This diploma thesis is about residents who live in the Lesser Town, the historic center of Prague. It focuses on the changes perceived by residents that took place during their lifetime. Work is based on literature and qualitative research in the form of biographical interviews. The theoretical part deals with the concepts of identity, tourism, gentrification, genius loci and ageing which are essential for understanding the changes identified in the analytical part. The analytical part is divided into seven units: changes of the atmosphere of the Lesser Town, its inhabitants, living environment, housing stock, changes of people who have shared their stories with me and more global changes that had influenced the Lesser Town. The work also describes which problems and benefits related to life in the Lesser Town do communication partners perceive.

This paper focuses on ageism between extreme age groups of the adult population in the Czech Republic in an international comparison. It builds on the findings regarding the extent of the problem of ageism and the increasing importance of age as a social characteristic in modern societies. The objective is to enrich the traditional exploration of ageism as a problem relating to seniors with an analysis of mutual intergenerational relationships. Using the perspective of social identity theory, the relationships between young people and seniors are described as the result of the forming process of the own age and generational identities of young people and seniors and the mutual comparison and estranging of these groups. To answer the research questions regarding the methods of forming identities of the youth and age and the sources of mutual ageism, an analysis of qualitative interviews with young people and seniors and quantitative data from two international surveys (European Social Survey Round 4 and the International Social Survey Programme 2013) were used. Analyses in the empirical section show that ageism is more common in the Czech Republic than in other European country, and they also indicate the specific sources of ageism in the Czech environment. The importance of mutual expectations...

This diploma thesis deals with the topic of Polish minority, which remained after the Second World War in the city of Lviv that is since 1991 part of independent Ukraine. Particular focus of this project is aimed on reasearch of a relationship between collective memory and identity of this specific minority. For purpose of this project field reasearch in Lviv was conducted in the years 2014-2015. This researched focused on work with Polish periodicals that are being published in Lviv since 1990, conducting semistructured interviews with members of this community and survey research in both high schools with Polish language of education that exist in Lviv. The work itself is divided into four main chapters which focuses on theoretical concepts used for purpose of the thesis, general characteristics of Polish minority in Lviv including historical background and present-day relations with local Ukrainian majority, identity and also collective memory of this community. According to the results of the research Polish minority is very well integrated into the Ukrainian society with elements of partial assimilation that takes place also because of large number of mixed Polish-Ukrainian families or good mutual relations with the Ukrainians. Despite that there exists smaller more compact community which...

The subject of this research, namely career choice of high school graduates, has been considered from the position of moral reasoning. Qualitative analysis of data collected from interviews carried out with 32 graduates identifies career choice to be a significant factor determining the identity of each graduate. The research is based on assumption that moral reasoning is nourished by each one's identity and loyality to oneself, respectively. The basis of this career identity is formed by so called "inveteracy", reflected by various ways in individual's attempt to make a choice that is authentic. Categorically speaking, there exist "plots", that make career selection process complicated, as well as "problematizations", that make any authentic choice virtually impossible. Career choice is interpreted by means of three domains throughout which it becomes apparent both how this process fosters the individual's relationship with the outside world, with those closest to him/her and with himself/herself and what kind of affect this relationship has on his/her very identity. During the research, career choice turns out to be a continual and complex process that far surpasses the actual period of submitting a college application.

Vienna, once the biggest Czech city, into which craftsmen, wage workers and servants, most of them coming from the Bohemian and Moravian south, poured by houndreds in search for work in the 19th and at the beginning of the 20th century. Some would progressively return back to Bohemia and Moravia, while others would settle down in Vienna and assimilate completely. This thesis, however, focuses on the descendants of those who, although they stayed in Vienna, maintained their tie to Czech culture and their Czechness. The thesis, based upon nineteen biographical stories collected in May and June 2015 in Vienna, presents the ways in which the interviewees construct their ethnical/national and collective identity and communicative memory. The interviewees are representatives of Vienna's Czech old residents who speak Czech, are active in the community's life and each one of whom has at least one ancestor of Czech origin who came to Vienna before Wold War II or earlier. Depending on their birthdate, they were assigned a place within one of the following generations: interwar, war, middle and youngest. Every generation is given one chapter presenting its speakers, the ways in which they identify themselves, their attitude (active or passive) to the building of their identity as well as the commonly shared...

The thesis presents a view on a group of amateur chefs - the culinary experts- for whom the cooking has become an essential part of their identity. On the basis of the analysis of semistructured interviews and the participating observation the author studies the tricks of creating of identity of the culinary experts and their life-style. Present day liquid modernity and hyper-consumerist society in a way offers the space for paying attention to oneself and for building an own life project. The culinary art has become for some individuals very important hobby, not only because of the fact that through it they can give pleasure to their bodies, but it can also improve their social status. The text shows that the culinary art brings to amateur chefs the possibility to dedicate their life to cooking, regardless the social stratification or economical class they come from. On the other hand, there is a distinctive dimension which shows that merely the consumption of fine food does not make a fine food eater or a fine diner. The group of the culinary experts is building an exceptional social status though distinctive tricks of consumption of so called "good food". This group is not homogenous and it is relatively open to new members who must subsequently prove and demonstrate the expert knowledge of a...

This diploma thesis is an empirical ethnographic study of forms of support for LGBTQ+ students in all types of schools from primary school to university. The monitored topic is Institutional provision of the LGBTQ+ support network and the establishment of extra- curricular support groups for LGBTQ+ pupils. The aim of the work is to verify the provision of LGBTQ+ support and to specify the functioning of extracurricular support groups. The study then focuses focus on the potential problems students identify when seeking support in school and on the problems of articulation of identity at critical moments in school education. Using the qualitative Grounded Theory method revealed the conditions for providing support in both schools and LGBTQ+ support groups. Due to the COVID19 pandemic, data collection has moved into virtual space. Using online semi-structured interviews, LGBTQ+ students described the problems of accessibility of support in schools and problems surrounding the articulation of identity at critical moments in school education.and the problems surrounding the articulation of identity at critical moments in school education. Potential problems were also articulated by the founders of LGBTQ+ support groups. The results of Grounded Theory method revealed direct influence of the...

The purpose of this thesis is to examine racial socialization strategies and practices of white Czech mothers raising biracial black and white children. The research question is theoretically framed by critical race theory perspective. Data were obtained based on an exploratory approach through semi-structured interviews with ten mothers of underage children. Thematic analysis revealed some of the strategies, practices and concepts described in the Western societies. Also, distinct themes in the Czech context emerged, mainly due to the racial homogeneity of the Czech society. The main findings indicate an identification of specific racial socialization strategy connected to hypervisibility of the children, barriers mothers face in developing race related competencies and the absence of preparation for bias.

the Jewish community of Velké Meziříčí has acquired urban and regional significance, which lasted until the middle of the 20th century. Dominant of the Jewish ghetto was a complex of three synagogues originating from different periods. To the present day, two synagogues, the Old Synagogue from 1695 and the New Synagogue built in pseudo-gothic style between 1868-1870 based on August Prokop´s design, have been preserved. The location of the three synagogues is a very unsettled urban whole, which is poorly accessible and creates the atmosphere of a special and inhospitable place. The centerpiece of the site is a new synagogue, which now serves as a Vietnamese marketplace. The aim of the diploma thesis was to restore the values of the cultural area of the three synagogues and to define the new functional use of the buildings in connection with the living urban structure with the insertion of new architectural forms.

The aim of my thesis is to find and insert a new function to the city of Sumperk in a way as sensitive as possible to the city environment, based on its needs and was beneficial not only for the city itself but also for the bigger region.