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The University of Nebraska will host the 26th Annual Czech and Slovak Studies Workshop.
April 23-25, 2026
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Panel and Keynote Speaker
On April 23 at 6:00 p.m. there will be a panel discussion with Jacques Rupnik and Veronika Tuckerová followed by the keynote speaker Jindřich Toman. Both will take place in the Union Auditorium and be livestreamed via Zoom. Details are available below.
Panel
“Bohemian Jewishness: From Poetics to Politics, from Kafka to Communist Antisemitism”
- Jacques Rupnik, Sciences Po
- Veronika Tuckerová, Harvard University
Moderated by Ari Kohen, and Hana Waisserová.
April 23, 6:00 p.m., City Union, Swanson Auditorium
Jacques Rupnik is Research Professor of political science at Sciences Po, Paris; visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges; and a popular political commentator and publicist. His book, The Fates of Central Europe Between Hitler and Stalin: Selected Writings of Josef Guttmann, will be published in 2026 by University of Chicago Press.
Veronika Tuckerová teaches Czech at Harvard University's Slavic Department. Her writing has appeared in The New German Critique, Journal of World Literature, brücken, Revolver Revue and Roš chodeš. Her book, Reading Kafka in Prague: On Translation, Samizdat, Censorship, Export, and Dissent, the first book-length study of the reception of Franz Kafka in his homeland of Czechoslovakia, was published by Bloomsbury Academic in 2025.
Keynote Speaker
“Bohemia’s Jews and Their Nineteenth Century”
Jindřich Toman, University of Michigan
April 23, 7:00 p.m., Union Auditorium
Trained in Czechoslovakia, Germany and the U.S., Jindrich Toman follows an academic path defined by languages and cultures of Central Europe. His book on Jewish culture and literature, Bohemia’s Jews and Their Nineteenth Century: Texts, Contexts, Reassessments (University of Chicago Press, 2023), focuses on the scarcely written-about “quiet” decades of the nineteenth century, exploring Jewish expression, Jewish-Czech relations, and the changing attitudes toward Jews between the 1820s and 1880s.
Additional Activities
Belousek Literary Feast
Alena Jirásek: Poems from a Concentration Camp by Josef Čapek
Stephen Lahey: Krvavý román/Bloody Novel by Josef Váchal
(Dr. Lahey is pictured to the left)
Jaroslav Olša: Dreaming of Autonomous Vehicles and Miles (Miroslav) J. Breuer
Friday, April 24 at 5:30 p.m.
Burnett Hall 115
Visit the “Czech Capital of the U.S."
Afternoon in Wilbur, Nebraska: Czech Museum, Sokol Hall with The Accordionettes and Polka dancing workshop with Sheryl Kastanek; Karpisek Wiener Store (Do we learn the secret Wilber wiener recipes from the Senator Russ Karpisek himself?), Hotel Wilber, Czech cemetery, and a special appearance from Jaroslav Olša, career diplomat and promoter of Czech-American literary and cultural heritage.
Saturday, April 25 - leaving UNL campus at 1:00 p.m., returning by 7:30 p.m.
Screening of "The Art of Dissent"
View and discuss the documentary with filmmaker James D. Le Sueur, Alena Jirasek, Jacques Rupnik, and Veronika Tuckerova. Visit theartofdissentfilm.com to learn more about the film.
Saturday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m., The Ross Theater
Accomodations
Hotel accommodation will be provided for participants who are presenting at the workshop.
Organizers
Hana Waisserova
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Harris Center for Judaic Studies
Ari Kohen
Department of Political Science, Harris Center for Judaic Studies
Stephen Lahey
Department of Classics and Religious Studies
James D. Le Sueur
Department of History
Gerald Steinacher
Department of History, Harris Center for Judaic Studies
Alexander Vazansky
Department of History
Sponsors
- Czech Studies (Victor and Nita F. Chab Czech Heritage Fund)
- Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
- Department of History (Frank A. Belousek Fund)
- Forsythe Family Program on Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
- Harris Center for Judaic Studies
- Czech Language Foundation
- Czechoslovak Studies Association
- Slovak Studies Association