Projects

The Other Way Round: Walking Away from Carbon-Intense Lives

The project challenges the dominant assumption that sustainability in an era of polycrisis depends primarily on technological innovation. Instead, it focuses on the life stories of people who consciously reduce their carbon footprint. Drawing on anthropological and sociological perspectives, the project explores the underlying logic of these choices, as well as their expected and unexpected consequences and benefits. About the project.

Principal Investigator: dr. Zdenka Sokolíčková, team members: dr. Jana Karlová, dr. Jan Vávra, project mentor: dr. Luděk Brož.

Utilizing the Qualifications and Migration Experience of Skilled Ukrainian Refugees and Other Skilled Migrants in the Czech Labour Market

The project aims to develop a methodology for targeted support of highly skilled migrants who arrive in the Czech Republic with high qualifications but are unable to utilize them in the labour market. It examines the reasons and barriers underlying this situation. Findings will be shared with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Consortium of Migrants Assisting Organizations. Principal Investigator: dr. Luděk Jirka, research team member: dr. Jana Karlová. The project is carried out in collaboration with FoS UK (prof. Josef Novotný, dr. Jiří Hasman), FoS UPOL (dr. Lucie Macková, dr. Nikola Medová), and the Consortium of Migrants Assisting Organizations (dr. Blanka Tollarová, dr. Ondřej Valenta).

Philo's "Sober Intoxication" in Christian Philosophy and Theology

The philosophical and theological research is focused on the concept of “sober intoxication,” as interpreted by the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria, and its development in Christian thought. The project connects the fields of ancient philosophy, theology, and spirituality, offering new perspectives on the history of religious thought. This research demonstrates how the humanities, through an interdisciplinary approach, can contribute to a deeper understanding of fundamental questions of human existence and spiritual life.

Principal investigator: doc. David Vopřada, team members: dr. Markéta Dudziková, dr. Magdalena Marunová, prof. Tomáš Petráček.

“Support for Talented Researchers in the Hradec Králové Region” (25INV06) for PhD students of the Cultural and Spiritual Studies programme

Mgr. BcA. Hana Bednaříková is working on the project “The Face in War.” She examines the transformation of the religious identity of Czech Jewish women living in Israel and the Czech Republic following the events of 7 October 2023.

MUDr. Kristýna Petkov received support for “Perioperative Patient Vulnerability as a Challenge for Modern Medicine,” which connects clinical practice with the European philosophical tradition. The project focuses on patients’ existential experiences immediately before general anaesthesia.

Verhinderte Anpassung, nicht notwendige Konflikte: zum Dilemma der Modernismus - oder Antimodernismuskrise

The relationship between modernism and antimodernism is examined from a broader interdisciplinary perspective. The project combines the perspective of social history with philosophical and theological approaches.

Investigator: prof. Tomáš Petráček.

Borders & Dialogue

The Broumov Region and its polish counterpart in Lower Silesia has experienced many difficulties in the past. The region still performs badly in most of the analyzed factors (population trends, housing, material standard, employment, entrepreneurship, weak and blurred regional identity on both Czech and Polish side of the border etc.). It can be therefore sociologically labelled as a “periphery”. Borders & Dialogue project aims to study the past and the present of the region, open a discussion the regional cultural identity through partnership of young Czechs and Poles. It supports and establishes cooperation and joint Polish-Czech dialogue not only of local Czechs and Poles, but also of university students from Opole and Hradec Králové.

We enjoyed workshops, lectures, discussions, trips, meetings with local Polish and Czech artists, the creation and presentation of a traveling exhibition. Plus, we planted an alley of trees, which we hope to become a reminiscent of the project for many years.

boREALIFE: Overheating in the High Arctic

A two-year field study in the Svalbard archipelago has generated anthropological insights into the local impacts of broader global processes manifested in culture, concepts of identity, the economy, and the environment. The boREALIFE: Overheating in the High Arctic project was supported by the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in the national round of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowships programme. The grant enabled Zdenka Sokolíčková to collect unique data from a significant anthropological field site, participate in 13 international conferences, work closely with the project mentor, leading European anthropologist Thomas H. Eriksen, establish contacts with international colleagues and institutions, gain experience in applying for research grants, and publish scholarly texts with prestigious academic publishers.

Investigator: dr. Zdenka Sokolíčková.