The Twentieth Annual Czech and Slovak Studies Workshop will be held virtually at the University of Pittsburgh on March 18-21, 2021. This year’s workshop will bring together an international community of researchers, faculty members and advanced graduate students to exchange their experiences, research results, and ideas on a variety of areas ranging from literature, language, history, and the visual arts.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
MARCH 20
9:00 am (EDT) | 1:00 pm (GMT) | 2:00 pm (CET)
Transatlantic Cooperation in Pandemic Times
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Surprisingly enough, the COVID-19 pandemic affected Europe and America in a dramatic manner. Health systems, economies, and social life in the most developed countries have been going through severe tests last year. This keynote lecture will focus on the comparative aspects of the COVID-19 crisis in Europe and the United States, look at its impact on transatlantic relations, and bring examples of cooperation in combating this global pandemic.
SPEAKER:
Pavol Demeš, Senior Fellow, The German Marshall Fund of the United States
ACADEMIC PROGRAM
Explore our CONFERENCE PROGRAM and REGISTER to attend.
This registration is for the academic portion of the conference, including paper presentations, the keynote address, and networking events. Participation is restricted to faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, and the organizers.
SPECIAL EVENTS
MARCH 18
7:00 pm (EDT)
Explore the University of Pittsburgh's Nationality Rooms
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Join Nationality Rooms Tour Coordinator Michael Walter for a brief tour of several Nationality Rooms, examine their decoration and interconnections, and gain insight into the origins of the Nationality Rooms Program at the University of Pittsburgh. This presentation will also share some perspectives on different Pittsburgh communities' association with their background vis-à-vis unique architectural expressions contained on Pitt's campus.
Learn about the University of Pittsburgh's Slovak Studies Program.
Pitt undergraduate students from Professor Jan Musekamp’s Nationalism class will continue the tour with presenting the Czechoslovak and the Austrian Nationality Rooms. They have worked in small groups, researched the history of those rooms and analyzed how they fit into the broader concept of nationality rooms in the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning. As an additional step, they will present the rooms from the perspective of nationalism studies.
MARCH 19
7:00 pm (EDT)
Iconography and Andy Warhol
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The artist, revolutionary, and cult leader of the Pop Art movement, Andy Warhol masterfully explored the relationship between artistic expression, advertising, and celebrity culture through his legendary depictions of cultural icons while constructing his own public persona and artistic mystique in the most politically-charged, creative, and expressive periods of the 20th century. The son of Carpatho-Rusyn immigrants and a devout Byzantine Catholic, Andy Warhol was deeply influenced by a rich cultural heritage in which icons are experienced as doorways to the sacred. Although he convincingly blurred the line between commercial and fine art, his style and technique exposed Warhol’s lifelong connection to a religious culture with he lived.
Join us for an exploration of Byzantine iconography and Andy Warhol’s art.
SPEAKERS:
Very Reverend Mitred Archpriest Marek Visnovsky
Vicar General of the Eparchy of Parma
Donald G. Warhola
Vice President, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts
Liaison, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh
MARCH 20
7:00 pm (EDT)
Loos and Pilsen: Exploring the Secret of Adolf Loos’ Pilsen Interiors Accompanied by Swing
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The Czech Center New York is delighted to introduce a multi-media exhibition project, which aims to present Adolf Loos’ unique interior design work as a result of the architect’s long-term activity in Pilsen, Czech Republic. The project was initiated in 2020, marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Adolf Loos (1870–1933), a world-renowned epitome of modern interwar architecture of Moravian descent, whose ideas and implementations influenced contemporary architecture and inspired later events and trends in contemporary architecture on an international scale.
After an introduction by Miroslav Konvalina, Director of the Czech Center New York, participants will be invited to explore the online exhibit while listening to a concert by Pilsner Jazz Band from Loos’ interior in Pilsen.
The workshop is a collaboration of the University of Pittsburgh, the Czechoslovak Studies Association, and the Slovak Studies Association.
Sponsors:
Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Czechoslovak Studies Association
Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures
European Studies Center
Humanities Center
National Slovak Society
Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security
Ph.D. Program in Critical European Culture Studies
Slovak Studies Association
Slovak Studies Program
Donors:
The Late Maxine Bruhns, Director Emerita, Nationality Rooms
Joe Senko, Honorary Consul of Slovakia for Pennsylvania
Carol Hochman, Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic for Ohio and Pennsylvania