Book talk on “The Slovak Question: A Transatlantic Perspective, 1914-1948”
by
Prof. Michael Cude
Schreiner University
Saturday, May 3, 2025
2:00 pm ET
To register to participate in this online event, visit https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/1CWhhnZaSzW3yqUJ6pFt-w#/
to reserve your spot.
The so-called Slovak question asked what place Slovaks held—or should have held—in the former state of Czechoslovakia. From 1918, at the end of World War I, until the “Velvet Divorce” in 1993, the minority Slovaks often clashed with the majority Czechs over their role in the nation. The Slovak Question examines this debate from a transatlantic perspective. Explored through the relationship between Slovaks, Americans of Slovak heritage, and US and Czechoslovak policymakers, it shows how Slovak national activism in America helped the Slovaks establish a sense of independent identity and national political assertion after World War I. This process played a role in undermining attempts to establish a united Czechoslovak identity that continued throughout Czechoslovakia’s history. The book was the recipient of the 2022 Slovak Studies Association’s Best Book Prize.
Michael Cude is an Associate Professor of History at Schreiner University, a liberal arts university in Kerrville, Texas, where he is also the program coordinator for the Global Scholars learning community. His research specializations are Modern Central and Eastern Europe and US Diplomatic history. He is the author of several books and academic articles in addition to The Slovak Question, including, most recently, Woodrow Wilson: The First World War and Modern Internationalism.
