Two University of Minnesota Ph.D. Candidates Present at Annual Austrian Studies Centers Conference in Olomouc (Czech Republic)
Two University of Minnesota Ph.D. candidates, Stephan Knott (History) Amelia Spell (History) presented their research at this year's Austrian Studies Centers Conference, which took place in June 2025 at Palacký University in the Czech city of Olomouc.
About the conference: Held annually, the Austrian Studies Centers Conferences have taken place since 2007. The conference provides intellectual exchange and networking for administrators and students across the nine Austrian Studies Centers located around the world.
Two students from each center present their research at the multi-day conference, and have the opportunity to publish their work in the peer-reviewed Europa Orientalis published by University of Vienna's Department of East European History and funded by the Austrian Ministry of Education.
The Austrian Center in Olomouc was was founded in 2013 with a research focus on German-Moravian literature and its connection to Austrian literature. The center is based at the Palacký University Olomouc, which was founded in 1573.
More information in the 2025 conference can be found in English here, and also in German.
The University of Minnesota's Center for Austrian Studies was the first Austrian studies center founded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science in 1977 with a gift from the people of the Republic of Austria, and continues to be the largest of its kind in North America. In addition to the centers in Olomouc and the Twin Cities, other centers are located at the University of New Orleans, the University of Alberta (Canada), University of California-Berkeley, University of Vienna (Austria), Leiden University (The Netherlands), Andrássy University Budapest (Hungary), and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
