jan.kozak@ff.cuni.cz
Office hours
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Current Semester Courses
CV
- 2015-now Lecturer at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, FF CUNI
- 2015 PhD. in Religious Studies at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University (specialization in Old Norse Religion)
- 2009 M.A. in Religious Studies at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague (with Latin Philology as the second subject)
- born 1979
Research Interests
- Old Norse Religion (myth, ritual)
- The principles of Comparative Linguistics and Semiotics applied to Religious Studies
- Theory of Myth and the history of the interpretations of Myth, the Monomyth
- The New Comparative Mythology of G. Dumézil
- Experimental actualization of the theoretical background through Art or Performance
Research history
Theses
- PhD. Dissertation: „Sacrifice and Initiation in the Myths of Óðinn“
- MA Thesis: „Þórr’s Journey to Geirrøðr: The Paradigm of the Hero’s Journey to the Otherworld“
- BA Thesis: „Kronos and the Golden Age“
Research Experience - Grants
- Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (2018-2020): „The Symbolism of the Body in Northern Europe: Cognitive Metaphors and Old Norse Myth from the Viking Age to Late Medieval Times“
- GAČR 17-09663S (2017-2018): „Myth as a Constitutive Exception: Dynamics of Transgressive Reflexivity“
- FFUK 130193 (2011): „Initiatory Structure and the Paradox of Quaternity“
- FFUK 224120 (2009): „Otherworld and Otherness in Myth and Religion“
- FFUK 224115 (2008): „The Function of the Dead in the Burial Mounds in Old Norse Literature“
Publications
Monographs
- Monomýtus [Monomyth], Praha: Malvern [forthcoming 2018]
- Óðinn: mýtus, oběť a iniciace [Óðinn: Myth, Sacrifice, and Initiation], Praha: Herrmann a synové 2018 [a monograph on Óðinn; providing general overview followed by case studies]
- Sága o Hervaře, II – Komentář, Praha: Herrmann a synové 2009 [a commentary volume to my bilingual edition of Hervarar saga]
Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals and Collections
- „The Echo of Creation: Parallels in Old Norse Cosmogony and Eschatology”, in: Cosmos: The Journal of the Traditional Cosmology Society [accepted, forthcoming 2018]
- „Psychedelický rituál“ [Psychedelic ritual], in: Filip Tylš a kol. (eds.), Fenomén Psychedelie, Praha: dybbuk 2017, 21-28.
- „The Dead and their Treasures: Functions of Burial Mounds According the Old Norse Sagas“, in: Archeologické rozhledy LX, 1/2008, 3-35 [co-author Kateřina Ratajová]
- „Borders of the World: Old Norse Miðgarðr and Útgarðr in Structuralist and Poststructuralist interpretations“, in: Religio 1/2010, 31-58 [co-author Jiří Starý]
- „Óðinn and the Mead of Poetry“, in: Religio 2/2010, 191-213
Translations
- J.R.R. Tolkien: Pád Artušův / The Fall of Arthur, Praha: Argo 2016 [English-Czech bilingual edition]
- J.R.R. Tolkien: Legenda o Sigurdovi a Gudrún / The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, Praha: Argo 2012 [English-Czech bilingual edition]
- Eddica Minora, ed. Jiří Starý, Praha: Herrmann a synové 2012 [from Old Norse and Latin to Czech]
- „Heiðrekovy hádanky“, in: Plav 9/2009, 33-38 [from Old Norse to Czech]
- Sága o Hervaře, I – Hervarar saga, Praha: Herrmann a synové 2008 [Old Norse–Czech bilingual edition with critical apparatus, introduction and notes]
Papers Read at International Conferences
- „The Horrible Horse: Apotropaic Function of Horse’s Head in Pagan Scandinavia and Neighbouring Cultures”, 11th Annual International Conference on Comparative Mythology, Brno 2016
- „Ragnarök as a Cosmogony”, 10th Annual International Conference on Comparative Mythology, Brno 2016
- „Burial Mound as a Projection Screen“, Ontology of Supernatural Encounters, Tartu 2015
- „The Two Faces of Ritual: Óðinn and the Mead of Poetry“, 16th International Saga Conference, Zürich 2015
- „The Dialectic of Seduction: Óðinn and Vǫlundr“, 15th International Saga Conference, Aarhus 2012
- „Cosmos inside the Skull: The Metaphor of the Head as a Part of Microcosm-Macrocosm Analogy“, Head-Motif in Comparative Perspective, Bytów 2012
- „Doubles and Twins: Meeting the Other in Burial Mounds“, Medieval Iceland, Aarhus 2010
Courses taught at the Charles University in Prague
- Initiation and Liminality in the Fornaldarsǫgur
- Old Norse Religion
- Old Norse Language Course
- Reading: Old Norse Vǫluspá with Commentary
- Reading: Latin Gesta Danorum with Commentary
- Reading: Runic Inscriptions
- Georges Dumézil and the New Comparative Mythology
- Semiotics of Religion
- Theories of Myth
- Troy, Ásgarðr, Labyrinth: A Seminar in Comparative Mythology
- Techniques of Research and Academic Writing
- Introduction to Religious Studies
& supervision of Bc., M.A., PhD. theses.
Invited Lectures
- “The Sound of Creation”, Edinburgh, UK, 2017
- “Sacrifice and Initiation in the Myths of Óðinn”, Bergen, Norway 2016
Memberships and Collaborations
- Central European Journal for Contemporary Religion (editorial board member)
- Czech Psychedelic Society (academic section member)
- Psychopompos (therapeutic center)
Other Activities and Publications
- European historical martial arts instructor (Barrandovská škola šermu [Barrandov Fencing School in Prague])
- Calligraphy and graphic design (book cover art: Manuův zákoník [The Laws of Manu], Praha: Bibliotheca gnostica 2012)
- Board games design (Dorn: Beyond the Gate of Doom, Altar 2006; Dorn: Koshchei’s Eternal Return, Altar 2009; Ekopolis: Thinking About a City, Scio.cz/Albi 2009)
- Comic book co-author (“Klíčení oka”, in: Bunkr: Komixová Revue, 2008, ISBN 978-80-903988-5-6, 47-58)
- Public lectures on the Old Norse and Religious Studies topics, with the aim of raising the public’s awareness and addressing some common misunderstandings (Open Square Festival – FF CUNI in Prague; Scandinavian Days – Municipial Library in Prague; Festival of Fantasy in Chotěboř; TolkienCon in Prague; Pagan Festival – Housův mlýn in Tábor; Centrála in Prague etc.)