The topic of the thesis is women's emancipation movement in Žilina introduced on the basis of an example of local department of Slovak Women's Association Živena between 1918 and 1945. To start with, the thesis presents the situational context of the town in question and its surrounding regions as well as the Živena Association. It deals with the composition of the department's members and the ways it influenced the selection of adressees, the public's attitude towards the department and self-perception of members' role in the public sphere. The thesis analyses also the chosen strategies of the department's admission into the town's public space, external and internal reasons for choosing them and their success rate in the case of promoting women's emancipation thoughts among the local public.Considering the chosen time period, the thesis also focuses on the development of the studied topics influenced by political and social changes taking place in the region of current Slovakia in the covered time period.

The present master's thesis deals with an introduction of Sophia H. Chen Zen (Chen Hengzhe), the first female professor at Beijing University, who in her life and work represents the generation of May Fourth intellectuals, who were educated in traditional scholarship, but who also recieved modern western education. Western scholarship filled these intellectuals with enthusiasm and they were eagerly introducing it into China. Chen Hengzhe grew up in a traditional scholar family, and since her childhood she longed for education. This desire was fulfilled by winning one of the first Boxer Indemnity Scholarship opened for women. She spent six years on her studies in the United States, where she met some of the leaders of the New Culture Movement (merging with the May Fourth Movement) like Hu Shi, or her future husband Ren Hongjun. Chen Hengzhe is also remembered as a writer of the first baihua-written story, in the early beginning of chinese literary movement. But the main field of Chen Hengzhe was history. Using her knowledge and teaching experience, she wrote one of the first histories of the west in China. Exactly in the analysis of her historical writing lies the center of our thesis. The biggest part concerns with Chen Hengzhe's history textbook and its historical and cultural context of early...

The main aim of the diploma thesis is to analyse selected women's magazines which were published between the years 1918-1938. The analysis of chosen articles published in selected magazines is based on the heuristics and interpretation. First part of the thesis is dedicated to description of the historical and cultural context of the interwar period, the social status of women in the society of First Czechoslovak Republic and to the development of women's emancipation. Second part of the thesis analyses the table of contents of chosen magazines with taking the cultural and social acquisition into the consideration.

Swedish child-care institutions - day nurseries, kindergartens - did not until the 1930s become a concern of the Government. In 1943 the Swedish Riksdag for the first time passed a bill that gave child-care institutions a Government subsidy. This thesis deals with the Government's and the parliamentary commissions' attitudes to child-care institutions. Which type of institution ought to receive a subsidy? And for what reasons? The main argument for child-care institutions has always been that they could stimulate a sound development, for the child's own good and for society's. From the 1930s and into the 1950s most participants in the child-care debate stated that the kindergarten or part-time institutions for the pre-school child from the age of three and upwards was the preferable type. Day nurseries for children, even infants, of families were both parents had to work might be necessary but were to be seen as an emergency solution. From the mid-60s the attitu-de changed. Step by step full-time day nurseries became the institutions that were given priority by the Government. This change in attitude presupposes that the notion of the child changed as well. But it did not change in a vacuum. Borrowing an explanatory model from sociologist Johan Asplund, the thesis treats the child as a "figure of thought", placed between a super-structural discourse on child-care and society's basic, material conditions. Important changes at the level of discourse have been the attitude to modern, industrial society, e.g. the necessity of learning to live and work in a society which is complex, highly specialized and in constant change, and the debate on women's emancipation. At the level of material conditions, the most conspicious change is that more and more women have entered the labour market. The changing notion of the child can be understood as the effect of an influence from discourse and base on the "figure of thought". At the same time, the "figure of thought" in-fluenced the discourse. Thus, a child-care system for the benefit of child and woman and labour market could be established, and harmony could be created, at least in the discourse.

Theodore Fontane is best known as the author of numerous women's novels, which he wrote in the last ten years of his life. This diploma thesis deals with the topic of women's emancipation on the basis of textual analysis of two latter novels by Theodore Fontane - Effi Briest and Mathilde Möhring. In the first part, it characterizes the topic of the period women's emancipation and puts the author's biography into context. In the second part, it creates the picture of position of the main women characters. The last part describes the personal development of the women characters, on the basis of which I determine how much the women's emancipation reflects in the author's work and what is his attitude towards it. This thesis deals with the interpretation of the author's intent to illustrate the creation of an advanced character like Mathilde Möhring. Key words: Theodore Fontane, women's emancipation, Effi Briest, Mathilde Möhring, development of women's characters, women's novels, interpretation, author's intent, counterpoint

This thesis is a critical review of educated women’s leadership in their emancipation in Ethiopia. Did they provide leadership and to what extent? It is to be noted that educated women’s leadership has been of great importance to women’s emancipation worldwide. Strong leadership was also the driving force behind women’s movements and feminism everywhere. However, the role of educated women in Ethiopia is hard to discern and their leadership efforts are largely invisible. On the other hand, many among the educated also lack the passion and desire to commit themselves in the fight for women’s emancipation. In this thesis I researched the settings and frameworks of women’s leadership and discussed the factors that function as limitations and/or opportunities. Overall there were more limitations than opportunities. These limitations are often historically rooted in the country’s religious, cultural, economic, political and traditional systems. And, as much as history and religion can be a source of strength and pride for many, they can also be a serious obstacle. The political regime of the Derg also scarred an entire population to the extent that despite the currently proclaimed ‘freedom’ of the EPRDF ruling party, women remain reluctant to step forward and claim their rights. The ruling party appears to appropriate women’s emancipation as a “private” interest and to use it for political gain, in the same manner as the Derg regime had done before it. Nowhere is there any sign of genuine freedom and equality for women in practice. Rhetoric reigns supreme through laws and policy documents, but they are not matched by genuine actions and concrete strategies. The traditional religious base of society is also making it more difficult to challenge autocratic tendencies of the ruling elite. The effect is that civil society is slowly being pushed to extinction, leaving the ruling party in charge as the main actor in all public services. This has serious consequences for the genuine emancipation of women in the country. The thesis finds that women’s leadership is not a luxury or personal demand, but a crucial step for the development of the country at large. It is encouraging to note that there are different sections of active women in the country waiting for strong leadership, leadership that can unite them into a movement and guide them on their unique emancipation paths. After all, it is only women themselves who, with their existing epistemic advantage, can transform their situation and change their status. / Sociology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)

This thesis is a critical review of educated women’s leadership in their emancipation in Ethiopia. Did they provide leadership and to what extent? It is to be noted that educated women’s leadership has been of great importance to women’s emancipation worldwide. Strong leadership was also the driving force behind women’s movements and feminism everywhere. However, the role of educated women in Ethiopia is hard to discern and their leadership efforts are largely invisible. On the other hand, many among the educated also lack the passion and desire to commit themselves in the fight for women’s emancipation. In this thesis I researched the settings and frameworks of women’s leadership and discussed the factors that function as limitations and/or opportunities. Overall there were more limitations than opportunities. These limitations are often historically rooted in the country’s religious, cultural, economic, political and traditional systems. And, as much as history and religion can be a source of strength and pride for many, they can also be a serious obstacle. The political regime of the Derg also scarred an entire population to the extent that despite the currently proclaimed ‘freedom’ of the EPRDF ruling party, women remain reluctant to step forward and claim their rights. The ruling party appears to appropriate women’s emancipation as a “private” interest and to use it for political gain, in the same manner as the Derg regime had done before it. Nowhere is there any sign of genuine freedom and equality for women in practice. Rhetoric reigns supreme through laws and policy documents, but they are not matched by genuine actions and concrete strategies. The traditional religious base of society is also making it more difficult to challenge autocratic tendencies of the ruling elite. The effect is that civil society is slowly being pushed to extinction, leaving the ruling party in charge as the main actor in all public services. This has serious consequences for the genuine emancipation of women in the country. The thesis finds that women’s leadership is not a luxury or personal demand, but a crucial step for the development of the country at large. It is encouraging to note that there are different sections of active women in the country waiting for strong leadership, leadership that can unite them into a movement and guide them on their unique emancipation paths. After all, it is only women themselves who, with their existing epistemic advantage, can transform their situation and change their status. / Sociology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Sociology)