Josef Václav Scheybal : A documentalist and a collector The diploma thesis deals with Josef Václav Scheybal (1928 - 2001) and his activity mainly in northern Bohemia. It attempts to capture all aspects Scheybal's personality, because he was a painter, graphic artist, illustrator, art historian and ethnographer. He was an expert of folk architecture and sculpture, folk furniture, technical equipment, the popular clothing, prints, folk songs, was the creator of multiple exposures. He also cooperated with the Institute of ethnography and folklore, ethnographic research, participated throughout the country, with results published regularly. His focus on folk architecture resulted in a lifetime's research and documentary work. He gathered the valuable work of drawing documents, publications of folk architecture and free of the open air. The thesis also includes his family, the father Josef Scheybal and his wife Jana Scheybalová. Keywords Scheybal, ethnographer, collector, documentation, folk architecture, folk costumes, North Bohemia

This thesis is a study of representations of Pacific Asia in exhibitions in Stockholm. In the Swedish culture and art sphere, a public discussion surrounding Asia is conspicuously absent even though there are significant amounts of residents in Sweden with an Asian background. The thesis analyses three selected exhibitions: Korea Gallery at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Dreamers’ Quay, Dreamers’ Key at Bonniers Konsthall, and From dying to living at Moderna Museet. The material consists of field observations, exhibition catalogs, handouts, wall texts, and interviews with the involved curators alongside with the exhibitions themselves. The thesis aims to initiate a critical discussion around the representations of the so-called “Other” and the implications of curatorial approaches in these exhibitions that primarily revolve around Asian themes with the help of the following research questions: 1) How is Asia portrayed and represented in each exhibition?; 2) What perception of Asia and Asianness is conveyed through the exhibitions as well as by the way of other related material?; and 3) How is the curatorial approach to the exhibitions with ethnographic themes revolving around Asianness? The qualitative case studies assess both the content and visuals of the exhibitions and the preparation processes of the exhibitions, and theoretically, they are informed by Stuart Hall’s theory of representation as well as Hal Foster’s and Miwon Kwon’s writings on the artist as ethnographer. Through an examination of the three case exhibitions, the thesis finds that representations of Asia are varied and have benefited from extensive curatorial efforts but show occasional weaknesses in terms of displaying the Other. The thesis contributes to a better understanding of representations of Asia in exhibitions in Sweden and hopefully paves the way for future research of this kind.

Les pratiques religieuses dans les pays de l’Atlantique Nord se transforment et on observe pour une partie de leur population le passage d’un « croire institutionnalisé » à une spiritualité influencée par diverses traditions, dont certaines ont fait leur apparition sur ce territoire au milieu du 20e siècle. Le présent mémoire vise à mettre en lumière une des facettes de la diversité religieuse contemporaine; suite aux questionnements qui ont surgi au long du travail, il aborde aussi certains enjeux sous-jacents à l’analyse d’un groupe religieux en anthropologie, notamment comment aborder le terrain et comment considérer un tel groupe. J’ai choisi pour ce faire de décrire un groupe religieux québécois qui est lié à un culte afro-brésilien – l’umbanda– et qui est membre d’un réseau transnational de temples. J’examinerai d’abord comment l’umbanda s’est développée au Brésil, car cela fournira des indications pertinentes sur, entre autres choses, l’éventuelle perméabilité de cette tradition, une fois le groupe implanté dans un pays de l’Atlantique Nord. J’examinerai ensuite le type de transnationalisation qui a présidé à la naissance du temple à Montréal, car cette analyse offre des indices permettant de déterminer comment un tel groupe s’insère dans le paysage religieux de divers pays. Enfin, en me penchant sur les pratiques religieuses des membres du groupe, je tenterai de dégager certaines particularités locales. / Religious practices in North Atlantic countries are evolving, and there are particular cases where one can observe a changeover from institutional beliefs towards forms of spirituality issuing from a variety of traditions, many of which appeared on the scene towards the middle of the 20th century. The present thesis aims to shed some light on one facet of contemporary religious diversity; following up on questions which arose in the course of this exploration, it also addresses issues underlying the anthropological analysis of religious groups, for instance how to approach fieldwork, and how to consider such a group. To this end I have chosen to describe a religious group in Quebec which is linked to an Afro-Brazilian cult named Umbanda, and which is part of a transnational network of Umbanda temples. I shall begin by setting out how Umbanda developed in Brazil, since this informs us as to, for instance, the likelihood of permeability of such a tradition once it is “planted” in Northern soil. I will then analyse the type of transnationalisation that was at work when the Montreal group was set up, since this provides relevant indicators allowing us to determine how the group settles into the religious landscape of different countries. Finally, by examining the religious practices of members of the group, I shall attempt to elucidate a number of distinctive local features.

Les pratiques religieuses dans les pays de l’Atlantique Nord se transforment et on observe pour une partie de leur population le passage d’un « croire institutionnalisé » à une spiritualité influencée par diverses traditions, dont certaines ont fait leur apparition sur ce territoire au milieu du 20e siècle. Le présent mémoire vise à mettre en lumière une des facettes de la diversité religieuse contemporaine; suite aux questionnements qui ont surgi au long du travail, il aborde aussi certains enjeux sous-jacents à l’analyse d’un groupe religieux en anthropologie, notamment comment aborder le terrain et comment considérer un tel groupe. J’ai choisi pour ce faire de décrire un groupe religieux québécois qui est lié à un culte afro-brésilien – l’umbanda– et qui est membre d’un réseau transnational de temples. J’examinerai d’abord comment l’umbanda s’est développée au Brésil, car cela fournira des indications pertinentes sur, entre autres choses, l’éventuelle perméabilité de cette tradition, une fois le groupe implanté dans un pays de l’Atlantique Nord. J’examinerai ensuite le type de transnationalisation qui a présidé à la naissance du temple à Montréal, car cette analyse offre des indices permettant de déterminer comment un tel groupe s’insère dans le paysage religieux de divers pays. Enfin, en me penchant sur les pratiques religieuses des membres du groupe, je tenterai de dégager certaines particularités locales. / Religious practices in North Atlantic countries are evolving, and there are particular cases where one can observe a changeover from institutional beliefs towards forms of spirituality issuing from a variety of traditions, many of which appeared on the scene towards the middle of the 20th century. The present thesis aims to shed some light on one facet of contemporary religious diversity; following up on questions which arose in the course of this exploration, it also addresses issues underlying the anthropological analysis of religious groups, for instance how to approach fieldwork, and how to consider such a group. To this end I have chosen to describe a religious group in Quebec which is linked to an Afro-Brazilian cult named Umbanda, and which is part of a transnational network of Umbanda temples. I shall begin by setting out how Umbanda developed in Brazil, since this informs us as to, for instance, the likelihood of permeability of such a tradition once it is “planted” in Northern soil. I will then analyse the type of transnationalisation that was at work when the Montreal group was set up, since this provides relevant indicators allowing us to determine how the group settles into the religious landscape of different countries. Finally, by examining the religious practices of members of the group, I shall attempt to elucidate a number of distinctive local features.