Supervisor: prof. PhDr. Zuzana Beňušková, CSc.

Program: The topic is open for study programs:

• World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University
• Social Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University

Form of study: Full-time

Annotation: The basis of the work will be research and analysis of a selected element (family or annual customs), which are perceived as traditional and are currently growing in popularity. Traditional phenomena will be examined against the background of social, economic and political contexts. The subject of research can be e.g. commodification of wedding rituals, Bethlehem rounds, ritual fires, competitive events based on traditional skills, etc.

Supervisor: Mgr., Ing.  Daniel Škobla, PhD.  
Program:  The topic is open for study programs:

• World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University
• Social Anthropology, Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences, Comenius University

Form of study: Full-time

Annotation: The project examines the structural and institutional factors that can enable or prevent Roma or ethnic minorities from accessing jobs. These can be power asymmetries, the dominant position of actors such as employers, municipalities and the like. Factors that facilitate can also be social networks and the social, cultural capital of minority groups. The research is based on empirical data, obtained in fieldwork, observations and interviews.

Supervisor: Mgr. Soňa Gyárfáš Lutherová, PhD
Program: World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University
Form of study: Full-time 

Annotation: In demanding times, people have different strategies to cope with uncertainty and vulnerability in their everydayness. Many depend on family relationships or turn to people in their broader social circle. The idea of safety connects to the notion of home – be it a specific place or being part of a community (family, neighbourhood, particular social group). Belonging relates to identity-making as an ongoing process of (re)shaping selves.

Supervisor: Mgr. Soňa Gyárfáš Lutherová, PhD.
Program: World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University

Form of study: Full-time

Annotation: Photographs or videos, as a part of our family archives, shape memories of individuals and social groups (from families to societies). The project focuses on the relationship between the “small” and “great” narratives through research on audio-visual sources concerning individual and collective memories. Besides the obligatory textual part, other forms of creative output might be included in the project (video, photographs, comix).   

Supervisor: PhDr. Katarína Popelková, CSc.
Program: World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University

Form of study: Full-time

Annotation: In contemporary society, holiday culture is affected by a dynamic process of transformation. Holidays in both the public and private spheres are losing their identity-forming, symbolic and commemorative relationship. The subject of an empirical study is monitoring the functions of a growing number of professionally produced events oriented towards offering a complex cultural experience.

Supervisor: PhDr. Monika Vrzgulová, CSc.
Program: World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University

Form of study: Full-time

Annotation: Family memory represents a specific field within memory studies, a concept of primary importance. It focuses attention on the intimate space of the family. Family memory is characterized by interaction and communication across generations. It is defined by the dynamics of its formative, value-oriented, and identity-forming functions. What are the contents of family memory, how are they communicated, and what influences them in the 21st century?

Supervisor: PhDr. Monika Vrzgulová, CSc.
Program: World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University

Form of study: Full-time

Annotation: We are 78 years removed from the events connected with the Holocaust. How does contemporary society commemorate them? What forms and contents can we find in the communicative/group, collective/national or cultural memory in the territories where the Holocaust took place? Who, how and what is remembered? (Using the example of 1 or 2 countries).

Supervisor: Mgr. Zuzana Panczová, PhD.
Program: World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University

Form of study: Full-time

Annotation: Rumours and conspiracy theories are explored in social sciences as expressions of social anxieties and desires, and as specific forms of description of social representations of power, intergroup relations or group (self-) identification. They also became a part of contemporary mass culture, which shapes the repertoire and narrative structures of rumours and conspiracy theories. The research can be focused on face-to-face or internet-mediated forms of communication. Methods primarily draw on folkloristic or ethnological approaches.

Supervisor: Mgr. Bahna Vladimír, PhD.
Program: World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University

Form of study: Full-time

Annotation: This research focuses on the transmission and acquisition of social conservatism, understood broadly as any sociocultural system of values that promotes strict adherence to social norms, adherence to conventions and is characterized by group conformity and collectivism. Thus it includes also related concepts of traditionalism, religious fundamentalism, ethnocentrism, etc. Multidisciplinary approaches are welcomed.

Supervisor: PhDr. Juraj Zajonc, CSc.
Program: World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University

Form of study: Full-time

Annotation: The dissertation will problematize the opportunities and challenges that inscriptions bring, on the basis of empirical research. These may relate to the participation and development of ICH conservation against the backdrop of the uncertainties of the transformation of rural communities, the conflicts that may arise in the community of ICH holders after inscription, issues of ‘ownership’ of ICH elements, the economic impacts of inscriptions etc.

Supervisor: Mgr. Tatiana Zachar Podolinská, PhD.

Program: World Cultures and Religions, Faculty of Arts, Comenius University

Form of study: Full-time

Annotation: In current societies we face the diversity of secular worldviews and religious and spiritual standpoints. In the field of religious studies, more attention should be paid to the adjusting of approaches how to grasp and label modern forms of religiosity, spirituality, and irreligiosity. The reflexive post-paradigmatic turn can shed light on the shadowy places of current research and elevate knowledge on what religion is and what roles it plays in modern societies.