Lecturer Addresses History of Multiculturalism in Prague

Last Thursday, the Departments of History and Modern Literature co-hosted the third Philip Bankwitz Lecture of the year.

Peter Demetz, a retired professor of German and Comparative Literature at Yale University, presented a talk entitled "Prague, the Impossible City - Promises and Failures of Multi-Ethnicity." At the beginning of the program, History Professor Michael Lestz described the career of Philip Bankwitz, a retired Trinity Professor for whom the lecture series is named. He discussed the legacy of Bankwitz, who was in attendance as "One that will live on, and be remembered by his former students and colleagues." Lestz also described Bankwitz's lectures as "Masterpieces of scholarly construction."

After Lestz finished his talk on Bankwitz, Nancy Wagner, Associate Academic Dean and former student of Peter Demetz, introduced the speaker for the day. She referred to Demetz as "One of the most important and prolific scholars of the late twentieth century."

Wagner also gave a background of Demetz's career, including the fact that he received two of Germany's highest awards of cultural achievement. He also wrote nine books, as well as editing sixteen.

Demetz opened his lecture by presenting the story of himself and his girlfriend attempting to escape post-war Czechoslovakia in October 1949. He told the story of selling his girlfriend's engagement ring in order to pay a guide to take them to Bavarian-held territory, or the "free zone."

For the remainder of his lecture Demetz discussed the city of Prague and how it dealt with ethnic groups such as Jews, Germans, Italians, and the Czechs. As centuries passed, the city became more open to ethnic groups. He stated that "By the eighteenth century, Italians were prominent in entertainment and arts."

He talked about medieval Prague, and how at least six languages were spoken in the city during that period.

The audience seemed to react positively to Demetz's lecture.

Laura Schwartz '02 was fascinated by the knowledge that Demetz possessed. "He said he was not a historian, but that he pretended to be. But with his knowledge and personal experience, I am convinced that he definitely is a qualified historian."