Markéta Křížová (Center for Ibero-American Studies, Charles University) discusses the cultural and symbolic connections between Central Europe and North and Latin America.
The lecture would explore the real as well as cultural and symbolic connections between Central Europe and North and Latin America as these developed throughout the second half of the 19th and the early decades of the 20th centuries due to massive economic migration, but also colonialist discourses and nationalist competitions taking place on both sides of the Atlantic, following up recent debates by historians of various nationalities on “non-colonial colonialism” and its consequences for various European and non-European regions.
The UCLA Department of History, Latin American Institute and Center for European and Russian Studies invite you to a talk, entitled "Colonization by migration: Czech migration to the Americas, nationalist discourses and colonial fantasies in the 19th and 20th centuries" with Professor Markéta Křížová (Center for Ibero-American Studies, Charles University). This talk will take place at Bunche Hall Room 10383 on Monday, February 24, 2025 at 12 PM and registration is requested.
About the Talk
For a long time, scholarly research on European colonial histories has predominantly centered on well-known colonial powers such as Spain, Britain or France. The involvement of peripheral European nations, such as those in Central and Eastern Europe, in broader European colonial projects has received limited attention. Yet recent research has shown not only how important the colonial fantasies have been even for the inhabitants of European backwaters, but also their important involvement in the settlement, economic exploitation and cultural encounters in the overseas regions.
Important is the fact that entanglements with colonialism have in Central Europe been closely tied to the processes of nation-building and nationalist competition. And these efforts for self-representation within the frame of the nationalist competitions were also tied to the parallel processes of economic overseas migration that rapidly increased towards the final decades of the 19th century. Interestingly, numerous commentators from within the Central Europe perceived and presented this economic migration as “colonization”, and through it advocated the belonging of their nations among the “civilized”, developed and colonizing nations of Western Europe.
The lecture will present these problems preponderantly through the lens of the Czech migrant community in the USA, but also in Mexico and other Latin American countries, and the two-way communication with the mother country. The principal idea is to present the variants of self-representations of both the migrants and the national community at home, which were intertwined with the prevailing colonial manifestations in Western Europe, but also setting themselves apart from it. The lecture will demonstrate why it is essential to acknowledge and study the colonial roles played by the seemingly marginal European countries to gain a more comprehensive understanding of Europe’s colonial expansion.
About the Speaker
Markéta Křížová studied history and anthropology at Charles University, and has been teaching there ever since receiving her Ph.D. in Ibero-American Studies in 2002. Her main interests are: Early Modern intellectual history, European overseas expansion, colonial history of America, migrations and cultural encounters and competitions. Her doctoral dissertation, La ciudad ideal en el desierto: Proyectos misionales de la Compaňía de Jesús y la Iglesia Morava en la América colonial [Ideal city in the wilderness: missionary projects of the Society of Jesus and Moravian Church in colonial America], focused on the mission as art of the „utopian“ stream of European thinking of this period, was published in Prague in 2004; her habilitation The strength and sinews of this western world…: African slavery, American colonies and the effort for reform of European society in the Early Modern Era, Prague 2008, studied the problem of slavery in various American colonies and especially its connection with the notion of „freedom“ in the European intellectual discourse of 17th and 18th centuries. She is currently working on a project exploring the beginnings of Central European scientific interest in history and culture of America (end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century) within the broader context of nationalist competitions in the region.
Venue
Bunche Hall 10383
(10th floor of Bunche Hall)
315 Portola Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Parking
You can find nearby parking at Parking Structure 4 or Parking Structure 5. Parking Structure 5 has an hourly rate of $8 per hour and Parking Structure 4 has an hourly rate of $4 per hour for visitors. Visit UCLA Visitor Parking for more information. Ride-share drop off is closest at the turnaround at the front of Royce Hall located at: 10745 Dickson Court, Los Angeles, CA 90095. Accessible Parking: If you have accessibility needs, you may park in the Pay-By-Space/Visitor Parking area on the rooftop (level 5) of Parking Structure 5 and proceed to the Self-Service Pay Station machine to pay by credit card.