Jindrich Toman
One Day in the Center, Next Day in the Periphery: Czech Avant-garde and Its Shifting Networks
The presentation is framed by discussions about centers and peripheries in cultural studies. It focuses on the relation between Prague and "peripheral" Brno avant-garde of the 1920s, and the relation between "peripheral" Prague and Paris in the 1930s. The analysis stresses the asymmetric nature of these configurations.

Tanya Silverman
Inebriation and Westward Projections: Bolek Polívka’s Father Figures in Mid-2000s Czech CinemaIn the Czech films Pupendo (2003) and Something Like Happiness (2005), renowned Czech actor Bolek Polívka plays downtrodden patresfamilias who face challenges of the times that gravely impact their livelihoods. While notions of professional success in the West continuously arise in both narratives, Polívka’s patresfamilias remain in situ, turning to alcohol, not only to cope with dissatisfactions but also to develop companionships and reveal their personal concerns. This paper explores how Polívka’s characters inflect the trope of the Czech anti-hero in addition to assessing the tensions between his roles in fiction films with his role as a national movie star.

As usual, we will start around 6:30 pm with a light supper, and the presentation will begin at 7 pm. The colloquium is in-person, in 3308 MLB. We will have a hybrid option.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://umich.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUuceqtpjsuGtVajU7dey-Qu67oTCvF_p-T

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