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Reactions of American conservatives toward the revisionism of the historical role of Christopher Columbus
Schaepe, Hana ; Hornát, Jan (advisor) ; Kýrová, Lucie (referee)
The thesis focuses on the analysis of the reaction of American conservatives to the impulses for revisionist reinterpretation of the historical figure of Christopher Columbus and his legacy. The thesis places this topic in the context of polarization in the United States and the culture wars. It presents a brief development of reinterpretation attempts, how this view arose, what its rationale is, and how Christopher Columbus is viewed through it. It will briefly summarize the history of this phenomenon, its reinforcement around the quincentennial of Columbus's voyages, and its projection into resonant debates in contemporary American society. Subsequently it will analyze the reaction of conservative-minded Americans to this issue using two focus groups. In the analysis, the thesis will examine representative figures from the groups of politicians and political commentators or authors who address the issue. The thesis will then summarize the analyzed responses into major lines of argument and deduce from them why conservatives take a largely negative view of revisionism, what aspects of reinterpretation bother them, and what they base their positions on. The paper thus asks: What is the response to suggestions for reinterpreting the figure of Christopher Columbus by conservative-minded circles...
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Cancel Culture - A Challenge Or A Threat?
Kvačková, Kristýna ; Kýrová, Lucie (advisor) ; Kozák, Kryštof Přemysl (referee)
The thesis entitled "Cancel Culture - A Challenge Or A Threat?" deals with the phenomenon of the so-called Cancel Culture, which is mainly known from the USA and the UK, but the first signs of it are also noticeable in the Czech Republic. The thesis analyses examples from the cultural, political, and academic spheres in the United States, with the aim of revealing the effects of the Cancel Culture on society and on the perception of the limits of freedom of speech and, by extension, academic freedom. The thesis establishes the boundary between legitimate criticism and cancellation. The threat to freedom of speech and, by extension, academic freedom, is presented when academics are disturbed because of their unpopular opinion, such as their political beliefs. In the cultural and political spheres, interference represents the threat described by the concept of the spiral of silence. As research shows, people are afraid to express their opinion if it is not in line with the majority opinion, for fear of cancellation and possible consequences. Despite its shortcomings, this phenomenon can be a legitimate tool for achieving social justice, because it effectively highlights sensitive social issues such as racism, sexism, xenophobia, etc.
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A Comparison of the Representation of Gay Characters in Superhero Comics Published by Marvel and DC in the 1990s
Dolejš, Jakub ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Kýrová, Lucie (referee)
The thesis analyses the representation of gay male characters in comics published by Marvel and DC in the 1990s. Through a comparative analysis based on the data collected, the publishers' approaches to three aspects of the representation of homosexuality - that is, coming out, the subsequent representation of sexuality, and the topic of HIV/AIDS - will be compared. Five characters were selected for comparison from the two publishers based on certain criteria such as the number of appearances in the comics or the year of coming out about sexuality. For these selected characters, the author of this thesis follows the mentioned themes and then compares their subsequent representation.
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Socioeconomic Development of Oklahoma from 1889 to 1907
Knapek, Jan ; Szobi, Pavel (advisor) ; Kýrová, Lucie (referee)
This bachelor thesis is focused on the development of Oklahoma in the years 1889-1907. In this period Oklahoma underwent a substantial transformation. Within less than 20 years, it changed from being a land of Indians, to a state owned by white settlers and businessmen. The goal of this thesis is to analyze the process of changing social structures on the American frontier which appeared at the turn of the century. Furthermore it takes a look at the particular effects of white settlement on the Five civilized tribes and Oklahoma's road to statehood.
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Hamiltonized America: The Analysis of the Broadway Musical's Influence
Zinková, Kristýna ; Kýrová, Lucie (advisor) ; Fiřtová, Magdalena (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with a musical phenomenon called Hamilton: An American Musical, that premiered in 2015 in the United States, and to this day it has dominated the stage of Broadway. Hamilton became a phenomenon due to its untraditional interpretation. A historical story about the life of one of the Founding Fathers Alexander Hamilton and about the establishment of the USA is performed by minority actors and actresses of mostly African American or Latino origin and the classical Broadway singing was replaced with rapping. Thus, Hamilton represents a colour-blind casting musical. The musical does not present only historical chapters, but through the interpretation Hamilton points out current social and ethnic issues in the American society such as socio-economic inequality, ethnic tensions between minorities and the dominant group of society, immigration-related issues, and the unattainability of the mythical American Dream. During the 2016 United States Presidential Election Hamilton became a political tool when its cast and production team publicly supported one of the candidates, Hillary Clinton. My thesis analyses the influence of the musical on a political discourse and its role as a politically active factor and mediator. Simultaneously, given the character of the show, the thesis...
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Bayard Rustin: A Forgotten Figure of the Civil Rights Movement?
Lochmanová, Sára ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Kýrová, Lucie (referee)
This bachelor's thesis discusses the life and role of the activist Bayard Rustin in the Civil Rights Movement as a forgotten figure in American history. Rustin was part of one of the most important key events in the fight for African American civil rights; moreover, he even organized the famous March on Washington in 1963. He was a pacifist his whole life, and he encouraged non-violent direct action, which was also promoted by M. L. King. Despite Rustin's crucial role during the fight for black civil rights, he was often sidelined because of his sexual orientation, communist past, and draft-dodging. The thesis through the biographical method and text analysis is trying to answer the question regarding Rustin's role in the movement and also the influence of intersectionality and his forgotten character. The thesis is divided into eight chapters. The first three chapters are discussing Rustin's path to his ideology, non-violent direct action, and to the movement itself. The next chapters are focusing on Rustin's role during the March on Washington, his break-up with the movement, and his views on the integration of the black community. The last two chapters are analyzing Rustin's sexual orientation and his legacy in the present. After analyzing Rustin's thoughts and his role in the Civil Rights...
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C. J. Walker: Role within the African American Community and in the Fight for Women's Political and Social Rights
Hofmanová, Terezie ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Kýrová, Lucie (referee)
This Bachelor Thesis is dedicated to the study of Madam C. J. Walker, who became, at the beginning of the 20th century, the first millionairess in the United States. Her life story is remarkable because of two aspects: she was a woman, and moreover an African American. The Jim Crow era, which brought by racial segregation, racism, and unequal social and political opportunities for African Americans, was certainly not an ideal for building a business. Yet Madam Walker was able to found The Madam Walker Company, which exported her hair and beauty products outside the United States and provided employment opportunities for tens of thousands of African Americans. She targeted the neglected needs of African American women. Alongside her business, Madame Walker engaged in socio-political activism and philanthropy. This thesis aims to analyze Madam Walker's philanthropic and activist acts, and based on this analysis, to determine what role she played within the African American community. The thesis uses a biographical method and is divided into four chapters. The first two chapters deal with the relevant historical context of the late 19th and early 20th centurie in the United States, and the most significant milestones in Madam Walker's life. In the third chapter, the thesis analyzes her specific...
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Challenging Hegemony: Coercion, Repression and Protest in Liberal Democracies.
Čapinská, Barbora ; Kýrová, Lucie (advisor) ; Gagnon, Jean-Paul (referee) ; Wahlström, Mattias (referee)
Barbora Čapinská Abstract for dissertation thesis Challenging hegemony: coercion, repression, and protest in liberal democracies Year of defence: 2022 Abstract: This dissertation project identifies and classifies the types of coercive and repressive methods liberal democratic states use to prevent, resist, or suppress protest via analysis of secondary literature from several disparate academic fields. Despite the substantial fragmentation of the relevant research, it systematizes and clarifies the terminology used to describe these phenomena and combines the extant findings from all relevant research strands. Above all, the project stresses the fact that repressions are employed in response to a threat posed by the challengers, but the degree of this threat, or respectively legitimacy of the protest, is influenced or even constructed by the mass media coverage of protest and social movements. By endorsing a discourse-theoretical prism and the concept of hegemony, a relational definition of state, and a three-dimensional view of power, the author proposes to view protest and repression as a hegemonic struggle, in which protest is a counter-hegemonic discourse and the state an embodiment of hegemony suppressing challenges. To supplement existent typologies, the author introduces the concepts 'institutional...
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