This study examines the specific aspects of the reception of Russian formalism and the development of the Formal method in Soviet Ukrainian culture in the 1920s - the beginning of 1930s. Russian formalism in the process of reception becomes an important tool for the "modernization" of national culture and, as a result, an instrument for a new phase in the construction of national cultural identity. On that basis, the cultural-historical and ideological context of the development of Ukrainian literary criticism, criticism and (partially) literature of the late 19th - first decades of the 20th century is consistently reconstructed in eight chapters of the work. The first chapter highlights theoretical aspects of the study, reviews critical literature, reconstructs the history of reception of Russian formalism in Russian and Western criticism and the history of literature. The second chapter addresses the historical and theoretical premises of the reception of Formal theory in Ukrainian culture. The next chapter discusses historical and political context of the development of literature and literary criticism in 1917-1920 using the example of multinational post-revolutionary Kiev; a brief review of the theoretical and historical works of the 1920s also appears here. A special focus is put on the...

Diploma thesis "Reflection of National Identities in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Discussion of NATO Membership" is a discourse analysis focusing on the socio-political environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the perspective of discussion over possible accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The first part of the thesis begins by an overview of the history of NATO engagement in the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, followed by a summary of current NATO relations with the countries of Western Balkans, specifically with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Special regard is given to national identities and their role in the conduct of the country's foreign policy. The second part of the thesis is dedicated to examining the current political debate. It seeks to understand how national identity shapes the discussion over the accession to the organisation. Specifically, through discourse analysis, it aims to identify the tools employed in the political debate and the impact it has on the overall political environment of the country.

This Master's thesis focuses on accountability, which is understood as a relation between an actor and an external forum. The actor is accountable to the forum which means the actor must explain and justify their actions. This thesis regards as actors civil society organizations that provide social services. The thesis explores what forms of accountability are employed in annual reports of civil society organisations that provide social services during Petr Nečas' government and using which discourses. The era of Petr Nečas' government is considered to be an era of neoliberal reforms. The method used in this thesis is Critical Discourse Analysis by Norman Fairclough. The thesis identifies bureaucratic discourse as the dominant and discourse of civil society as the minority. Being accountable through beraucratic discourse serves for legitimizing an organisation. Civil society discourse reflects and forms identities of organizations.

This diploma thesis will focus on the Griko dialect, which is still spoken in some areas of Apulia and which is characterized by its ambiguity between the Greek and Italian language. It thus bears the remnants of Greek culture in southern Italy. The diploma thesis will consist of a theoretical and practical part: In the first part, the cultural-historical reality that defines the dialect will be described. This will be followed by a practical analysis of selected texts, their subsequent description and analysis by a comparative method. Lastly, the work will deal with the current socio-cultural situation of the dialect and its use. Key words: griko, Southern Italy, Salento, Apulia, Greece, language, dialect, culture, text analysis, national traditions, identity, Greek, Italian, prestige, origin

The aim of the present study is to account for the significance of mobility in American culture and its reflection in literature. In order to reach this goal, the thesis observes the role of mobility in the history of the United States, its transformation in the twentieth century, and the manifestation of this motif in the works of Jack Kerouac. Through the analysis of his novels, including On the Road, The Dharma Bums, Desolation Angels, Lonesome Traveler, and Big Sur, the thesis identifies some of the recurrent themes associated with the motif of journey and further interprets them in the context of postwar America. With the support of an array of secondary literature, this research approaches mobility as a constitutive part of the American identity and Jack Kerouac as one of its most ardent advocates. The introduction probes the contemporary preoccupation with space and the necessity of interrogating its intersection with time. While incorporating both of these dimensions, movement is identified as a manifestation of this intersection and it is distinguished from mobility as lacking the meaning acquired through culture. In order to explain this process of acquiring meaning, the link between mobility and narrative is established and its presence in literature observed. It is subsequently argued...

This Thesis called "Amenity migration and regional identity in the Prachatice region" looks into comparing the strenght of regional identity of inhabitants and amenity migrants in the field of interest area ORP Prachatice. Amenity migration is quite new term that can be translated as "pleasure migration". This specific type of migration stems from the hum desire to live in areas with high quality environment. This usualy includes the transition of population from urban to countryside environment. For the use of this Thesis the area of interest was chosen area of ORP Prachatice that consist of three executive offices - PÚ Netolice, PÚ Prachatice and PÚ Volary. The whole area of interest offers on a quite narrow territory three different environments. The aim of this Thesis is the comparison of the level of regional identity among inhabitants in relation to the diverse environment and also the comparison of the strenght of regional identity between the group of permanent inhabitants and amenity migrants. The results of the Thesis which are being evaluated from the questionare research are aiming at the mobility of the population, evaluating the quality of elements of surrounding environment, regional symbolism, the positive and negative side of the region, inhabitant awareness and the subject of...

My thesis is focusing on Muslim pupil position in the Czech elementary school. It is an actual topic of the Czech school system together with foreign pupil education generally. Pupils are educated in the multicultural era and for this reason it is essential to deal with this topic. I am explaining the selection of the topic within the introduction of my thesis. Theoretical part is introducing topic related information, arranged logically to make a meaningful text. Within this part is described who belongs to this group, what they have in common, how they differ, how they have affected Europe and the Czech Republic from the past to the present. In addition, I am describing the outcome of Muslim integration to the society, view on their differences and of course the Czech elementary schools approach to this topic. To find out the situation of Muslim pupil within the education process in the Czech elementary school system is the objective of the empirical part of my thesis. To get the findings on the Muslim pupil in the elementary school, I have used the observation method. The case interpretation is recorded in this part. Not to focus only on the Muslim pupil, I have made structured interviews with other five home teachers in the same school.

Between the Old and the New Homeland: Integration and Self-Identification of the Czech Community in the USA throughout the Second Half of the XIXth century Mgr. Krasimira Marholeva, Ph.D. Abstract The dissertation assessed the interdependence between the process of integration and shifting national identity of Czech immigrants in the USA throughout the second half of the XIXth century. In the first place, I explored the strategy they elaborated in order to integrate to the American society. Secondly, I assessed how the Czech immigrants identified themselves and how they endeavoured to preserve their national and cultural identity, to prevent their children from acculturation and assimilation. Last but not least, I explored the process of integration and self-identification of the children of the Czech freethinkers during the period in question through the prism of their letters that had been published in the Czech-American freethinking periodical press. In my work, I relied on archival sources, on Czech-American periodical press, on auto-biographies of Czech immigrants in the USA, on memoirs of Czech-American contemporaries and Czech travellers, and last but not least, on letters of the children of the Czech freethinkers in the USA.

The diploma thesis is devoted to explanation of Czech position towards European monetary integration. Even though Czechia is committed to adopt euro, the official term has not been set. The main purpose of a thesis is to answer why the Czech Republic postponed entrance into to eurozone indefinitely. The first chapter applies materialistic aspects of liberal intergovernmentalist theory into the Czech context by analysing economic interests on micro and macro level. Detailed cost-benefit analysis results in a slight favour of entrance. However, valid economic arguments on both sides and lack of interest group pressure allow government to adopt waiting strategy. Second analytical part incorporates constructivist theory, particularly defines Czech national identity and its effect on public opinion on eurozone. The thesis refuses exclusive character of the Czech identity and its ability to fully explain postponement of euro adoption. Thesis main contribution to international relation research is final chapter, which extends traditional integration theories by perspective of ideology. Ideological prism seems to present the most eloquent explanation of the Czech position, especially dominance of firstly the Eurosceptic ODS and then populist party ANO, as well as conservative stance of CNB. Despite the fact that...

Lubor JENČEK: City branding krajských měst v Česku Abstract This thesis deals with city branding of Czech regional capital cities. Its goal is to compare city branding of Czech regional capital cities and reveal a functional mechanism of city branding in practice. The theoretical framework of this thesis is based on the concept of branding, which is first discussed in general and later theoretically and practically expanded. Its functions in general are discussed. In the empirical part, the main research attention is dedicated to concepts of place branding and city branding on the case of the contemporary city branding of Czech regional capital cities The thesis aims to answer six research questions divided into three thematical groups - interpretation of Czech regional capital cities' brands, motivation for their creating and use, and the ways how to manage them. Answers to these questions should reveal actual condition of Czech city branding. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods is used in this thesis. Data were acquired by questionnaire survey targeted at all Czech regional capital cities' representatives, and semi-structured interviews with representatives of four selected cities (Ostrava, Zlín, Plzeň and Ústí and Labem) as case studies. The results of the thesis can be applied in...