Borders and Dialogue: our students and their Czech colleagues working together in Moszna

On March 30 and 3, the second seminar of the project Borders and Dialogue, organized by the University of Hradec-Kralove and the University of Opole, took place in Moszna Castle.

After last autumn's fieldwork in Broumov, which was focused on the material heritage of the Sudeten Germans, the students and staff of both universities now focused on the social and cultural relations in Opole Silesia. The two-day workshop was attended by students of transcultural communication from the UHK and students of the seminar “Public Spaces and Private Narratives. Humans and their Symbolic Boundaries',' conducted by Dr Michał Wanke from the Chair of Culture and Religion Studies as part of the English in Public Communication programme.

The evening was marked with a chamber concert in the Fireplace Hall, given by Dr Petr Macek (bass), and Dr František Burda (acoustic guitar, cajón), with guest singing students from Hradec and Opole: a Czech, Ukrainian, and Russian. The repertoire consisted exclusively of peaceful works,

The workshop on the social history of today’s Opole Silesia was conducted by Marcin Deutschmann from the Chair of Sociological Sciences, and the discussion with the students was led by Prof. Stankomir Nicieja from the Chair of Culture and Religion Studies along with Clara Kleininger from the Chair of Sociology. The results of the students' work will be shown on a specially prepared exhibition at the Collegium Maius in April.

The project is being implemented with a grant from the Visegrad Fund and headed by Dr Ludek Jirka, UHK and Dr Michał Wanke, UO. Students and staff will meet for the last time in Broumov in late spring this year.

Photo: Clara Kleininger