|
| |
|
|
Islamic Culture in Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue and its Reflection in the Czech Lands
Gombárová, Jana ; Soukup, Václav (advisor) ; Soukup, Martin (referee) ; Novotná, Yvona (referee)
PhDr. Jana Gombárová Islamic Culture in Euro-Mediterranean Dialogue and its Reflection in the Czech Lands Abstract The general aim of the present Ph.D. thesis is a reflection of Islamic culture within the Euro-Mediterranean multi-cultural dialogue. Its specific aim is a study of reflection of the Arab and Islamic communities in the Czech Republic. The first chapter provides methodological and theoretical analyses of the conceptions of "end of history" by Francis Fukuyama and "clash of civilisations" by Samuel P. Huntington, which provoked a wide and controversial discussion both around the world and in our country. It also provides an analysis of more recent "catastrophic scenarios" (Laqueur, Spencer, Rodrígez, Sarazin). The Islamic culture within the Euro-Mediterranean dialogue and with the history of Barcelona process of cooperation of the European Union with the South- Mediterranean countries, which culminated in founding of the Union for Mediterranean in 2010, are also included in the chapter. Anna Lindh Foundation as a European non- government organisation and its network in the Czech Republic is an object of special interest. The last part of the chapter includes the controversial results of the "Arab Spring" characterized by the rise of Islamists to power. The second chapter is focused on...
|
|
|
Czech modern women and the Orient in the first half of the 20th century: Challenging both gender and colonial dichotomies from the margins of Europe
Havlůjová, Hana ; Míšková, Alena (advisor) ; Charvát, Petr (referee) ; Bahenská, Marie (referee)
Hana Havlůjová: Czech modern women and the Orient in the first half of the 20th century: Challenging both gender and colonial dichotomies from the margins of Europe Abstract In regards to both Czech and international research context my thesis has two main objectives. Firstly, it aims to explore various Czech sources, be them written or visual, in order to examine their potential for cultural history-based research on Czech modern women's (re)presentations of the Orient in the first half of the 20th century. Secondly, it uses a perspective 'from the margins of Europe' in order to challenge traditional dichotomies that prevail in a majority of research on gender and nationalism as well as colonialism worldwide. Therefore, my analyses of Czech modern women's (re)presentations of the Orient focus mainly on the interplay of three modern discourses - feminism, nationalism and orientalism. The first part of the thesis First impressions: Three Czech modern women in the Orient comprises three case studies on Pavla Dušková, Ludmila Matiegková and Vlasta Kálalová Di- Lotti, who travelled to and stayed in the Near East (Egypt, Palestine, Iraq) in the 1920s and 1930s. Their personal papers (e.g. family correspondence, unpublished travelogues) as well as published works (e.g. academic pieces of writing, popular novels)...
|
|
|
Getting Back to 'Europe': An Analysis of a Possible Self-Perceived Inadequacy of Czechs Towards the West
Ertin, Sinan ; Německý, Marek (advisor) ; Gulenko, Petr (referee)
This thesis explores the concurrent role of Western hegemony alongside the lasting effects of communism in the challenges faced by post-socialist countries, with a specific focus on the Czech Republic. While communism is commonly seen as the primary cause, we argue that cultural ideas associated with Western hegemony predate communism and have deeply influenced Europe's identity. The thesis is divided into sections that examine the concept of progress throughout history and its relevance to Western European identity, followed by an exploration of hegemony through examples from post-socialist nations, including the Czech Republic. The thesis concludes by addressing potential criticisms and providing an exercise that applies the concepts of hegemony and progress to contemporary Czech society. This analysis aims to present an alternative perspective that acknowledges the simultaneous effects of both communism and Western hegemony in shaping the challenges faced by post-socialist countries during their transition.
|
|
|
US War reporting: American media evolution through a comparative analysis of the depiction of Middle Eastern women
Mlatečková, Marie ; Hornát, Jan (advisor) ; Fiřtová, Magdalena (referee)
This study delves into the portrayal of Arab women in American mass media (the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal) and uncovers the continued presence of Orientalism in such reporting. The study examines the War in Iraq and Syria as case studies and finds that more has stayed the same between the two. The study employs three frameworks to support its findings: Orientalism, post-colonial feminism, and peace journalism. The thesis extensively reviews existing literature on the topic and includes a chapter on the definition of mass media, with specific examples of its power in the United States. Another chapter focuses on the Middle Eastern context of gender and the context of the two wars. Finally, the study provides an in-depth analysis of representative samples from three journals and their articles during the first year of both conflicts, which are then presented and discussed.
|
|
|
Travel Narratives of New Mexico: Commodifying Culture and the Perpetuation of Colonial Discourses
Chastenet de Gery, Gabrielle Maye Katherine ; Lábová, Sandra (advisor) ; Němcová Tejkalová, Alice (referee)
Various scholars researching travel journalism assert that often, narratives present a limited view of destinations. This limited view has been shown to contribute to the othering and exotification of local communities through stereotyping, and the prevalence of meta-narratives. This study focuses on the travel narratives of New Mexico, and examines found narratives for potential discourses. It analyzes both photographs and text with a critical historic lens, through the implementation of Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, asking whether or not formerly present colonial travel narratives are still present within contemporary travel narratives of New Mexico. Findings reveal that Orientalist/colonial narratives are still present, however findings also included narratives contributing to Postcolonial discourse. This study reveals that travel narratives of New Mexico are shifting to favor Postcolonial discourse with the trend toward intentional travel.
|
|
|
Representation of (former) African colonies in 19th and 20th century domestic travel writing
Martinek, Adam ; Novotný, Josef (advisor) ; Šarše, Vojtěch (referee)
This diploma thesis analyzes 19th and 20th Czech language travel literature from (former) African colonies. The thesis is rooted in postcolonial theory - namely Osterhammel's synthesis of colonialism as a structure and an ideology, as well as Said's theory of orientalism. A key theoretical aspect of this work is Sarah Lemmen's updated notion of noncolonial orientalism, which arose out of her empirical work on Czech/Czechoslovak travel writing. Lemmen's concept addresses the specific standing of the Czech traveler vis-à-vis the colony, as they were not a representative of any world power, yet still exhibited orientalist views on colonies and the colonized. This work also pays special attention to the influence of socialist ideology on travel literature published between the years 1948 and 1989. The research questions which this work aims to answer are as follows: a) how is colonialism represented in Czech travel literature?, b) how is decolonization represented?, c) how do these travelogues portray Africans and their relationship to Europeans? These questions aim at understanding the authors' relationship with colonialism and orientalism as both ideology and practice which they encountered in Africa. The thesis consists of an analysis of nineteen of potential fifty-eight travelogues written by...
|
|
|
Mentality of the Oppressed: An Analysis of Czech Inferiority Complex Towards the West
Ertin, Sinan ; Marková, Alena (advisor) ; Německý, Marek (referee)
In this paper, we examine what we see as a Czech feeling of inferiority towards the western nations. Though the so-called post-communist syndrome seems to be a popular way to explain the negative self-perception of Czechs, we will argue that this phenomenon stems from the trauma, which Czechs experienced when transitioning from communism to the globalized capitalistic market. We believe that this trauma was brought about by the rhetoric of ''coming back to Europe'' as it is based on a heritage of orientalism in Europe, in combination with the general mentality of the oppressed, as thematized by the post-colonial theorists such as Franz Fanon or Paulo Freire. To verify our hypothesis, we conducted a survey with 189 respondents from all the regions of the Czech Republic.
|
|
|
Identity and Displacement in Contemporary Postcolonial Fiction
Olehlová, Markéta ; Nováková, Soňa (advisor) ; Franková, Milada (referee) ; Kolinská, Klára (referee)
English summary The main objective of this thesis is to present some key issues relevant for postcolonial field of study with respect to two basic areas of interest: concepts of identity and place, respectively displacement in contemporary postcolonial discourse and their reflection in fiction, too. The thesis should provide the potential reader with basic theoretical background based on the most fundamental sources and by means of selected literary works it should support (or disclaim, if necessary) conclusions reached by the most notable theories. This dissertation work consists of three major parts. In the introduction, apart from providing the motivational, theoretical and literary objectives of the thesis, I cover some basic difficulties that may occur when dealing with the postcolonial field of study. The central part of the thesis can be divided into two parts, each of them consisting of two further sections. The first one, "Identity in Postcolonial Discourse", is focused on one of the key terms in all of postcolonial theory: identity and other concepts related with it. I cover the basic development of theoretical reflection concerning this concept, drawing primarily from secondary sources dealing with it. The theoretical part on identity is succeeded by a chapter "Reflections of Identity in the...
|
|
|
Women in the English Drama of the Orient
Němcová, Nikol ; Nováková, Soňa (advisor) ; Kolinská, Klára (referee)
The subject of this BA thesis are plays set in the Orient, a new genre that started to gain popularity in the Restoration period. These plays, commonly inspired by the popular travelogues to the Orient and historical accounts, are characterised by their collection of stock characters, repeating topoi and orientalised images that represent the Orient more as a conception created by the West than an actual place. Nevertheless, in analysis of some of the plays I shall argue that these works also offer possible commentaries on the British society of the time and that they can be used as arguments criticizing or reinforcing the contemporary perception of women by dealing with such otherwise rather inaccessible themes as women stepping out of their social boundaries, femininity or female sexuality. In order to advocate my thesis I plan to use four different tragedies with Middle-Eastern settings, specifically Rhodes, Morocco, Turkey and Colchis (located mostly in present-day Georgia and Turkey). All these plays were written between 1663 and 1696 and might be considered some of the most representative examples of the genre. They include William Davenant's The Siege of Rhodes (1663), Elkanah Settle's The Empress of Morocco (1673), Mary Pix's Ibrahim, the Thirteenth Emperour of the Turks (1696) and...
|
guest ::
