The master thesis addresses the alteration of Roma discourse and changes of relational patterns between Roma and the wider society during the 1930s and 1940s (more precisely 1927-1950). It focuses on the features attributed to the notion of "a Gypsy" by majority group members. Subsequently, it also attempts to reconstruct, using various levels of discursive practice, the position of Roma in the Slovak society. The main emphasis was laid on the wartime period, which was framed by the interwar and postwar context. In close connection with this anchoring, it tries to trace possible roots of wartime discursive and physical violence. It inquires various continuities and discontinuities of particular policies observing the individuals fulfilling these features attributed to the notion of a "Gypsy" or "an antisocial person" and their limits of agency. Apart from that it scrutinizes different means of categorization and their influence on attitude towards Roma.

The Master’s degree project named “Homage to Krása, Smit and Winterberg” is focusing on the music composed for clarinet in the era of the Second World War. The main aim of this project is to research three specific pieces: Three Songs by Hans Krása, Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano by Leo Smit and Suite for Clarinet and Piano by Hans Winterberg; and provide a recording of them. Besides that, it also provides historical background and theoretical information as well as an interpretative reflection. / Magisterský projekt s názvem "Pocta Krásovi, Smitovi a Winterbergovi" je zaměřen na hudbu pro klarinet zkomponovanou v období druhé světové války. Hlavním cílem projektu je nastudování třech vybraných skladeb (Tři písně pro baryton, klarinet, violu a violoncello Hanse Krásy, Trio pro klarinet, violu a klavír Leo Smita a Suita pro klarinet a klavír Hanse Winterberga) a následné pořízení nahrávek. Mimo to se práce také zabývá osobnostmi skladatelů v historickém kontextu a poskytuje interpretační analýzu skladeb. / <p>Exam Concert (26 April 2022, Nathan Milstein Hall)</p><p>Igor Stravinsky (1882 – 1971)</p><p>Three Pieces for Solo Clarinet (1918)</p><p> </p><p>Francis Poulenc (1899 – 1963)</p><p>Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, FP 184 (1962)</p><p>              I. Allegro tristamente</p><p>              II. Romanza                                                                           </p><p>              III. Allegro con fuoco</p><p> ~</p><p> Hans Winterberg (1901 – 1991)</p><p>Suite for Clarinet and Piano (1944)</p><p>              I. Con moto</p><p>              II. Poco grave (non troppo)</p><p>              III. Presto</p><p> </p><p>Leo Smit (1900 – 1943)</p><p>Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano (1938)</p><p>              I. Allegretto</p><p>              II. Lento</p><p>              III. Allegro Vivace</p><p>Alžběta Baldová, clarinet</p><p>Erik Lanninger, piano</p><p>Madara Tupiņa, viola</p><p>Octavian Leyva Dragomir, piano</p><p> </p><p>Recording in the studio at KMH (28 April 2022)</p><p>Hans Krása: Three Songs for Baritone, Clarinet, Viola and Cello</p><p> </p><p>David Edström, baritone</p><p>Alžběta Baldová, clarinet</p><p>Madara Tupiņa, viola</p><p>Elfi Maria Øhre Marcussen, cello</p><p> </p><p>Sounding part of the project:</p><p>Hans Krása: Three Songs for Baritone, Clarinet, Viola and Cello</p><p>Leo Smit: Trio for Clarinet, Viola and Piano</p><p>Hans Winterberg: Suite for Clarinet and Piano</p>

Finland makes an exception to its Nordic neighbors in the Second World War in that it first fought and outlasted great power aggression alone, later fought alongside the Axis, and finally remained under Soviet pressure for the duration of Cold War. With the ambition of contributing to research regarding small power at large and Finland in particular, this study looks at Finnish military strategy from its independence till its’ final peace with the Soviet Union. It identifies what strategies Finland employed and what factors influenced these strategies. The study conducted a qualitative text analysis in a thematical approach driven by theoretical perspectives on small powers. Contrary to preferences of small power strategy suggested by previous authors, the results indicate that Finland adhered mostly to a strategy of courting. Partly to the international community through the League of Nations and too by efforts of forming defensive measures with its neighbors. The external environment, including its neighbors’ worries of greater powers and the German conquests in the west, played a vital part in shaping Finnish strategy. When no other alternative seemed viable, Finland pursued a strategy of bandwagoning for profit.

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The purpose of this study is to highlight how Pär Lagerkvist’s fictional dwarf, a symbol of the deformed in man but is not always visible on the outside, despises weakness and peace and how the desire for power is expressed in the novel. These aspects in turn lead to contempt for love and mercy, the absence of which implies hostility, something that has moral consequences. The overall moral theme is highlighted from an anti-Nazi perspective through the three images of women with the help of the narratological concept of unreliable narrator. The material used as a basis for the study is the first edition of Lagerkvist’s novel The Dwarf from 1944. Primarily, narratological theory has been used with regard to the concept of unreliable narrator, something that belongs to modern narratology and fiction theory. Unreliable storytelling means that there is a difference between this discourse and the sanctioned content. The unreliable narrator has emerged as a concept in relation to the implicit author. To highlight the anti-Nazi perspective, I have used the moral philosopher Harald Ofstads Vårt förakt för svaghet. The power-theme which is central to the novel, is highlighted on the basis of Nietzsche, who according to Urpu-Liisa Karahka is important in the reading of Lagerkvist in general. Close reading, thematic analysis and narratological method are the methods applied in this study. Christer Johansson has presented and summarized an interesting starting point based on Wayne C. Booth, for narratological analysis where he works with four possible variants for unreliable storytelling. In terms of main results, the question of the dwarf as an unreliable narrator and example of Nazism in relation to the three female charachters show eight cases of false facts, four cases of misinterpretations of correct facts, eight cases regarding how a fictional narrator can make unreliable value judgements about certain fictional facts or circumstances, and finally four cases of how a fictional narrator can express unreliable perceptions of a more general kind, not directly related to individuals in the fictional world.

In 1936 the founders of PAX aimed at 'resistance to modern warfare on grounds of traditional morality'. Believing that 'just war' criteria could no longer be met, they called themselves pacifists. Although most members were Roman Catholic Pax did not claim to be a 'Catholic society' because the RC Church at that time took an opposing view, particularly of conscientious objection. Church authorities attempted to censor Pax literature and instructed clergy to resign from the society. Pax supported conscientious objectors during the Second World War. When membership declined afterwards it continued to publish the Pax Bulletin and to provide a forum where Catholics could debate theological and practical questions of war and peace. By the 1960s Pax had gained some distinguished sponsors and a branch in the United States - support which enabled it to influence debate at the Second Vatican Council in 1965. The Council endorsed the right to conscientious objection. In 1971 Pax merged with Pax Christi, the international Catholic peace organisation which began in France in 1944/45. This is the first detailed historical study of the Roman Catholic element in the British peace movement. The story of Pax demonstrates the part that even a small pressure group can play in changing public opinion through patient work. Eventually, despite apathy and opposition, Pax helped bring the RC Church to a recognition of the right to conscientious objection and played a crucial role in the development of a more widespread peace movement within the Church

This study examines the interaction of the Second World War with the selfhood of Kenneth Preston, a Keighley schoolmaster, using primarily the exceptionally rich content of Preston’s Diary, maintained 1941-1945. In tracing Preston’s home front experience, attention is given to the ways in which the war interacted with the individual’s own self and social conceptions, as well as ways in which subjective experiences and perceptions translated into objective realities, such as in Preston’s participation in the war effort. Illuminating the personal dimensions of the war experience enabled a broad range of meanings and “webs of significance” to emerge, allowing for examination of the interplay between the conflict and understandings of class, community, gender, citizenship, social mores, and aspects of social change during the conflict. Preston’s understandings of himself and of society are intriguing contributions to the discussion surrounding active wartime citizenship, and further historical awareness of the meanings and understandings held within the British population during the era of the Second World War. In particular, the prestige the war offered to modernistic notions of science and technical intelligence is shown to have held a central place in the war experience of this particular individual and in his perception of the rise of the welfare state. With its focus on selfhood, the study is distinguished from arguments grounded in analysis of cultural products from the era; it also contributes to understandings of the causes and implications of social change, as well as the war’s personal impact on the male civilian.

“The Conservative Party and Perceptions of the British Middle Classes, 1951 – 1974,” explores conceptions of middle-class voters at various levels of the party organization after the Second World War. Since Benjamin Disraeli, Conservatives have endeavoured to represent national rather than sectional interests and appeal widely to a growing electorate. Yet, the middle classes and their interests have also enjoyed a special position in the Conservative political imagination often because the group insists they receive special consideration. It proved especially difficult to juggle these priorities after 1951 when Conservatives encountered two colliding challenges: the middle classes growing at a rapid rate, failing to form a unified outlook or identity, and the limited appeal of consumer rhetoric and interests owing to the uneven experience of affluence and prosperity. Conservative ideas and policies failed to acknowledge and resonate with the changing nature of their core supporters and antiquated local party organization reinforced feelings of alienation from and mistrust of new members of the middle classes as well as affluent workers. This research shows that there was no clear-cut path between postwar Conservatism to Margaret Thatcher’s brand of Conservatism in which the individual, self-sufficient and acquisitive middle-class consumer became the champion. Moreover, the Conservative Party revealed, in these discussions, that it was much less ideologically certain than narratives have allowed previously. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Historical work on British war brides has been limited to the creation and collection of nostalgic interview anthologies; often by the women themselves or their children. These anthologies focus on the meeting of Canadian servicemen and British women and the women’s journey to and reunion with their husbands in Canada. Discussions of life in Canada and negative experiences are only briefly mentioned. This dissertation argues that this nostalgic view of war brides in the historical literature hides the immigration, settlement, and citizenship challenges faced by these women in Canada during and after the Second World War. Reception of war brides by the Canadian government and public was not as positive as the current scholarship has suggested. While some war brides flourished in Canada, others experienced adaptational problems, including differences in language and religion, navigating Canada’s housing crisis, and hostile in-laws. A few women also experienced problems related to abandonment, abuse, or husbands with undiagnosed post traumatic stress disorder. Since divorce was difficult to get at the time, these women tended to suffer in silence. Some war brides and their children even experienced problems with their citizenship, due to sexist provisions in the Canadian Citizenship Act in 1946, and changes to the Act in 1976, which made proof of citizenship necessary for all Canadians; something that many war brides were unaware of. This dissertation examines the creation and evolution of Canadian citizenship from a perspective that highlights its initial racism and sexism, as well as the consistent bureaucratic bungling regarding the application of its provisions since 1947. While these cases were fixed by amendments to the Citizenship Act in 2008 and 2014 by the Harper government, the citizenship conundrums that this community faced raise interesting questions about what citizenship means and who gets to be a Canadian citizen. / Thesis / Candidate in Philosophy / Most historical work about British war brides has been overly nostalgic and focussed on the collection and creation of interview anthologies; often created by these women and their children. Discussions of life in Canada and negative experiences are only briefly mentioned. This dissertation argues that this nostalgic view of war brides in the historical literature hides the immigration, settlement, and citizenship challenges faced by these women in Canada during and after the Second World War. The different experiences of these women reveal biases towards their background and gender, relationships damaged by the trauma of war, bureaucratic incompetence in the immigration and citizenship process, and raises important questions about national belonging and the nature of Canadian citizenship, from the post-war period to the present.