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The Picture of an Ordinary Man in the Work of John Steinbeck and William Saroyan
KAŠŤÁK, Nicholas
The scope of this work will be a comparative analysis of selected texts of John Steinbeck and William Saroyan, two important American writers of the 20th century with focusing on the characteristics of main characters. Theoretical basis of the work will be based on a brief introduction of both authors and their work as well as on their approach to the literary-historical context. In this regard the work reminds the issue of naturalism, the question of determination and the mening of the American dream. The interpretation itself will focus on types of individual characters and their role in stories in relation with the theoretical background of the work.
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Teen movies and self-reflection of genre
Kárná, Michaela ; Štechová, Markéta (advisor) ; Hladík, Radim (referee)
Diploma thesis "Teen movies and self-reflection of genre." examines if and how the principle of self-reflection of genre is influencing the genre of teen movies and its development. It is based on the theoretical concept from literary theory that sees self-reflection as a means of development and evolution of genre. The research is based on two American teen movies, Princess Diaries and Hunger Games. It employs the use of qualitative research methods, thematic analysis and narrative analysis. Theoretical section of this thesis resumes current sociological concepts of youth and adolescence, the development of American teen movies, the concept of self-reflection as an instrument for development and transformation of genre and ways in which self-reflexion is portrayed or included in cinema. The empirical part constitutes of thematic and narrative analysis of examined films and of comparing found issues with the principle of self-reflection of genre
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Specific cultural units in communicational codes of Czech and American television series
Stařík, Jakub ; Reifová, Irena (advisor) ; Bednařík, Petr (referee)
Diploma thesis "Specific cultural units in communicational codes of Czech and American television series" is a structural analysis of two televisional series: Czech Pojišťovna štěstí and American Desperate Houswives. Television series are modern myths that communicate values, belives and rules of certain societies. This thesis tries to approache distinctions in a langue-structure of analysed material. The research is based on findings of structuralism, poststructuralism and cultural studies. The thesis consists of two major parts. First is theoretical summary of the basic thoughts that appeared during historical shift from structuralism to cultural studies. The second part is analysis itself.
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The Significance of the Soviet Espionage During Atomic Weapon Research
Gottwald, Antonín ; Pondělíček, Jiří (advisor) ; Litera, Bohuslav (referee)
in English This bachelor thesis has a title The Significance of the Soviet Espionage During Atomic Weapon Research. Its concern is the theme of Soviet atomic espionage in the United States of America before, during, and after World War II. The research question is the significance of the information stolen from the American atomic research by the Soviet spies to be used for the Soviet atomic research after the World War II. To answer the question, the American atomic research is described here together with methods and technologies developed here. The concrete spies, who infiltrated the Manhattan Project are concern of this thesis, too. The information they stole from the project helped the Soviet Union to create the atomic bomb only in four years, the scale of the espionage was large. One chapter is dedicated also to the Soviet atomic research. This chapter describes the circumstances and weaknesses of the Soviet research like the scepticim of Josif V. Stalin and the German invasion which precluded the research almost definitelly. Another part of the thesis is also analysis of the espionage system in the United States. This base in sufficient to answer the research question about the significance of the stolen information. The Soviet Union only needed to reconstruct the American methods with...
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US Collegiate Football Analysis: Team's Success as an Indicator of Academic Performance
Linhart, Jakub ; Janhuba, Radek (advisor) ; Godar, Sarah (referee)
American football as the most popular sport in the US higher education attracts millions of students to compete in various leagues under the supervision of the National Collegi- ate Athletic Association. Matches between the top university teams that are part of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision belong to the most attractive and historical rival- ries bring high fan support and media attention. However, this also comes with greater stress for competing student-athletes and thus the impact of losing on their psychological state outside the pitch should not be understated. Following previous studies about the impact of collegiate football, this analysis used data about 114 Division I-FBS teams across 13 years to examine the effect of football performance on the academic results of student-athletes. The results showed positive and significant effects of relatively success- ful season on the academic performance of players, whose mentality towards studying and socialization outside football improve in case of a successful season. This supports a phenomenon called "football chicken soup", which states that success in extracurricular activities improve the students' ability to adjust for college life and thus improve their academic results. Additionally, I found that a team's financial situation has no...
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Representation of Homosexuality in American Sitcom, as exemplified by Will & Grace and Modern Family
Hofmanová, Zuzana ; Kruml, Milan (advisor) ; Štoll, Martin (referee)
The diploma theses "Representation of Homosexuality in American Sitcom, as exemplified by Will & Grace and Modern Family" examines the portrayal of minority groups on television. Initially vilified as perverts and abominations, homosexual individuals are now seen as complex characters that buck older stigmatization and stereotypes. These changes can be exemplified and documented across different popular genres currently on television. However, a sitcom is a genre defined by specific rules. Thanks to its simple, recognizable formula, a sitcom is easily adaptable abroad. It has the ability to quickly respond to current social issues. It is also defined by a specific relationship with humor which largely consists of generalizations and simplifications. In sitcoms, stereotyping is readily applied to all minority groups, homosexuals being no exception. Considering the recent development in the representation of homosexuality on television, the question is: how does the conversation about homosexuality transfer to the sitcom? Does the change in conversation go hand-in-hand with changing the existing stereotypes that are specific to the genre? How does contemporary context affect the representation of homosexuality in sitcoms? This thesis aims to answer these questions by analyzing two sitcoms: Will &...
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Teen movies and self-reflection of genre
Kárná, Michaela ; Štechová, Markéta (advisor) ; Hladík, Radim (referee)
Diploma thesis "Teen movies and self-reflection of genre." examines if and how the principle of self-reflection of genre is influencing the genre of teen movies and its development. It is based on the theoretical concept from literary theory that sees self-reflection as a means of development and evolution of genre. The research is based on two American teen movies, Princess Diaries and Hunger Games. It employs the use of qualitative research methods, thematic analysis and narrative analysis. Theoretical section of this thesis resumes current sociological concepts of youth and adolescence, the development of American teen movies, the concept of self-reflection as an instrument for development and transformation of genre and ways in which self-reflexion is portrayed or included in cinema. The empirical part constitutes of thematic and narrative analysis of examined films and of comparing found issues with the principle of self-reflection of genre
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Neither Old, Nor New: The Southern Belle Archetype in Lillian Hellman's Birdie from The Little Foxes and Tennessee Williams's Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire
Soukupová, Markéta ; Ulmanová, Hana (advisor) ; Veselá, Pavla (referee)
The aim of the BA thesis is to describe the origins of the Old South's archetypal feminine ideals and how they were altered in the course of time. In what follows, I will attempt to explain how southern elite (re) defined, enacted and/or maintained the distinctive role of Southern Belle while others refused, modified or debunked these ideals. The thesis will be approached from an interdisciplinary point of view; it will encompass literary theory, namely in respect to relevant archetypal definitions that will be applied to the specific Southern Belle figures, as well as historical, social and cultural studies. Finally, feminist and gender theories will be employed in order to demonstrate how the cultural archetype of the Southern Belle served as a socially constructed norm enforcing women's passivity and submission to patriarchy. After the introductory chapter, which will present the American South and its inhabitants as a distinct entity, chapter two will comment on and explain the aims and methodology of the thesis and the key terminology that is essential for the Southern Belle concept. Chapter three shall provide a succinct socio-historical context of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire and Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes in relation to their particular Southern Belle constructs....
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The development of teen drama since 1990s. On the example of TV series Beverly Hills 90210 and Gossip girl.
Sochneva, Anastasia ; Reifová, Irena (advisor) ; Šmejkalová, Jiřina (referee)
Diploma thesis "The development of teen drama since 1990s. On the example of TV series Beverly Hills 90210 and Gossip girl." is thematic and narrative analysis of two American teen drama television series, Beverly Hills 90210 and Gossip girl. Teen drama genre has been developing for more than twenty years and the aim of my research is to compare the display of the youth in teen drama since the early 1990s until present. In the theoretical part of my work I present a sociological and culturological basis for study of youth and adolescence, as well as classification of serial production within television studies and description of its impact on development of teen drama. The empirical part includes qualitative theme analysis of each of the series and narrative analysis of characters.
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English language newspapers in the Czech republic between 1990 and 1995 as a part of process of transformation of the press in post-communist country
Řehořová, Kateřina ; Jirák, Jan (advisor) ; Cebe, Jan (referee)
The diploma thesis deals with English language periodicals which were founded and published by Americans in Prague in 1990 - 1995. The first part describes the background of the American community in Prague in the middle 1990s and apprises of the American and Czechoslovak journalism in the frame of media system changes after the fall of Communism. The second part includes newspapers and magazines which existed in Prague the defined period. Except of print media articles, literature concerned with media transformation after the fall of totalitarian regimes and features of American and Czechoslovak journalism the thesis is based on correspondence and interviews with people who are allied to the included periodicals. At the end of the thesis there is a review of the impact that American journalists and writers could have on Czechoslovak and Czech journalism and literature. The influence of American journalists on the Czechoslovak and Czech colleagues remains in form of individual cases. The influence of American literature written in Prague in the defined period has not overreached the English language sphere and so it cannot be considered in the general context of Czechoslovak and Czech literature.
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