"Tvůj cíl je tam, odkud jsi vyšel": Transformativní význam motivu cesty v románech Jacka Kerouaca

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...Cílem této studie je objasnit význam mobility v americké kultuře a její odraz v literatuře. Za tímto účelem sleduje diplomová práce roli mobility v dějinách Spojených Států, její transformaci ve dvacátém století a projev tohoto motivu v dílech Jacka Kerouaca. Skrze analýzu jeho románů Na cestě, Dharmoví tuláci, Andělé zoufalství, Osamělý poutník a Big Sur pojmenovává práce autorova častá témata související s motivem cesty a interpretuje je v kontextu poválečné Ameriky. Na základě rozsáhlého souboru sekundární literatury je mobilita v této studii vnímána coby konstitutivní součást americké identity a Jack Kerouac jakožto jeden z jejích předních proponentů. V úvodu je nastíněno, do jaké míry je v současných teoretických úvahách o myšlení akcentován prostor; zároveň se ukazuje, že prostorem je nutno zaobírat se v závislosti na čase. Jelikož pohyb zahrnuje obě tyto dimenze, může tak být považován za projev jejich střetu. Na rozdíl od mobility však pohybu schází kulturně podložený význam, kterého mobilita nabývá skrze vyprávění. Mezi těmito dvěma termíny existuje úzký vztah, který je popsán v této kapitole společně s jeho vyobrazením v literatuře; odtud se výklad odráží k hojnému výskytu motivu cesty v literatuře a ukazuje, nakolik daný motiv dokáže nést symbolické významy. Některé z těchto významů jsou...Ústav anglofonních literatur a kulturDepartment of Anglophone Literatures and CulturesFaculty of ArtsFilozofická fakult

Photosynthesis in Chromera velia Represents a Simple System with High Efficiency

Chromera velia (Alveolata) is a close relative to apicomplexan parasites with a functional photosynthetic plastid. Even though C. velia has a primitive complement of pigments (lacks chlorophyll c) and uses an ancient type II form of RuBISCO, we found that its photosynthesis is very efficient with the ability to acclimate to a wide range of irradiances. C. velia maintain similar maximal photosynthetic rates when grown under continual light-limited (low light) or light-saturated (high light) conditions. This flexible acclimation to continuous light is provided by an increase of the chlorophyll content and photosystem II connectivity under light limited conditions and by an increase in the content of protective carotenoids together with stimulation of effective non-photochemical quenching under high light. C. velia is able to significantly increase photosynthetic rates when grown under a light-dark cycle with sinusoidal changes in light intensity. Photosynthetic activities were nonlinearly related to light intensity, with maximum performance measured at mid-morning. C. velia efficiently acclimates to changing irradiance by stimulation of photorespiration and non-photochemical quenching, thus avoiding any measurable photoinhibition. We suggest that the very high CO(2) assimilation rates under sinusoidal light regime are allowed by activation of the oxygen consuming process (possibly chlororespiration) that maintains high efficiency of RuBISCO (type II). Despite the overall simplicity of the C. velia photosynthetic system, it operates with great efficiency

"Your Goal Is Your Starting Place:" The Transformative Forces of the Road in the Novels of Jack Kerouac.

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..

Escapes and Returns in Neil Gaiman´s Fantasy Stories

The diploma thesis deals with the interpretation of Neil Gaiman's work, in particular, the children's stories Coraline (2002), The Graveyard Book (2008) a Fortunately, the Milk (2013). The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on the continuity of the discussed works with the tradition of adventure literature and the Gothic novel. The theoretical parts also covers the theme of British children literature and Neil Gaiman and his main works. This part also concentrates on the structure of the rites of passage (Gennep) and on the theme of the test/crisis as an inevitable part of the protagonist's search for his own identity. The practical part of the diploma thesis analyses the stories of Gaiman's protagonists as examples of the initiation that takes place in three main phases: the preliminal, the liminal and the postliminal phase. The specific function of the time-space relations (the motifs of the old house and the cemetery as a border/limit) is described in the same way. The conclusion considers the meaning of escape to another world as an important experience and a part of the journey to adulthood, which helps the protagonists to accept the real world, to find their own place in it and to appreciate the value of real interpersonal relationships

The Environment of the Fictional Space of Wuthering Heights

This bachelor thesis introduces the author of the novel Wuthering Heights in the context of the literature of 19th century and focuses on Emily Brontë´s relation with the enviroment where she grew up and which formed the relationship with the place where her novel´s plot is set. The aim of the bachelor thesis is to cover romantic elements of the novel Wuthering Heights, to characterize the gothic novel´s influence on the overall picture of the enviroment and to find confrontations of realistic, gothic and romantic elements creating the setting of the novel

Forming of identity through history lessons The description of Czech-Slovak relations since the Middle Ages to the present in textbooks of the 20th century

This bachelor thesis deals with an analysis of Czech history textbooks that were used in schools in Czechoslovakia during the years 1918-1939 and years 1945-1989. A chosen sample of textbooks is analysed from the perspective of Czech-Slovak relations and of the influence of czechoslovakism on making of history school text. The thesis is based on the assumption that history education takes a signifiant part in making of one's identity. The first part of this thesis describes the theoretical resources, the second the specific conclusions and examples of analysis of the historical sources. Special attention is payed to the theory of czechoslovakism, its historical evolution and its echo in historiography. The topics of the analytic part are husittism, national revival and formation of Czechoslovakia

Measurement of Satisfaction with the Service in the Public Welfare Agency Tyfloservis

Katedra speciální pedagogikyFaculty of EducationPedagogická fakult