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The role of the Western media in counterbalancing the revolutionary potential of the OWS and Los Indignados
Moreira Vieira, Gabriel ; Střítecký, Vít (advisor) ; Záhora, Jakub (referee)
Anti-hegemonic social movements have historically had a complicated and conflicting relationship with mainstream media, as it consistently undermines the emancipatory potential of these grassroots revolutionary movements, hence serving the interests of the dominant social forces of the hegemonic order. This work develops a comprehensive and critical analysis of the agency of mainstream media throughout the coverage of Occupy Wall Street (OWS) to understand how and why it consciously and relentlessly worked to neutralize the true dimension of the movement and its occupations, and thus to preserve the neoliberal capitalist world order from the ideological threat and the revolutionary challenge that OWS posed to it. Employing a historical materialist approach based on Gramsci's theory of hegemony - and the emphasis in the consensual aspect of power in the production of the hegemony that it entails - and its use in the study of world orders grounded in social relations, this work aims to investigate the mainstream media's active role in the building of the current neoliberal capitalist historic bloc, and its subservience to the hegemonic social forces throughout every stage of the coverage of OWS and its occupations: from the deliberate lack of interest and the total indifference in the movement to the...
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The Evolution and Political Impact of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street during Barack Obama's Presidency
Hushegyi, Ádám ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Raška, Francis (referee)
Barack Obama's administration inherited one of the most severe economic crises in the history of the United States, which severely undermined the American public's confidence in the country's political and economic future. Declining trust in the federal government and its handling of the economic recession gave rise to two influential movements, the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, which were thoroughly critical of the country's leadership. Both movements made use of a strong populist rhetoric and mobilized masses by denouncing the political and financial elites, calling for returning control over the country's fate into the hands of ordinary citizens. My master's thesis is an analysis of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street that focuses on the ideology and goals that drove these popular movements, as well as highlights the most crucial commonalities and differences between them. I argue in favor of interpreting the ideologies behind the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street as two distinct types of populism, in addition to which I emphasize the different degree of outside support the two movements enjoyed during their rise to prominence. To determine how influential the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street became during Barack Obama's presidency, I also study their relationship with the political...
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Geospatial Revolution: Location Based Services as a Medium for New Forms of Civic Activism
Čulíková, Martina ; Souček, Martin (advisor) ; Slussareff, Michaela (referee)
The diploma thesis is focused on Location Based Services technology and its use in the field of citizen activism. The aim of thesis is to define field of citizen activism and its old and new form, moreover to describe how LBS work. In the practical part is presented multi-case study which analyses 5 examples of use LBS as a medium for new forms of civic activism (project Let's Do It 2008, project Uchaguzi, project ESRI Australian Flood Map, application Appapa and Occupy Wall Street movement). Thesis also contained conceptual draft of application, which uses LBS for fulfilment of activist goals. The possible ways of progress of LBS are described in the last part.
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