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On October 16th, 2025, we celebrated one of our brilliant faculty members— Dr. Cynthia Paces— for her recent publication Prague: The Heart of Europe.
Dr. Paces presented her book by “focusing on three individuals who played a role in Prague’s history… [and] the idea of Prague as a meeting point of various cultures–especially Czech, German, and Jewish, but also Italian, French, English, and Russian.” The book— and therefore the book talk held last week— works to challenge the oversimplification and idealized version of Prague’s history and general perception, exemplified by the quote Dr. Paces began the event with from Holocaust survivor, anti-Communist dissident, and Czech writer Ivan Klima:
“A Czech writer today would hesitate to write that his city was ‘magical’ or ‘mystical … [Despite the] remarkable and stimulating blend of three cultures that lived side by side… the Czech, German, and Jewish cultures… it was the unfreedom, the life of servitude, the many ignominious defeats and cruel military occupations [that] influenced the shape and spirit of Prague.”
The resulting discussion during the Q&A was lively and reflected the large turn out in participation in the Library Auditorium, highlighting the necessity for research such as Dr. Paces’s as the ongoing conversation surrounding national history becomes an increasingly pertinent global conversation.
We hope to host more events such as Dr. Paces to continue the conversations that permeate our current moment, engaging our faculty and students alike as the academic year progresses past the Fall semester into the Spring.