Matyas Havrda, researcher, Palacky University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
Research: Hippolytus' "Refutatio Omnium Haeresium": Investigating the Sources and Intentions of Heterodox Christianity and Hellenic Judaism in the First Two Centuries A.D.
Host: Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA
September 2003-July 2004

Connecting Modern Thought and Ancient Studies
"I think the visit to the United States infected me with some optimism and encouraged me to be more creative and effective in my work," said Matyas Havrda, a Czech Fulbright Scholar, of the year he spent at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California.

It was at Claremont's Institute for Antiquity and Christianity (IAC) that Havrda conducted his research on the heterodox background of Christian philosophy in the early Roman period. The IAC is well-known as one of the leading centers of research in heterodox Christianity and offers scholars a great deal of resources. Of IAC, Havrda said he "could hardly have imagined better resource conditions." The well-equipped, easily accessed libraries allowed his intellectual curiosity to roam with few boundaries.

Havrda attended most of the events organized by the IAC during his visit, including two three-day conferences and a number of public lectures. He also took advantage of the opportunity to attend the 2004 Regional Meeting of the Society for Biblical Literature in Southern California. In addition to attending these conferences and lectures, Havrda gave three presentations of his own, traveling around the United States to cities such as Atlanta and Chicago. He valued greatly these chances to receive both comments and criticism from his colleagues, including many leading experts in the field, on his views and research.

These interactions ranked among the many pleasant surprises of Havrda's Fulbright experience. "U.S. professors seemed to be genuinely interested in giving me every possibility to express myself, which was sometimes a little bit scary, and in their criticism they were careful not to sound discouraging," said Havrda.
The wealth of material available at the IAC led Havrda to refocus his research during his stay. His original intention of writing a full commentary of Hippolytus' Refutatio proved too ambitious, but with the expanded resources Havrda was able to concentrate on a few more focused aspects and prepare short studies.

Even immersed in ancient literature, Havrda took note of the quest of U.S. scholars to find contemporary relevancy for their work. Though that is a perspective that can be difficult to achieve in purely historical research, Havrda noted that his exposure to that focus has led him to take seriously the demand for relevancy in academic pursuits, the biggest change to his academic practices to result from his Fulbright experience.

Havrda keeps in touch with many of his U.S. colleagues, some of whom have been to visit him in Prague. He is working to help professors from Claremont publish Czech translations of their books and has been offered the opportunity to publish his own works in the IAC's Occasional Papers series. Reflecting on his time at Claremont, Havrda noted that being a Fulbrighter widened his global perspective, while helping him to see more clearly some qualities of his native Czech Republic that he had taken for granted. "The experience is invaluable, both professionally and personally, and I am sincerely grateful for it," concludes Havrda.

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