This thesis: "The Phenomenon of Heroism in the Eyes of Secondary-school Students" explores the sample of twelve secondary-school students and their perceptions of the conception of a hero in its various forms. It is divided into a theoretical part and an empirical part, the latter is created by the particular results of author's own research. By applying for this thesis adjusted Grounded Theory method it analysis interviews made with the particular students and tries to answer several questions such as whether this generation of secondary-school students has any heroes; how these students exactly perceive a conception of a hero; whether they had any heroes in their childhood; and suchlike. In the part dealing with case-interpretations these students evaluate specific figures by the social discourse marked as heroic - in particular Jan Palach; Václav Havel; and brothers Mašíns. The terms of theoretical bases come mainly from the conception of Philip Zimbardo and his heroism of everyday life; they also come from Mike Featherstone and his distinguishing between an everyday life and a heroic life; conceptions dealing with moral evolution of a human being are reflected too, for instance the theory of Lawrence Kohlberg and others.

Palach Press: Press and Literary Agency. The Exile Agency Study and the Comparation of the Presentation of the Affairs with the Official Mass Media in the Czechoslovakia. Abstract This thesis is a study about literary and press agency Palach Press. The agency was established by Jan Kavan and operated in London in 1970s and 1980s. Its main purpose was to provide information on Czechoslovakia to western journalists and Czech journalist in exile. There was a communication of the alternative public sphere because of a non-functional public sphere, where should be free exchange of opinions. There was a distribution channel of altered camping cars, attached to the Palach Press agency, used to smuggle literature and other materials to Czechoslovakia. Second part of the thesis is practical and focuses on the actual production of Palach Press agency and compares it with information provided by official media in Czechoslovakia, especially with the news published by Czechoslovak press agency. Content analysis is based on the criteria of objectivity.

This thesis deals with cultural image of Jan Palach. It focuses especially on symbols and myths contributing to construction of this image. The main emphasis is given on the concept of sacrifice - the study analyzes comparisons of Jan Palach to archetypes of Jesus Christ and young martyrs. In the second part author analyzes national dimension of Palach's cultural image. She deals with comparison of Palach to Jan Hus and analyzes Palach's funeral as a part of tradition of Czech public funerals - quiet national demonstrations. The methodology of the study is discourse analysis, which is applied not only on texts (fiction and nonfiction), but also on photographic and film footage.

The diploma thesis focuses on the perception of the personality of Jan Palach by the inhabitants of the town of Všetaty. People of different generations, gender and education who shared his place of birth or residence with him. The whole study is based on a thorough heuristic work, which helped to draw the historical context. However, the emphasis is put mainly on the subjective statements of the addressed narrators, processed by years of proven methodological procedures of oral history. The focus is given to ordinary people who do not have direct family or friendly ties to Jan Palach. And because he himself wanted to snatch just such an ordinary Czechoslovak citizen from post-occupation lethargy, the study focuses on the degree of direct or indirect influence on the lives of the narrators.

The master thesis titled "Self-immolation of Jan Palach - from reality, newspaper/TV news to film cover and film reviews of Burning Bush" concerns of film cover of real events in three parts drama called Burning Bush, which is the main topic of the movie. The thesis aims to ascertain to what extent it is the movie with a documentary elements, where authors would have to represent only real events and to what extent it is artistic movie where authors have more space in creativity and could change reality to impress spectators with theatricality and emocionality, with the risk they will change the meaning of real events, therefore they would manipulate with the spectator. The thesis also essays the media content before the 1989 and after the 1989, while it aims to find out not only what is the difference in the newspaper and TV news, but also what difference is in the quantity of the content regarding to Jan Palach in the times of totality and democracy.

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This thesis deals with the course of literary career and with the forms of work of Lenka Procházková, an author, whose literary career started in the turn of late seventies and early eighties in the unofficial literature. As a signee of Charta 77 and a daughter of Jan Procházka - highly acclaimed, yet unpopular for the regime after 1968 - she became a banned author, whose work could not be published within an official structure of Czech literature in the seventies and eighties. Her literary career continues until these days. In the Introduction part the reasons why our interest is aimed at Lenka Procházková in the first place are being described. The basis goals of our work are also stipulated within the Introduction section. In section Fundaments of Research hypotheses for the approach to the following analyses are introduced. In Sources of Information part all used sources are being introduced - already published literary works as well as sources unpublished or materials which have not been compiled yet (archive materials, letters, reminiscences of observers, family and friend eyewitnesses etc.) In the chapter called Life Circumstances accompanying and determining the literary career of Lenka Procházková we present a comprehensive and detailed biography of the author which cannot be found...