Monday, May 7, 2012 at 7:00 PM
American Diplomats and Spies in Postwar Prague:
Was the 1948 Communist Takeover Inevitable?
A lecture by Professor Igor Lukes, PhD.
In cooperation with the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York.
Professor Lukes will explore the communist conquest of Czechoslovakia from the perspective of American diplomats and intelligence officers who served in the U.S. Embassy from the spring of 1945 to 1949, as presented in his latest book On the Edge of the Cold War: American Diplomats and Spies in Postwar Prague, just published by Oxford University Press. The book will be available for purchase at the event.
Dr. Igor Lukes teaches history and international relations at Boston University. He has written about Europe between the world wars, the Cold War, intelligence, and contemporary developments in East Central Europe and Russia. His publications include Rudolf Slansky: His Trial and Trials and Czechoslovakia, Between Stalin and Hitler: The Diplomacy of Edvard Benes in the 1930s. Lukes is also a frequent political commentator on Radio Prague and Czech Television.
Monday, April 30, 2012 at 6:30 PM
A slide lecture by Prof. Miroslav Bárta, PhD.
In cooperation with the Czech Consulate NY
Abusir is one of the most important archaeological sites in Egypt. The Czech Institute of Egyptology worked here for more than 50 years. It contains royal tombs from the 5th dynasty (Old Kingdom), mastabas (tombs) of high officials, as well as shaft tombs from the Saite-Persian period.
Prof. Barta teaches at the Institute of Egyptology at Charles University in Prague. He led the first satellite mapping of the pyramid fields of Abusir, Saqqara and Dahshur in 2002. In the years 2003-2004, he taught at University of Pennsylvania, and since 2010 he is the head of the Czech Archaeological concession at Abusir.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 at 6:30 PM
A slide lecture by Prof. Eugen Strouhal, PhD, DrSc.
In cooperation with the Czech Consulate in New York
This lecture explored the beginnings of scientific medicine in ancient Egyptian civilization. Thirteen ancient medical papyri recorded the level of the empiric knowledge of anatomy, patho-physiology and therapy. Prof. Strouhal presented the amazingly advanced surgical practices in ancient Egypt while the internal medicine and gynecology still relied mostly on religious rituals and remedies of plant, animal and mineral origin.
Prof. Strouhal is a leading expert on Egyptian medicine. He has degrees in medicine, archaeology and anthropology. He worked for 24 years at the Náprstek Museum in Prague and taught anthropology at West Bohemian University in Pilsen. He lectures paleo-pathology and history of medicine at Charles University Medical School in Prague.
ON THE EDGE OF THE COLD WAR