“Avant-garde Archives in Central and Eastern Europe. Experimental Practices of Auto-historicization in the 20th Century”
Research area 2: Norms and Transgressions
Contact : hksroka[@]gmail.com
Honorata Sroka is a literary scholar specialised in both avant-gardes and archival studies. Her PhD project, conducted at the University of Warsaw, is entitled “The Archive of the Avant-Garde. Interpretations of the Franciszka and Stefan Themerson Correspondence” Continue reading Honorata Sroka – Research & CV→
“The International Exposure of Russian Art in 1957-1991: Social and Historical Analysis of Art Transfers and Circulations, the Case of Soviet Non Official Art””
My doctoral research revolves around the international acknowledgment of a localized artistic movement, specifically focusing on unofficial Russian art from the latter half of the 20th century, which defied the Soviet doctrine of socialist realism. Through an analysis of its artistic and market valuation process, I explore four pivotal reception and dissemination hubs: French, German, Anglo-Saxon, and East European contexts. Leveraging a database of visual artists who challenged state-sanctioned norms of creativity in the USSR during the 1950s and the 1960s, my research work delves into the individual and collective trajectories of these artists. Moreover, it underscores the pivotal role played by a diverse cohort of actors, both domestic and foreign, whose interest in this art emerged during the early stages of the thaw period, actively contributing to its dissemination and legitimization. Continue reading Vera Guseynova – Research & CV→
“The Philosophical Concept of Rebellion: Albert Camus and the Spirit of Anarchy”
Contact: dominik.kulcsar[@]cefres.cz
Research area 2: Norms and Transgressions
The main focus of my dissertation is a historical analysis of the concept of rebellion. I work with the theories of the Russian anarchists, Mikhail Bakunin, Pyotr Kropotkin, and the French philosopher Albert Camus, all of whom consider rebellion as originating from the notion of freedom. Beyond this common thread, I have discovered a deeper, so far not-fully explored, historical and conceptual connection, between Camus’s philosophy of rebellion the anarchist writings of Bakunin, and also Kropotkin. Continue reading Dominik Kulcsár – Research & CV→
“References to French, American and British Popular Cultures in Czechoslovak cinema, 1969–1982″
Contact : anastasia.mamaeva(@)cefres.cz
Research Area 2: Norms and Transgressions
From political thrillers to burlesque adaptations of Belle Époque dime novels, references to French, American and British pop culture characters and tropes abound in the Czechoslovak cinema of the “offensive normalization” era. In line with recent works on the concept of “porous Iron Curtain” and the remapping of Cold War media Anastasia’s PhD thesis aims to show that pop culture references abide by their own rules and travel along different routes than those indicated by the political maps of the time. Continue reading Anastasia Mamaeva – Research & CV→
“From a Party Truth to a Class Truth”: Picture of Operaismo in Heresy (1956–1969)
Research Area 1 and 2
His PhD research focuses on the Italian branch of the international “new left-wing”, appearing after 1956, as an intellectual network and activist groups in periphery of the partisan left-wing. His subject is more precisely connected to the group magazines associated with “Operaismo” or “Workerism”, namely Quaderni rossi and Classe operaia, whose archives he discusses (work notes, letters, mettings reports, personal papers) with hybrid methods. He thus uses tools from social history of political ideas, socio-history of parties, sociology of political crisis and transnational mobilisations.Continue reading Julien Allavena – Research & CV→
“Philosophy of Failure: Negativity and Error in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit”
contact: josefina.formanova@cefres.cz
Research Area 2 – Norms & Transgressions
My dissertation project draws on the observation that the current global society revolves around the highly valued ideal of success. In addition, we can witness the declining ability to resign into passivity or doubt on the one hand, as well as the increasing tendency to lethargy where action proves vital on the other. In the broader scope of my research, I explore the notion of passivity in action, and claim it to be the foundation for living in meaningful relationships with others and the world. Specifically, I adhere to the idea of reinventing the understanding of activity according to its inherent uncontrollability, which appears to be present in each human act or relation. My research embarks from the most common situation, in which controllability is open for observations: from human failure.Continue reading Josefína Formanová – Research & CV→
French Research Center in Humanities and Social Sciences – Prague
The main focus of my dissertation is a historical analysis of the concept of rebellion. I work with the theories of the Russian anarchists, Mikhail Bakunin, Pyotr Kropotkin, and the French philosopher Albert Camus, all of whom consider rebellion as originating from the notion of freedom. Beyond this common thread, I have discovered a deeper, so far not-fully explored, historical and conceptual connection, between Camus’s philosophy of rebellion the anarchist writings of Bakunin, and also Kropotkin. 
His PhD research focuses on the Italian branch of the international “new left-wing”, appearing after 1956, as an intellectual network and activist groups in periphery of the partisan left-wing. His subject is more precisely connected to the group magazines associated with “Operaismo” or “Workerism”
My dissertation project draws on the observation that the current global society revolves around the highly valued ideal of success. In addition, we can witness the declining ability to resign into passivity or doubt on the one hand, as well as the increasing tendency to lethargy where action proves vital on the other. In the broader scope of my research, I explore the notion of passivity in action, and claim it to be the foundation for living in meaningful relationships with others and the world. Specifically, I adhere to the idea of reinventing the understanding of activity according to its inherent uncontrollability, which appears to be present in each human act or relation. My research embarks from the most common situation, in which controllability is open for observations: from human failure.