Welcome to
EuroSEAS 2021

Word of Welcome

We would like to warmly welcome all potential participants of the 11th EuroSEAS conference to be held from 7–10 September 2021 at Palacký University, Olomouc.

Olomouc is an ecclesiastical metropolis and the historical capital of Haná, the richest region of North Moravia. The city was transformed into a modern campus city by Palacký University. Nowadays, it is considered the administrative, political and cultural center of the region with numerous libraries, museums and theatres. The city is also a magical place, with original local culture and friendly people, full of crowded clubs, pubs and dining halls but empty churches. An ideal place for harsh intellectual disputations and consequent friendly placating. Palacký University was first established in 1573 as a public university led by the Jesuits’ order in Olomouc and is the oldest Moravian university and the second oldest university in the Czech Republic. Originally, only theology was taught at the university, but soon the branches of philosophy, law and medicine were established. The university closed after the turbulent year of 1848 and re-established only in 1946. After the Communist takeover, the university and especially some of its faculties were hit by persecution. Today the university comprises of 8 faculties with some 24,000 students.

The Department of Asian Studies at the Faculty of Arts of Palacký University is a modern workplace for education and research activities focused on contemporary languages and cultures of the Asian Region with an emphasis on the Asian Pacific area. The Department offers teaching programs on Chinese Philology, Indonesian Studies for Tourism, Japanese Philology, Korean for Business and Commerce, or Vietnamese Philology and Asian Studies with a focus on China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

The Department of Asian Studies hosts the research project “SINOPHONE BORDERLANDS – Interaction at the Edges” which explores how the Sinophone world interacts with the Turco-Persophone, Slavophone, Tibetophone, Hispanophone and Austroasiatophone worlds. The research team consists of senior and junior researchers from various disciplines in the fields of the humanities, social sciences and political science. This allows for cross-disciplinary dialogues and cross-cultural comparisons which will push the current discussion on the Sinophone world beyond limited disciplinary and national frameworks.

We hope that you will join the 11th EuroSEAS conference and enjoy your stay at our institution in this magical city.