Fulbright Reality Czech

Muriel Unseth is an English Teaching Assistant, a literature and poetry enthusiast and a marathon runner. Since September 2021, she has been teaching English at Gymnázium Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, in a town of 16 000, located in the Beskydy Mountains. From the main square in Rožnov, one can take a well-marked 6-mile trail or run to the top of the mountain Radhošť, 1129 meters or 3704 feet above sea level. Even though Muriel was attracted to the Czech Republic mostly because of the country’s excellence in literature and poetry, throughout her grant period, she has discovered another less-known passion shared by many members of her community and that is running, especially trail-running in the countryside. Muriel did not have to wait for this revelation too long, as her mentor Kateřina invited her to see the movie “Zátopek” during Muriel’s first week in the Czech Republic. The story sparked an interest in discovering more about the life and heritage of this exceptional Czechoslovak athlete w...

Julia Mead is a historian who is most passionate about "the connection between macro-level politics and economics and people’s personal, intimate lives." In September 2021, Julia arrived in the Czech Republic as a Fulbright student grantee with a research project titled "Masculine Heroes: Gender and Coal Mining in the Czech Lands, 1968-2000." Julia grew up in Kentucky, in the Appalachian region, where coal mining has been on decline since the 1970s, with social and economic effects that are very similar to formerly proud coal mining hubs of Czechoslovakia. Coming from the Department of History at the University of Chicago, Julia landed at the Institute of Economic and Social History of Charles University in Prague, and she has been conducting detailed archival research for her PhD dissertation on the relationship of coal mining and masculinity. As a side-product of the research project, Julia notes that "I have become proficient in the Czech language and studie...

Michael Kenney has been  teaching English at Catholic gymnasium Varnsdorf since September 2021. With a Master’s in Education, a Bachelor’s in American Studies and minors in Entrepreneurship and Theology, two years of full-time teaching experience at a Catholic middle school in the U.S., and a life-long passion for sports, this general school with students from the age of 11 to 19 seemed to be the perfect fit. Many of the 6th and 8th graders whom Michael taught English and Theology in the U.S. came from immigrant backgrounds, but his only international travel experience was a week-long study trip to India. Setting off to Varnsdorf, a town of 15,000, located in North Bohemia, right on the border with Germany, was a grand transition. Today, Michael recalls the two specific images—one mental, one literal—that framed his perception of the Czech Republic and its culture. He shares that: “Over time, this pair of pictures has grown into a full album, as each day has handed me new images in...

Iva Landsmannová teaches English language at Civil Engineering High School in Brno. During the Fall of 2021, she participated in the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achivement Program at Kent State University in Ohio. Together with Czech colleagues Šárka Opatová from Gymnázium Děčín and Karel Buchta from Gymnázium Šlapanice and about two dozen other  teachers from Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, they spent six weeks in the U.S., focusing on strategies to broaden critical thinking and media literacy in their classrooms back home. Because of the ongoing pandemic, their stay started with a week-long quarantine period at a hotel, but afterwards, the program continued as usual. During the workdays, the group participated in classes and workshops at the university, and Tuesdays were reserved for visits to local high schools. During the weekends, the participants explored Ohio and some other sites, including Niagara Falls. They also experienced U.S. culture when spending time wi...

Erin Dusza is a Ph.D. Candidate from Indiana University conducting research for her dissertation through Masaryk University in Brno. Her research at the Faculty of Arts concerns the 19th Century construction of Czech history in aid of nationalism. Erin arrived in the Czech Republic in September 2021, accompanied by her husband Alex and their dog Archie. In January 2022, right in the middle of her 9-month Fulbright stay, she invited her fellow grantees on a trip to Moravský Krumlov to visit The Slav Epic, a collection of 20 large-format canvases by famous Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha. Erin's academic interest in Mucha started during her Masters program at Georgia State University, when she researched the portrayal of nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe, which is an area not commonly covered in art history textbooks. Excited about finally having the opportunity to see this influential art collection in person, Erin encourages more Fulbrighters to: "Contact me and we can...

This weekend was jam packed with Czech culture and I truly felt immersed in life here. Starting with Friday, I helped out with my school’s “Open House” by teaching an optional English lesson for students. A surprising number showed up and I tried to make it fun by teaching about Thanksgiving.  We learned some history, competed for who could make the most words out of the letters of Thanksgiving themed words, and made handprint turkeys on which we wrote what we were thankful for.  As teachers and prospective students cycled in and out I was proud to be representing the school and making English fun for the students (It might have helped that I gave them candy throughout the lesson).  At one point, one student asked me, “Don’t you mind being a spectacle on display all the time?”  Sometimes it feels strange to be such a novelty in this small town and hold a mild celebrity status, but overall I am appreciative of the friendliness and eagerness of the people...