The diploma thesis is focused on the analysis of selected works of the winter landscape painting of the Norther European painters . Structurally, the work is conducted in such a way that it first introduces the evolution of landscape painting in the Northern Europe from 14.-16. century. In this context, three selected works are analyzed, whose scenes are set in the winter landscape. The cultural-historical context of the 16th-17th centuries is then outlined to familiarize with the circumstances of the time. century in the Netherlands. Then lives and works of the painters presented are briefly mentioned. The core of the thesis is the formal and iconographic analysis of selected works, especially from the workshop of the Brueghel's family and their followers. The landscape paintings with an impressive atmosphere are analyzed, observed are also habits and traditions of the ordinary inhabitants of the villages or towns whit is represented on the pictures. The attention of interest are also biblical scenes connected with the Nativity of Chist or folk celebrations of Christian feats during the winter. The purpose of this work is to reflect the importance of winter landscape with reference to the life of a common inhabitants taking into account the socio-historical context of the Netherlands 16th-17th...

The thesis discusses the changes of the sociocultural role of Carnival and Charivari in the Western culture from the Late Middle Agges to the end of the early modern period. The thesis is graunded in the analysis of secondary literature about the carnival and charivari , which is considered to be paradigmatic in history. The analysis follows the thesis of theoretical concepts of N. Elias and M. Foucault. Both of these authors deal with establishing specific individuality of modern man based on the necessary self-control a courtesy codified by social consensus. Carnival and charivari are examples of ritualized collective transgression, which helps create the values and norms of society. Carnival is primarily an expression of popular culture, which includes ritual, play and festivities. It celebrates human nature; the bodily pleasure food, drink, sex and violence, everything that should be civilized by culture. The goal of the thesis is to examine the process of civilizing or disciplining carnival , to determine the initiators and agents of this change. Following the previous then to check whether originally spontaneous carnival festivities, games and rituals in the historical development, which is characterized by a loss of spontaneity, commercialization and professionalization, completely lost their...

Waste management is a global concern and landfill sites are facing a crisis of handling capacity. This is worsened by the fact that many consider landfilling as an environmentally responsible and cost-effective solution to waste disposal. Carnival City generates vast quantities of solid waste on a daily basis and most of it ends at the landfill, which it acknowledges that it’s a wastage of recoverable resources, hence its commitment of “zero-waste-to-landfills by 2022”. This study evaluated solid waste management practices at Carnival City Casino in Brakpan. Informed by an interpretive paradigm, qualitative methods including interviews, observations, photographs and document reviews were used to collect data. Based on abductive reasoning, the waste management hierarchy and the ISO 14001 standard were used as frameworks for recontextualising and presenting the collected data. The waste hierarchy sets out the preferred order of waste management practices, from the most favoured to the least preferred option. The effectiveness of current waste management practices is limited as Carnival City heavily depends on landfilling and implement waste minimisation, reuse, recycling and recovery on a small scale. Absence of a waste separation at source policy limits recycling activities significantly. The researcher noted the presence of some areas of conformity to South African legislation pertaining to waste management, international standards and Carnival City’s standard operating procedures, and some areas of good practice. The study showed that there is room for improving concerning Carnival City’s current waste management practices. It recommends that waste management training and awareness be undertaken on a continuous basis to improve current practices and ensure that more waste is diverted from landfill sites. Investment into waste to energy technologies should be considered to help Carnival City to meet Sun International’s commitment of “zero-waste-to-landfills by 2022”. Recycling must be maximised and its environmental and financial benefits be highlighted. The research recommends developing of a separation at source policy and its enforcement by the Environmental Committee as the absence of the documented procedures results in deviations from environmental objectives. Offenders who do not follow procedures should be duly punished. It also recommends that a disciplinary action and a fine be introduced for kitchens that will deviate from the policy. / Environmental Sciences / M. Sc. (Environmental Management)

Cervantes' Don Quixote (1605, 1615) is one of the most significant works of European literature. In the 20th century, the two-part novel became one of the fundamental texts for literary and cultural theorists, on which they based their theoretical studies on writing, literature, and culture in general. But do external theoretical views agree with a specific literary history? The diploma thesis presents three selected interpretations of Don Quixote (by V. Shklovsky, M. Bakhtin, and M. Foucault), which are compared with the findings from Spanish studies and with the novel in the original. At the same time, the reading of theoretical works should not be primarily revisionist; the thesis has a comparative character, and the aim is to express the relation between external and internal views of Cervantes' novel.

Cette thèse a pour objet l’ensemble des manifestations festives que donnent à lire trois romans de Victor Hugo : Notre-Dame de Paris, Les Misérables et Quatrevingt-treize. Son hypothèse générale est que la fête, lorsqu’elle est envisagée comme rite collectif, prend en charge les différentes tensions qui, au XIXe siècle, escortent l’évolution des statuts du citoyen, du devenir historique et des rapports entre le peuple et le pouvoir. La récurrence de certains motifs tend à montrer que la thématisation et l’écriture de la fête chez Hugo sont soumises à deux lois. La première consiste en la cohabitation sociale du sublime et du grotesque. La deuxième repose sur le détournement des ressources scripturales, formelles, rhétoriques du carnavalesque vers un tableau sinistre et funèbre. L’étude sociocritique de ces différentes scènes met en lumière les relations que les romans hugoliens entretiennent avec l’imaginaire social de la Révolution française, de la Restauration et du Second Empire, tout particulièrement à l’égard des débats sur la misère, sur le sens du pouvoir et sur la notion de progrès. / This thesis focuses on the festive events in three novels by Victor Hugo : Notre-Dame de Paris, Les Misérables and Quatrevingt-treize. Its general hypothesis is that the festival, when considered as a collective rite, takes charge of the different tensions in the nineteenth century that escort the evolution of the status of the citizen, of the historical future and of the relationship between the people and the power. The recurrence of certain motifs tends to show that the thematization and the writing of the festival in Hugo’s work is subject to two laws. The first consists in the social cohabitation of the sublime and the grotesque. The second is based on the detour of the scriptural, formal and rhetorical resources of the carnival towards a sinister and funereal picture. The sociocritical study of these different scenes highlights the links that novels maintain with the social imaginary of the French Revolution, the Restoration and the Second Empire, particularly with regard to the debates on misery, the meaning of power and the notion of progress.

This thesis explores the relationship between the plurality of polyphonic and independent voices and consciousnesses, a Mikhail Bakhtin's concept, in two plays by Lope de Vega. El maestro de Danzar y El bobo del colegio are two of his least known and studied. Both plays present protagonists, simple citizens, which pretend to court two noble ladies. Under these circumstances, they are forced to avoid social rejection, issue guaranteed by their humble lineage. In order to complete their undertaking, they disguise as a dance teacher and a university fool. This process shields them from, the above mentioned, traditional disapproval they are subject to. It also entitles them to become, symbolically and virtually, the main dialogic executors in the play. Bakhtin depicts the process of embracing an alternate identity, different from their own, as a vital part of carnival. It compels the leading characters, El maestro and El bobo being no exception, to undergo two changes. First, they become a new individual, recognizable only to those who are aware of their masks. Second, their voices attract attention to the point of influencing the preeminent nobles of the comedy to follow their lead. Further, their ideas come to matter more than those of any other voice in the comedy. In the beginning they follow an ideal, and are subdued by social hierarchy. At the conclusion, they finish leading and controlling the polyphonic relationship between the independent voices and consciousnesses of the other characters in the play. And rather than a conflict, both comedies depict a harmonic social interaction of all their characters. Although scholarship exists analyzing individual plays, a comprehensive study of the effective association between language and disguise favoring a villano over high-class citizens has never been undertaken. This is Lope's strategy to plainly contrast the traditional social differentiation of classes.

La commedia dell'arte is a recognized, vibrant theatrical form that emerged in Italy during the Renaissance. However, while great attention has been given to the particulars of the genre (performance techniques, important troupes, leading players), there lacks a study behind the reasoning for its vast international popularity. In this thesis, I explore why this particular genre was able to cross cultural and linguistic boundaries, finding a dedicated and enthusiastic following in most European countries for over 200 years. After analyzing commedia dell'arte's original development in the Italian peninsula, examining the predominating Carnival ideology and the ability of the troupes to establish both regional and national symbols through the creation of specific stock characters, I will concentrate on the international tours and performances. By looking at the adaptive qualities of the troupes, and specifically their ability to play off of Europe's lack of national identity and Northern European's fascination with their exotic southern neighbor, I will discuss the reaction of Northern Europe with the Italian theatre, with a detailed look into the success of the troupes abroad. The popularity of the troupes will also be explored through the unique adaptation, assimilation and adoption of commedia dell'arte techniques and characters into developing national theatres of the other countries. I will conclude with a look of how commedia dell'arte has been and can continue to be effectively used in today's theatre. The examination of what drew both native and foreign audiences to the commedia dell'arte performances opens up possibilities for modern practitioners who wish to capitalize on the ability of the troupes to successfully play to a wide spectrum of people.

There has always been some sort of power struggle between children and adults in children’s literature. My essay is an analysis of the German children’s fantasy novel The Neverending Story (swe. Den oändliga historien, ger. Die unendliche Geschichte) with focus on the child’s power and power related relationships between the child and adults. The power dynamics play a large part in the novel that is rarely, or never, talked about. I will use a close reading analysis regarding the main character Bastian’s relationship to different adult characters, his journey to power, how the novel fits Bachtin’s carnival theory and the true ruler of Bastian’s world as well as the world of Fantastica (swe. Fantásien, ger. Phantásien). The study shows among other things that while Bastian gains power throughout the novel, he is somewhat punished for using that power and ultimately loses it. He is subordinate to the adults around him; however, holds some sort of power over them at different points in the novel. His journey to power can be described with Clémentine Beauvais’ concepts of authority and might, where the mighty child gains authority in Fantastica. The journey can also be described as a carnival, though that can also be questioned regarding the fact that Bastian is punished for using his power. In my analysis, I also question who, or what, holds the mightiest position in Bastian’s world and Fantastica respectively. At the end of the day, Bastian is just a child with the potential of being mighty, but his age makes him subordinate to the adult world.

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