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A Hegemonic City: Discursive approach to ideology and dominance in development and planning of post-socialist Prague
Orcígr, Václav ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Vacková, Barbora (referee) ; Naxera, Vladimír (referee)
Late capitalist society is dominated by specific attributes of neoliberal ideology, which are inscribed in various ways in the politics of governance in the context of geographical location, political and social organization, economic situation, and other parameters. Discourse plays a specific role in the reproduction and legitimation processes of ideology. This thesis elaborates a theoretical approach to ideological dominance in the topic of urban development, specifically post-socialist Prague. The latter, as an urban space that has undergone major changes of post-revolutionary transformation, becomes a specific arena in which the discursive manifestations of various actors contribute to the production of theoretically identified (and also other yet unrecognized) patterns of dominant ideology. These, in turn, create a discursive field in which reproductive and legitimizing schemas are produced that contribute to the fact that the theme of urban development serves as one of the significant means that reinforce the global hegemonic position of neoliberal capitalism. The thesis builds on Pierre Bourdieu's theoretical approach to identify the actor field within which the processes of reproduction and legitimation occur, and works with Bourdieu's theory of ideological domination, which he developed...
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Transformation of the Post-Socialist Identity in Eastern Europe: A Comparative Analysis on the Cases of the Czech Republic and Belarus
Pyatkevich, Aryna ; Hrůzová, Andrea (advisor) ; Pergl, David (referee)
Once the Soviet Union ceased to exist, its subjects and dominions gained the ability to determine their course of political, cultural, and economic development. The never-ending transition to democracy, described by Boris Buden, is one of the key elements of post-communism. Yet, while the countries that had been the part of Eastern Bloc but not part of the Soviet Union itself were reasonably successful on their path to democratic capitalistic development, the former dominions struggled to incorporate the values that came with what Madina Tlostanova describes as a process of forced westernization. The following paper explores the problem of post-socialistic identity transformation in Central Europe in the case of the Czech Republic and post-soviet identity transformation in Eastern Europe in the case of Belarus. The qualitative research is built on the accessed collective memory of those who work within institutions of memory on the level permitted by the governing regimes in both countries, all born after 1989. The similarities and differences that clearly emerged during the comparative analysis of the findings suggest that being post-socialistic and post-soviet should no longer be interchangeable in the academic literature. Those were and continue to be homological yet different processes, as...
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Cultural and economic influence from the Czech Republic operating in the Romanian Banat
Blahota, Kryštof ; Zandlová, Markéta (advisor) ; Abu Ghosh, Yasar (referee)
This thesis addresses the cultural and economic influence that the Czech Republic has on the Czech village Eibenthal, located in the Romanian Banat region. My research focuses on the economic activities and strategies in Eibenthal and looks at who participates and who create them. At the same time, my research is concerned with how the economic processes in question transform the whole village and it's inhabitants and how the regional population approaches the processes and the main economic actors that create this impact. I look at the terrain of the thesis through the key concept of post-socialism, shaped by the continuous process of transformation of institutions and practices that gradually evolve from the "valley" of socialism (Hann 2002). The thesis focuses primarily on the compatriots and the village as such - how it is transformed and what connections occur in relation to the major economic actors in thearea, Kluci z Banátu, who approach the village and all their projects as "an Eibenthal project". This not only transforms life in the village, but also affects traditional regional practices. Key words: economic influence, transformations, post-socialism, Eibenthal, Kluci z Banatu
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Transformation of the Post-Socialist Identity in Eastern Europe: A Comparative Analysis on the Cases of the Czech Republic and Belarus
Pyatkevich, Aryna ; Hrůzová, Andrea (advisor) ; Pergl, David (referee)
Once the Soviet Union ceased to exist, its subjects and dominions gained the ability to determine their course of political, cultural, and economic development. The never-ending transition to democracy, described by Boris Buden, is one of the key elements of post-communism. Yet, while the countries that had been the part of Eastern Bloc but not part of the Soviet Union itself were reasonably successful on their path to democratic capitalistic development, the former dominions struggled to incorporate the values that came with what Madina Tlostanova describes as a process of forced westernization. The following paper explores the problem of post-socialistic identity transformation in Central Europe in the case of the Czech Republic and post-soviet identity transformation in Eastern Europe in the case of Belarus. The qualitative research is built on the accessed collective memory of those who work within institutions of memory on the level permitted by the governing regimes in both countries, all born after 1989. The similarities and differences that clearly emerged during the comparative analysis of the findings suggest that being post-socialistic and post-soviet should no longer be interchangeable in the academic literature. Those were and continue to be homological yet different processes, as...
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"The other" geography of alternative food networks: farmers' markets as a travelling concept
Fendrychová, Lenka ; Chromý, Pavel (advisor) ; Kostelecký, Tomáš (referee) ; Pauknerová, Karolína (referee)
Boom of the farmers' markets in 2010 represented a brand new phenomenon in the so far rather calm development of the Czech alternative food networks (AFNs). Unprecedented was the extent of political support at the local and state level as well as the interest of media and consumers. My PhD project originates in the desire to understand this phenomenon. I realized qualitative research of practice and discourse of the farmers' markets in the territory of Prague metropolitan area (PMA) during the years 2011 and 2012. The main research methods included interviews with organizers, observation at the markets, and the content analysis of the mass media. In the course of the research it became obvious that the current academic discourse, rooted primarily in the Anglo-American context, cannot be applied to the Czech reality. Also, the specific features of the farmers' markets in the PMA could only partially be explained by the differences between the Czech post-socialist context and "the West". An interpretation of the boom of farmers' markets in the PMA, consistent with the results of my research, was only enabled by an innovative approach which combines the concept of the travelling theory, postcolonial sensitivity to the mutual relations between source and target contexts, and the findings of the studies...
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Alternative economies in rural Russia
Vargolskaia, Virginia ; Stöckelová, Tereza (advisor) ; Abu Ghosh, Yasar (referee)
The aim of this diploma thesis is to study how nonhuman agents are introduced and employed as a replacement for social reproduction by analyzing the environment and types of exchange practiced in the countryside of post-socialist Russia. The farm where my fieldwork took place exhibits many types of exchange, among which cryptocurrencies, seen as a socio- material algorithm, are used for the redistribution of essential goods and/or favors in a method similar to those used in former socialist and post-socialist economies. Drawing from the anthropological discussion on gift-commodity logic in the area, I look at cryptocurrencies as a hybrid - they hold the qualities of a gift (authority, name) and could be used to speculate with on the crypto stock-exchange (commodity). Key words: alternative economies, post-socialism, cryptocurrencies, algorithms, sociomateriality
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Representation, process, experience: (post)industrial landscape in anthropological-geographical perspective
Gibas, Petr ; Uherek, Zdeněk (advisor) ; Siwek, Tadeusz (referee) ; Szaló, Csaba (referee)
Representation, process, experience: (post)industrial landscape in anthropological-geographical perspective Abstract The main topic of the dissertation is the (post)industrial landscape of what is today the Czech Republic. In particular, the dissertation presents three case studies of three (post)industrial landscapes: that of Ostrava, Kladno and Most. The aim of the dissertation is twofold - thematic as well as theoretical. As far as the thematic focus of the dissertation goes, the author employs the concept of landscape as a prism through which it is possible to explore large societal shifts and changes as they are mirrored in landscape. The question is what has happened to industrial landscape after the fall of socialism and how industrial landscape has turned into what it is now. On the theoretical level, the (post)industrial landscape of contemporary Czechia is used as a means of exploring the complexity of the concept of landscape and developing a conceptualization of landscape that comes to terms with its complexity, ambiguity and elusiveness. In terms of theory, the dissertation engages with three ways of conceptualising landscape prevalent in contemporary anthropology and (new cultural) geography: landscape as representation, process and experience. To explore them in depth and reveal any...
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Civil and political sphere from the perspective of local actors in České Budějovice
Bílková, Lucie ; Navrátil, Jiří (advisor) ; Pospíšilová, Tereza (referee)
Post-socialist states are often linked to low political participation and weak civil society. Simultaneously, there is a visible rise in the phenomenon of urban movements. They serve not only as a platform for mobilization of citizens but also as a platform that builds a bridge between politics and society. Therefore, there is a need to study this phenomenon as an intriguing opportunity for research into the relationship between the civil and political sphere on a local level. The goal of this thesis is to show how city activists look at the civil and political spheres in comparison to the definition offered by theoretical conceptualizations. Research has demonstrated a transition in spheres, where activities are indicated as nonpolitical by activists. These findings are not supported by the presented theory which considers them political, and therefore, this study suggests that the boundaries of the spheres are shifted. Moreover, activists constantly engage in both spheres and therefore enter local politics through their activity. They prefer conventional methods to political actions, which they are not estranged to, but they do not frame them as political.
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Alternative economies in rural Russia
Vargolskaia, Virginia ; Stöckelová, Tereza (advisor) ; Abu Ghosh, Yasar (referee)
The aim of this diploma thesis is to study how nonhuman agents are introduced and employed as a replacement for social reproduction by analyzing the environment and types of exchange practiced in the countryside of post-socialist Russia. The farm where my fieldwork took place exhibits many types of exchange, among which cryptocurrencies, seen as a socio- material algorithm, are used for the redistribution of essential goods and/or favors in a method similar to those used in former socialist and post-socialist economies. Drawing from the anthropological discussion on gift-commodity logic in the area, I look at cryptocurrencies as a hybrid - they hold the qualities of a gift (authority, name) and could be used to speculate with on the crypto stock-exchange (commodity). Key words: alternative economies, post-socialism, cryptocurrencies, algorithms, sociomateriality
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