, its adoption in the Czech Republic and its gradual evolution up to the present. The following part serves as an analytical-interpretation of the above-outlined situation and a subsequent socio-anthropological interpretation. Freetekno scene is described as neotribal rhizom and freetekno events are subsequently conceptualized as unique ritual processes. The transformation of the freetekno phenomenon is then...
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Liminality in modern society: Erasmus as a Rite de Passage
Picková, Iva ; Cirklová, Jitka (advisor) ; Morávková, Eva (referee)
This bachelor's thesis focuses on the topic of liminality in modern rites of passage which are represented here by the Erasmus+ programme. It looks at how some of its aspects differ from the liminal phase of ritual as described by Victor Turner. The work is based on research that took place during five-months studies at KTU (Kaunas University of Technology) in Lithuania within the frame of Erasmus study programme. The data was obtained through participant observation and also nine semi-structured interviews with other program participants. The research discovered that a change in liminal characteristics in modern rites of passage occurs through the globalization process. The thesis deals in detail with individual phenomena connected with the process of globalization. One of them is, for example, the development of modern technologies, which results in loosening of isolation of liminal persons and it also allows them to maintain contact with their home and the original structure. Another point is the reduction of space-time distances and the simplification of mobility, which also increases the sense of detachment from the structure of the society in which these liminal persons are located. Globalization also has an impact on the intensity of communities, because through the process of...
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From monasteries to men. The significance of monastic architecture and its art in the New Spain of 16th century
Brenišínová, Monika ; Křížová, Markéta (advisor) ; Štěpánek, Pavel (referee) ; Marek, Pavel (referee)
In my dissertation, I inquire into the phenomenon of monastic architecture and its plastic decoration in 16th century New Spain. The aim of this work is to present Mexican monasteries and their artistic significance. In my analysis, I build on the interpretation of monastic architecture from the perspective of early colonial society, I also reflect on the individual level, assessing its impact on the conquest and colonization of America. The methodology of this research project combines analysis of historical (e.g. study of historical sources) and art historical processes (iconological analysis of E. Panofsky) with analysis of anthropological concepts (e.g. rituals of transition of A. van Gennep, thick description of Cl. Geertz, concepts of liminality, structure and communitas of V. Turner). During my PhD studies, I conducted a field trip in Central Mexico (2013), supported by a grant from the Government of Mexico. I visited and documented one hundred and sixteen monasteries and the photographic documentation is the main empirical source of my analysis which further draws from the study of historical sources and academic literature. My research primarily focuses on three aspects: 1. the monastic architecture and art; 2. the role of the monastery in the process of European conquest and colonization...
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Sacrifice and initiation in the myths of Ódinn
Kozák, Jan ; Chlup, Radek (advisor) ; Antalík, Dalibor (referee) ; Starý, Jiří (referee)
This dissertation deals with the interpretation of four myths from early medieval Scandinavia, in which the main role is played by the god Óðinn. All four myths narrate how he achieved a state of permanent increase of his numinous knowledge. Based on the fact that the outcome of all of the narratives is the acquisition of the Mead of Poetry (or its equivalent), they can be percieved as "four reports on the same event". The analysis of myths itself has been executed in two steps: firstly the separate inquiry of the two more central myths and introduction of the other two followed by thorough analysis of the four together. All four myths demonstrate to a certain degree a presence of motifs and structures associated with the religious phenomena of sacrifice and initiation. By the means of said analysis the study reviews the systematic relations of the sacrificial and initiatory structures and postulates a common core which is subsequently named "monomyth".
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Question of Identity in The Impressionist and Baumgartner' s Bombay
Sehnalová, Kamila ; Topolovská, Tereza (advisor) ; Chalupský, Petr (referee)
This diploma thesis aims to depict the nature of identity formation in the main characters of two works of postcolonial literature, Hari Kunzru's The Impressionist and Anita Desai's Baumgartner's Bombay. The concept of identity is approached from two perspectives, the traditional and the postcolonial one. Apart from that, the reactions of the two characters to their identity crises are scrutinized. The goal of this thesis is to determine what consequences the extreme implementation of a fluid, therefore ideal postcolonial identity, and the fixed one, as its extreme opposite, might have upon human lives. Special attention is paid to the three terms crucial in the postcolonial theory, liminality, hybridity and mimicry and how they predetermine the characters of the two novels. The analysis shows that neither extreme approach proves to be viable or beneficial for the life of an individual.
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Short Non-Professional Film as a Genre of Contemporary Folklore. Options of Research on the Web in Anthropological and Sociological Perspective
Kubík, Milan ; Cirklová, Jitka (advisor) ; Hrůzová, Andrea (referee)
This exploratory study aims to determine short non-profesional film as a relevant object of study for anthropology and sociology. Firstly, short non-profesional film is defined as a product of popular culture, but it shares many characteristics with the commercial film. Subsequently, short non-profesional film is described as a distinctive genre of contemporary folklore. This definition will be based on its comparison with the characteristics of contemporary legends. Subsequently, the study shows, which symbolic functions could short non-pofesional film hold in society and thus help to set up its symbolic order. Film's main function is to bring limit experiences into everyday context of the viewer. In this way, the watching of short non-professional film becomes a rite of passage that gives to the audience the opportunity to experience the state of liminality - violation of order - through suspense. This tension, however, the viewer experiences in a safe symbolic world of the film itself. In the final catharsis, which is enhanced by an elliptical plot, then it release the tension and restore social order. This study is a combination of quantitative research and ethnography in cyberspace. The study brings the subjectivity of the researcher and also his essential reflexivity into the center of text...
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Pilgrimage legends in Bohemia in the Baroque period
Andršová, Tereza ; Chlup, Radek (advisor) ; Zdichynec, Jan (referee)
In this paper I deal with the cult of Virgin Mary in Bohemia in the period after the Battle of White Mountain, when there was a very significant rise in the Marian devotion and pilgrimage sites. Around the half of 17th century a substantial change in the social order occurred due to the Battle of White Mountain and subsequent consolidation of Habsburg power. This paper deals with the legends concerning the origin of the pilgrimage sites and the books of miracles. I based my interpretation mainly on the theory of Victor Turner. I was influenced also by a book by Mary Douglas Purity and Danger. I use the examples of Svatá Hora and Stará Boleslav to show how Marian pilgrimages respond to the socio-political changes. Pilgrimage legends managed to link different periods of Bohemian history and thus to legitimate the reinforcement of Catholicism as well as the Habsburg reign. They also managed to bridge social differences and release the social tension, since they involve people from all social classes and articulate a state where the social hierarchy is abolished.
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