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Therapeutic Heroism: Enacting Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among War Veterans in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Klepal, Jaroslav ; Abu Ghosh, Yasar (advisor) ; Muhič Dizdarevič, Selma (referee) ; Hrešanová, Ema (referee)
Based on longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork in Bosnia and Herzegovina I trace ontologies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their enactments among veterans of the 1992-1995 war. My aim is to problematize and rethink social constructionists' approaches in medical anthropology that discuss war trauma and PTSD in relation to naturalistic models and treat them as constructed realities not determined by the nature of things. I argue that such a standpoint produces a particular epistemological/ontological side-effect: it allows medical anthropologists to craft a purely social ontology of trauma and PTSD by claiming that the realness of these "constructs" is a result of psychiatric discourse, moral economy of contemporary societies or Western (intellectual, political, and medical) hegemony. Considering the ontology of PTSD as an empirical question I analyze the enactments of PTSD in four settings: the ethnographic genre itself, the organization of war veterans with PTSD in the city of Tuzla, the veterans' welfare system in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Bosnian public arena. I argue that PTSD is practiced as a heterogeneous and multiple reality that cannot be situated solely either in the realm of human organism (and explained by naturalistic models) or society and culture (and...
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I am not this body: body and sacred self among Czech Hare Krishnas
Klepal, Jaroslav ; Vrhel, František (advisor) ; Skupnik, Jaroslav (referee)
Since the 1990s the question of religious "cults", "sects" and '''new religious movements" (NRMs) general1y, which entered the social space of the Czech post-communist state with a desire to obtain rights and authorities that the state legislation has ordinarily circumscribed to historically recognized churches and religious groups, has been debated. These debates met an increase in the precautions of state policies, redefining a relationship between the state and religion. These debates also met an increase in anti-cult movements, founded by ex-members of NRMs together with theologians, psychiatrists, and social workers, who attempt to revea1 and neutralize the "unhealthy control" and "pathological personality disorders" among NRMs members. And finally, these debates met an increasing interest in different academic fields where scholars discovered in NRMs a new subject for both their theoretical speculations and empirical researches. Scholars have mainly considered the issue of defining NRMs, the issue of their proper typologization, and, more empirically, the issue of forming ideational and ideological systems of NRMs. The nature of these religious and "pseudo-religious" systems has been discussed predominantly, followed by debates about how various concepts of these systems are related, and how these...
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Baby sleep in the grip of normality
Medvecová Tinková, Lenka ; Klepal, Jaroslav (advisor) ; Wolfová, Alžběta (referee)
1 ABSTRACT Child sleep is subject to research of many nature and social sciences. Efforts to limit it into statistical charts and generalise its nature for entire population of children, while labelling it as normal, is mostly seen in medical discourse. Normal child sleep, as a healthy and reasonable feature, has occurred in my research work, as well. What is normal in child's sleep then? Where ends the normal sleep and starts the child sleep deprivation? Why should anthropology deal with child sleep at all? These are the questions I have been asking for quite some time in my research work. My research started in Great Britain and has slowly grown into an ethnographic study of hundreds of households in Czech Republic. I observed how the sleep is being formed in families, in our values, reflecting approach to a child, as well as in the medical and sociological discourse and vice versa, how the sleep changes those discourses and how it forms the biology itself, (regular/pathological sleep patterns) and society (good/bad child, bad/good parent). In my thesis I describe, how the sleep modifies and constructs in context of local biology. I claim that because of the different influences across the world it is important to open a discussion in medical and sociological discourse about fluid sleep schedules of the...
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Therapeutic Heroism: Enacting Posttraumatic Stress Disorder among War Veterans in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Klepal, Jaroslav ; Abu Ghosh, Yasar (advisor) ; Muhič Dizdarevič, Selma (referee) ; Hrešanová, Ema (referee)
Based on longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork in Bosnia and Herzegovina I trace ontologies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and their enactments among veterans of the 1992-1995 war. My aim is to problematize and rethink social constructionists' approaches in medical anthropology that discuss war trauma and PTSD in relation to naturalistic models and treat them as constructed realities not determined by the nature of things. I argue that such a standpoint produces a particular epistemological/ontological side-effect: it allows medical anthropologists to craft a purely social ontology of trauma and PTSD by claiming that the realness of these "constructs" is a result of psychiatric discourse, moral economy of contemporary societies or Western (intellectual, political, and medical) hegemony. Considering the ontology of PTSD as an empirical question I analyze the enactments of PTSD in four settings: the ethnographic genre itself, the organization of war veterans with PTSD in the city of Tuzla, the veterans' welfare system in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Bosnian public arena. I argue that PTSD is practiced as a heterogeneous and multiple reality that cannot be situated solely either in the realm of human organism (and explained by naturalistic models) or society and culture (and...
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"We are in Korea, everybody is ready to change": Ethnography of Plastic Surgery in the Republic of Korea
Mudruňková, Kateřina ; Stöckelová, Tereza (advisor) ; Klepal, Jaroslav (referee)
The purpose of this thesis is to identify practices that constitute plastic surgery in current Republic of Korea with emphasis put on relationships between participating human beings, materials and technologies. It focuses on practices proceeding inside and outside the clinic of plastic surgery. In accordance with M. Lock's concept of local biology this thesis introduces Korean plastic surgery as a set of practices shaped by mutual interaction of local technologies and Korean bodies. The actor network theory approach (ANT), which emphasizes relational open-ended forming of entities, is applied to examining various aspects of plastic surgery. This approach also provides new ways of exploring how the entities and practices described in the medical anthropology as medicalization, medical tourism or local biology are produced. Key words plastic surgery; Republic of Korea; Actor - Network Theory (ANT); bodily practices; local biology; beauty ideal; medicalization.
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Total Home: Care and Social Life in Psychiatric Institution
Tichý, Mikuláš ; Abu Ghosh, Yasar (advisor) ; Klepal, Jaroslav (referee)
The thesis is based on three months of participant observation in a long-term care facility in 2010 and interviews conducted during next three years. It draws from a perspectives of medical anthropology and anthropology of institutions. The focus is on an ethnography of institution for clients with chronic mental disease, dementia and substance abuse. The thesis is mapping institution's components and actors, their social life and relationships in the institution. The analyses is based upon the concept of total institution by Erving Goffman, and draws from thoughts of Josef Pieper, Martin Buber, Emanuel Lévinas and Michel Foucault. A long-term facility is an institution, which shares clients and some of problems with classical examples of total institutions, but recent reforms aimed to minimalize features of total institutions. Still it does not seem to be a vital institution and new aspects of social situation of staff and clients are recognized. Among new problems is non-existence of therapy for the inhabitants, their marginalization through poor financial situation in an institution, where lot of services are paid and little continuity to other forms of care of more community and ambulant character. Key words: total institution, long-term facility, psychiatric care, medical anthropology,...
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Hybrid Geographies of households
Rousová, Zuzana ; Stöckelová, Tereza (advisor) ; Klepal, Jaroslav (referee)
This thesis is based on a qualitative research which draws from three case-studies of different households of alternative buildings. I am focused on those processes which are actively shaping these places regarding mutual human and non-human interactions. The movements of households' material elements are shown through spatial and temporal trajectories. By doing so I refer to the active meaning of materiality which was neglected by social sciences for a long time. The study demonstrates the importance of materiality not only as a significant driver of household's material reality but also of social practices overlapping societal phenomena. Key words semi-structural interview; alternative architecture; household; materiality; quasi- technologies; hybridization; spatial and temporal trajectories
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The Role of Physical Impairment in a Partnership (Medical Anthropology)
Kovářová, Eva ; Šimek, Jiří (advisor) ; Klepal, Jaroslav (referee)
Couples of a physically disabled person and an able bodied one are being considered odd and exceptional by many people and furthermore associated with many prejudices and myths. The most common is probably the assumption of this relationship as an unequal and being rather a kind of carer and cared. The aim of this thesis has been to uncover the world of a couple of a person with acquired physical disability and his/her able bodied partner and to determine the impact of a physical disability and physical limitations stemming from the impairment on the inner life of the couple, a character of this relationship and the impact of the physical impairment on the social roles of the physically disabled person as a partner or potentially a parent. Acquired physical disability as a consequence of a spinal cord injury or a disease is a sudden and essential change in all three areas of a human being - physical, mental and social. In case of pre-injury/illness relationships I have been interested in the impact of this fundamental and unchangeable turnaround of existing conditions and life style on the couple. The theoretical phrame for this thesis has been phenomenological philosophy for its concern in the subjective experience regarded as a basis for further investigation and analysis and for its concept of...
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I am not this body: body and sacred self among Czech Hare Krishnas
Klepal, Jaroslav ; Vrhel, František (advisor) ; Skupnik, Jaroslav (referee)
Since the 1990s the question of religious "cults", "sects" and '''new religious movements" (NRMs) general1y, which entered the social space of the Czech post-communist state with a desire to obtain rights and authorities that the state legislation has ordinarily circumscribed to historically recognized churches and religious groups, has been debated. These debates met an increase in the precautions of state policies, redefining a relationship between the state and religion. These debates also met an increase in anti-cult movements, founded by ex-members of NRMs together with theologians, psychiatrists, and social workers, who attempt to revea1 and neutralize the "unhealthy control" and "pathological personality disorders" among NRMs members. And finally, these debates met an increasing interest in different academic fields where scholars discovered in NRMs a new subject for both their theoretical speculations and empirical researches. Scholars have mainly considered the issue of defining NRMs, the issue of their proper typologization, and, more empirically, the issue of forming ideational and ideological systems of NRMs. The nature of these religious and "pseudo-religious" systems has been discussed predominantly, followed by debates about how various concepts of these systems are related, and how these...
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