The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries’ Archives and Special Collections will hold a series of events that celebrate Czech history in March and April.
The celebration features an exhibition on Love Library South’s lower level with Czech Heritage Collections items related to Charter 77 – a 1977 document meant to bring human rights issues to the attention of the Czech government. The publication caused significant controversy, and many of those who supported it were imprisoned.
The exhibition is composed of archival and library materials from the university, including some from the Czech Heritage Special Collection. It displays excerpts from the charter, photographs, lists of signatories and news coverage from that time. It also recognizes the writer Vaclav Havel and his works. Havel was a political dissident who became the first Czech president after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Love Library also hosts a large collection of his works.
The exhibition is supported with events that are free and open to the public. They include:
“Totalitarian Regimes and Their Dissidents” by Hana Waisserova, 3 to 4 p.m. March 9, Nebraska Union, Colonial Room A: This talk is part of the university’s Global Cafe Series. Coffee and cookies will be served.
“Czech Heritage Collections Open House: A Talk and Workshop,” 2 to 4 p.m. March 30, Love Library South, Peterson Room: The presentation will introduce the Czech Heritage Collections, their contents, unique volumes and preservation. The collections consist of manuscripts, books, journals, periodicals and other materials on Czech and Czech-American history, literature, politics and culture. The introductory lecture will be followed by a hands-on session in the Archives room on Love Library South’s lower level. Coffee and cookies will be served.
“Good King Wenceslas: Bohemian Patron Saint in the European Context” (in cooperation with Classics and Medieval series) by David Goldfrank, director of medieval studies at Georgetown University, 5 to 7 p.m. March 30, Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center, Ubuntu Room.
Jazz concert, 7 p.m. April 10, East Campus Union, Great Plains Room: Jazz musician Laco Deczi will perform with his band Celula New York.
Closing talk by Deczi, 1 p.m. April 11, Love Library South, lower level, Charter 77 exhibition.
All events are in cooperation with the university’s Czech program, Czech Komensky Club and Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences. Events are sponsored by the Senate Convocation Fund, Modern Languages and Literatures, History, Classics and Religious Studies, Global Studies and University Libraries.
