 Fulbright
Scholar Stories |
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Ivo Budil, Dean, Faculty of Humanities, and assistant
professor, University of West Bohemia, Czech Republic
Research: Anthropology and Archaeology, Totalitarianism:
An Anthropological Perspective
Host: Johns Hopkins University, Md.
December 1999-March 2000
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For
several months in early 2000, Johns Hopkins University was home
for Dr. Ivo Budil. The assistant professor and head of the department
of anthropology at the University of West Bohemia in the Czech
Republic was there to conduct extensive research on totalitarianism
from an anthropological perspective. The scholar explained that
his primary goal was to develop "new conceptual tools for
understanding, explaining and interpreting this tragic historical
phenomenon." Establishing new tools for understanding totalitarianism
was of particular importance to the scholar, given his home country's
recent and continuing transition to a free society.
Living and working in the United States at the turn of the 21st
century gave him valuable insight into the workings of contemporary
democracy. He commented on the excitement of witnessing firsthand
the nationwide controversy and subsequent debate over issues such
as the flying of the confederate flag and the return of Elian
Gonzalez to his father. Budil also felt fortunate to be able to
observe the beginning of the U.S. presidential race, including
the crucial New Hampshire primary.
As a visiting scholar at a large U.S. institution, Budil also
gained important perspective on what he considers a "main
strength and crucial advantage" of the United States in a
global context: diversity. He concluded that his host country
seems to successfully and democratically manage the complexities
of a free society despite enormous cultural, ethnic, social and
religious differences among its people. He will undoubtedly return
to the Czech Republic with new ideas for meeting the challenge
of an increasingly multicultural society.
Budil's expectations for his time at Johns Hopkins University
were more than met. In addition to being part of campus and academic
life at Johns Hopkins, Budil traveled to several other U.S. institutions,
including the University of New Orleans, Yale University and Moravian
College. This gave him the opportunity to explore additional resources,
network with colleagues engaged in similar research and discuss
the possibility for establishing student and scholar exchange
programs with the University of West Bohemia.
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