This thesis focuses on the work of two contemporary authors, Ali Smith and Jeanette Winterson, and their treatment of the concepts of history and gender in their fiction. I argue that, by openly speculating about the nature of time and history, and by making their readers think about the origin of these notions, Smith and Winterson uncover the seemingly stable but, in actuality, very fragile roots of the 'truths' we take for granted. They explore the potentiality of the past, which, in turn opens up the present and the future. To support my argument, I turned to Hayden White and his theory of historiography and Paul Ricoeur's philosophy of time and history. The latter part of the thesis deals with gender, as well as biological sex and sexual orientation, and the way in which Smith and Winterson's texts put into practice Judith Butler's theory of gender performativity, and work towards the subversion of gender norms as well as the destabilisation of heteronormativity. Both parts of the thesis are closely connected; history serves to keep the laws that define gender, sex and sexuality intact, and, in turn, these laws are often adhered to solely by the virtue of their historicity. What is more, myth and language are equally exposed to be supporting these norms. The aim of this thesis is to...

1 Annotation This work tries to tackle concept of history of knowledge and possibilities of its application for study of history of military historiography. With the use of this concept, the work will analyse processes of organisation, creations and spread of military historiography in interwar Czechoslovakia. It tries to come to terms with historiographical definition of military history but also its contextualisation considering history of knowledge and sociocultural factors describing the relationship of warfare and society. The work attempts it on the example of main, institutional centres of knowledge management of military history in first Czechoslovak republic. 2

This work deals with the life and work of historian, educator, and priest Josef Sakař. Josef Sakař is one of the most prominent Týn nad Vltavou natives. His monumental four-volume work, The History of the town Tyn nad Vltavou and the Surrounding Area, includes the building blocks of South Bohemian regional history. Even though the greater balance of the work was written in the 1930s, to this day it has not been surpassed. Pardubice, like Týn nad Vltavou, owes much to Josef Sakař. It is the city where he spent most of his productive years and where he worked as a secondary school teacher. He wrote his major works here, among them a six-volume history of Pardubice nad Labem. Josef Sakař's activity was more than merely regional: for his efforts to protect historical monuments he was appointed (as the only one of thirty candidates from across the country) an honorary member of the Club for Old Prague in 1925.This thesis analyzes and compares sources, and it determines the importance and value of key events, family ties, friends and personalities that influenced Josef Sakař's life. For 21st-century educators, the thesis looks for inspiration that can be taken from his life and works. The work focuses on Josef Sakař's relationships with relatives, his life's story and activities in Týn nad Vltavou and Pardubice. It is organized chronologically, from his birth to his death. The last part concerns itself with seeking traces of evidence of Josef Sakař in contemporary life. A separate section is devoted to an analysis of four of his key works. The work includes all biographical data and important life milestones of Josef Sakař and contains a complete bibliography.

This Master thesis is about the perception of Philip II, Spanish king of 16th century, in modern Spanish fiction. The work counts with brief historical introduction to the person of Philip II according to the newest historiographical research, particularly Geoffrey Parker's studies. It then continues with brief introspection into Spanish cultural, political and social ambience of the studied period. Some reasons and explications are given concerning the 20th and 21st century literary situation in Spain. The aim of this work is to discover the perception of the Spanish monarch through analysis of selected literature taking into consideration authors backgrounds and opinions. The study starts with the introduction and ends with the conclusion completed with a résumé in the Spanish language.

Václav Žůrek Comparison of the Use of Historical Motives in the Monarchical Legitimacy in Kingdoms of France and Bohemia in the Late Middle Ages Abstract Concepts of the past are most important parts in the formation of individual and collective identity. Medieval authors deliberately used the historical narratives as a means of enhancing the cohesion of respective social groups, usually the ruling strata of society. The doctoral thesis focuses on re-interpretations and exploitations of the past in France and Bohemia during the 14th century, on the role of historical narratives in the self-representation of the ruling dynasties Luxembourg and Valois, and on the perception of their own role in the history. Main question of the thesis is the social and literary context of the shaping of an imagination of the past: detailed comparison between the Latin and vernacular historiographical production at the royal courts in France and Bohemia bring also crucial observations as to the ways and means of cultural transfer between the respective centres of power.

(in English): The political and social circumstances of the Koryŏ period gave rise to the phenomenon of the so called rebels. The official chronicle Koryŏsa recorded their cases in thirty-eight biographies that were supposed to serve as a warning for the posterity. What models of rebels and sorts of revolts did exist according to the chronicle and what conditions did enable their occurrence?

The diploma thesis called "Motives and Results of The Great Terror in the USSR 1936-1938 in historic discussion" analyzes in broad terms progression of the scientific discussion in an international scientific world on one of the most important of Soviet history. It means bloody purges in late thirties. In the strict sense the diploma thesis has to assess two aspects of world's scholarship on this topic. Motives of the great purges and results of repressive policy in qualitative and quantitative terms. A special attention is to be given to a problem of eventual ideological approach of scholars. This paper has to present a main trends in global research of "The Great Terror" and stalinism respectively too. Next: to study an effect of objective circumstancies on the research (particularly fall of the USSR and so called archive revolution in 1991). A final part writes on contemporary achievement in a global research and on meanings of narrow problems 1936-1938 in a stalinism research in whole. Last word is dedicated to an relations of academia public to changes in terms of an official interpretations of history of stalinism in the Russian Federation.

The Construction of Historical Reality in Jean Froissart's Chronicles Jean Froissart, one of the most famous chroniclers of the Middle Ages, is generally recognized for the literary qualities of his work, less so for the credibility of his account. In my research I have endeavoured to follow those scholars whose aim has been to rehabilitate the author by studying him not on the basis of principles which govern our contemporary understanding of history as an academic discipline, but rather on the basis of conceptual movements which conditioned historical writing in the 14th century, taking into account the traditions upon which medieval conception of history was built. Put differently, this work seeks to examine closely the "historical forge" of Jean Froissart. Clearly, Froissart's historical project falls within a specific discourse on historical genres, on relationships between form and truth which an account of deeds is expected to convey, on the manner in which the authority of a story being told is constructed. It is on the very intersection of this context, on the one hand, and the individuality of the author, on the other, that I based my search for the chronicler's perspectives on the writing of history. Froissart was from the outset concerned with the issues of impartiality and credibility...

Title: The second life of Zdeněk Nejedlý in Czech historiography and culture Author: Mgr. Václav Nájemník Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Ivana Čornejová, Csc. Department: The History and History Didactics Department Keywords: Zdeněk Nejedlý, second life, methodology, reception, historiography, culture, communism, totalitarianism, literature, art, Bedřich Smetana, Alois Jirásek Abstract: The following dissertation deals with the "second life" of Czech historian, musicologist, reviewer and politician Zdeněk Nejedlý (1878-1962). Its aim is not to elaborate a new biography, but to describe and analyse the influence of this personality on Czech historiography and culture during the communist totalitarian system. His influence is usually perceived as very strong, but seems to have changed over time, and moreover weakened. An important topic will also be the development of the attitude of historians, writers and other cultural personalities to the personality and work of Zdeněk Nejedlý in the context of Czech history in the second half of the twentieth century. The purpose of the work is to show that the personality of Zdeněk Nejedlý is not the only negative factor that worked for society, but that he himself participated actively in the creation of this image. Finally, it also appears that the "second life" of some of...

Radola Gajda, the general of the czechoslovak legions in Russia and one of the commanders of the army "supreme ruler of Russia", the siberian dictator Alexander Vasilevich Kolchak, the then general of the czechoslovak army, which in a short time reached to the highest place, after their overthrow fascist politician and leader of the main czechoslovak fascist party, Národní obec fašistická and participant of many scandals, is one of the most controversial figures in czech and czechoslovak history. On the one hand, a brilliant military leader, a born military commander, on the other hand, a person with sympathy for the authoritarian regimes and fascist parties, which president Tomáš G. Masaryk of his time considered one of the greatest threats to the czechoslovak democracy. The inconsistency of the person of general Gajda has led to the often very significant differences in the perception of this significant figure in our history during the different political regimes that took turns on the territory of the czech lands. As one of the most important commanders of the czechoslovak legions in Russia was Gajda main initiator of their military campaigns against the Bolsheviks, and in fundamental opposition to communism remained even after the rest of your life. Just as essential was the resistance of the...