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In No One's Land: Ethnography of a Closed Landfill in Velká Chuchle
Herda Wallo, Anna ; Zandlová, Markéta (advisor) ; Sosna, Daniel (referee)
This thesis is an ethnography of a closed landfill of municipal waste in Prague, Velká Chuchle. It is a local and concrete ethnographic probe into the complicated relationship between people and waste in general. The focal point of the research are the manifold and intricate relationships between the closed landfill, which has been undergoing revitalization for a long time, and the actors, i.e. mainly people and institutions, who have lived in its immediate proximity. Theoretically and methodologically, the work is anchored in reflexive ethnographic approaches represented primarily by works of Paul Rabinow and Pierre Bourdieu, which emphasize the dependence of the object of research on its relationship to the researcher. Therefore, in the first chapter, the thesis builds the theoretical foreground of the research, while reflecting on the limitations of the researcher's position and the course of the research itself. Next, the thesis foreshadows a blueprint of the landscape and history of the landfill, identifying the wide range of actors who have contributed to its formation or who have interacted extensively with the landfill. The following chapters are devoted to the interpretation of the diverse and often disparate perspectives of human actors on the landfill, based on qualitative research...
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Rusting Away: An Ethnography of Totaled Cars, lnformality, Capitalism, Waste, and Sustainability at a Bohemian Auto Salvage Yard
Mašek, Pavel ; Sosna, Daniel (advisor)
Building upon my long-term ethnographic research at an informal auto salvage yard in Central Bohemia, this dissertation attempts to reveal that there are places that-albeit sustaining capitalism-correct the damage this globally prevailing politico-economic system causes, as these relatively marginalized places can reveal the hidden corners of one's own society. In addition to presenting and describing the everyday life of the workers at the auto salvage yard, wrapped in the context of the omnipresent mis/trust related to friendship, hostility, and knowledge "battles," I discuss the meaning of various greenwashing eco-slogans, which in reality seem more like a tired marketing ploy than a real solution to current environmental problems. I build on the theory of containers and combine it with the idea of the ecology and economy as non-mutually exclusive parts of originally one concept (oikonomia) to touch upon the idea of responsiveness concerning wasting and its shift towards the individual level and morality, and consequently, feelings of personal guilt. Based on the experience of salvage yard workers' creativity and skills, I attempt to reveal through the lens of the "quiet sustainability" concept- complemented with recent ideas on the practices of repair, maintenance, and care-that "greening" can...
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Pre-loved: vintage shops as an alternative to fast fashion
Borisova, Varvara ; Abu Ghosh, Yasar (advisor) ; Sosna, Daniel (referee)
"Pre-loved: vintage shops as an alternative to fast fashion" Mgr. Varvara Borisova Supervisor: Mgr. Yasar Abu Ghosh, Ph.D. Abstract Thrifting has long been perceived as a matter of nonconformists, eccentric artists, and people with limited budgets. However, the consumerist philosophy of so-called fast fashion which is driven by the ever-changing trends and the impact of the fashion industry on environment and global labor market has become a reason for many customers to find a greener and more ethical way to supply their wardrobes. While some of us gave up shopping at all, fashion gurus turned their attention to secondhand clothes: thrift shops changed to vintage boutiques and used garments became known as "pre-loved". This thesis aims to analyze practices which owners of Czech secondhand and vintage shops use to create value, understand the obsession by things from the 20th century and focus on the role of such stores in the development of sustainable fashion in the Czech Republic. Key words: vintage, thrift, theory of value, fast fashion, nostalgia, sustainability, material culture
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Calm and wild river; An etnography study around the Otava river
Mottlová, Tereza ; Kuřík, Bohuslav (advisor) ; Sosna, Daniel (referee)
In this diploma thesis I wanted to find out how people who live in a close relationship with the river deal with the extremes like are floods and drought. I wondered if local settlers and the city administration identified the threat of flood differently from people who did not live in contact with the river, and if their relationship with the river could be useful for others. I tried to find out if and how the locals reflect climate change through their lived experiences with floods and droughts. During my six-month research, based on ethnographic methods I spent time with gardeners who have been critically affected by drought in recent years, with settlers who regularly experience floods and with representatives of the city administration. Thanks to ethnography, I was able to understand the context of the relationships I studied. I found out that living in contact with floods is not as dramatic as it may seem to an observer. Thanks to many years od experience with floods and the river have the locals developed local knowledge, that can be very useful for whole city; If the city administration can combine expert and local knowledge, solving potential problems with high water can become much more effective and proportionate to reality. People living under the threat of floods do not need to be seen...
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The morality of the gift
Stehlíková, Barbora ; Abu Ghosh, Yasar (advisor) ; Sosna, Daniel (referee)
The thesis looks at the gift and at what kind of morality allows contemporary gift-giving. It is based on ethnographic research that focuses on a "generous social network" Hearth.net. This network was founded by the entrepreneur, philanthropist and buddhist Libor Malý. His goal is to fulfill the vision of improving interpersonal relationships and creating an economic system that is able to complement the existing market economy in the case of a crisis. This system also requires a change of paradigm into the paradigm of generosity and kindness. Adato Paradigma Group and the Ambassadors, who are the most active users of Hearth, help Libor Malý in fulfilling this goal. Hearth is a space where users can offer and receive gifts without an expectation of a counter-gift. The gift should be the tool that will allow the paradigm shift. The new paradigm of generosity and kindness is seen here as a cosmology based above all on the values of generosity and kindness, which is influenced mainly by the spirituality of Libor Malý. At the same time, this paradigm of generosity and kindness forms the moral basis for gift-giving within the Hearth network. Nevertheless, in the final form, the gift is determined by the moral assemblage of three moral dimensions (Zigon 2010). The thesis therefore is analyzing the...
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Animals in rituals of Czech hunters today
Erben, Jakub ; Trnka, Radek (advisor) ; Sosna, Daniel (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with the rituals of hunting and animals that are in them, directly or indirectly emerge and with which they are associated. It does so by using qualitative methods, namely the techniques of observation and interviews. The research results are presented in the form of a story that brings us how it is with the hunts, how such hunts look like and what all may be associated context furlongs. The thesis is divided into two main parts - theoretical, where we present the current knowledge of rituals and hunting - and empirical where this knowledge is deepened and disseminated through the interpretation of the results of my anthropological research. According relation to hunting, hunters can be distinguished as culls, hunters and hunters without morals. Hunters attach importance to rituals differently depending on various factors, among which is their devotion to hunting and general relationship that it has. Rituals have a unifying power, while not practising them separate those individuals from the ones that identify themselves with the community. In the context of hunting we talk about the so-called fee hunts, which are perceived by the respondents as a necessary evil, which may have a positive impact not only on hunting, though. Key words: hunters, rituals, animals Powered by...
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Phenotype variability of the skeleton: asymmetry, sexual dimorphism and their changes in time
Bigoni, Lucie ; Velemínská, Jana (advisor) ; Sosna, Daniel (referee) ; Beňuš, Radoslav (referee)
This doctoral thesis is submitted in the form of science publications and conference presentations together with theoretical introduction. It presents several points of view on the variability evaluation in the skull (and postcranial skeleton), with accent on diachronic changes monitoring, asymmetry and sexual dimorphism. This study concentrates on analysis (using traditional and geometric morphometrics) of size and shape of the skull, limb bones and face in the samples originated in the region of the Czech Republic (Central Europe). The first one is a photographical documentation of the Upper Palaeolithic skulls from Předmostí near Přerov (age 25,000 - 27,000 years). The second material is represented by skulls and limb bones deriving from the Early Mediaeval settlement in Mikulčice (The Great Moravia, 9th - 10th century). The third sample originated in the 1930s in Prague, so called Pachner Collection. The last comparative sample presents radiographs of the head and 3D surface models of faces of the recent society. Study of skeletal asymmetry of populations (Bigoni et al., v recenzním řízení, 2005; Kujanová et al., 2008), its level and localization, enables us to compare behavioral patterns, living conditions, socioeconomic differences and variability within and between populations (Mikulčice vs....
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