CEU Podcasts

The podcast shares the perspectives of faculty and students of OSUN Collaborative Network Course on Antisemitism, Holocaust, Colonialism, Gender.  These termes are used as  a lens through which to examine prejudice, discrimination, race and hate in their historical and contemporary manifestations. These questions have often been discussed in a bifurcated way, with antisemitism and the Holocaust st...

What is the difference between altar and altarpiece? How were the altarpieces produced and used in medieval churches? How did medieval people see and understand them? In this interview, Chris Mielke talks with Emese Sarkadi Nagy, an art historian from the Christian Museum in Esztergom, Hungary, about the manufacturing and symbolism of Transylvanian altarpieces and their place in medieval society. ...

In this episode of Past Perfect, Chris Mielke is joined by Ádám Nádasdy, a professor of English linguistics and a poet who is famous for translation Sheakspear`s plays into Hungarian. The professor starts the conversation with the Anglo-Norman world, the development of English in the Middle Ages, and the interactions between English and French. You will learn how the difference between „swine” and...

In this episode, Chris Mielke has an exciting conversation about medieval forests and the woodcutting economy with the researcher Péter Szabó. The doctor explains how to study medieval landscapes, shows the difference between forests and woodlands, and talks about woodcutting's technologies and economic benefits in the Middle Ages and Early Modern times. He also tells where to find medieval forest...

Why was it important for the regent of the Netherlands to be unmarried? What is the connection between a Hungarian Queen and Luther? Why did Mary of Austria sign herself as Mary of Hungary? And why is it possible to create an exhibition about these queens full of empty glass boxes? In this interview, Chris Mielke speaks with Orsolya Réthelyi, a specialist in Early Modern Queenship, and explores un...

What do Faust and John Dee, Queen Elizabeth I's official magician, have in common? How to speak the language of angels and use magic crystals? What did Renaissance occultism look like, and how did it affect the modern understanding of magic? Christopher Melke discusses all these issues with György Szőnyi, a specialist in Renaissance and modern literature, whose academic interests include occultism...

In this episode, Felicitas Schmieder, a professor of Medieval History in FernUniversität Hagen and visiting professor at CEU, speaks about medieval urbanism, perception, and eschatology. She begins with the research on her hometown, Frankfurt am Main, and the unique features of this royal city. Her focus is the medieval clergy, its role, and its challenges in the feudal world. Felicitas Schmieder...

After the graduation from CEU, doctor Magdolna Szilágyi talks about her dissertation about road systems in Western Hungary during the Arpad period. While the stereotypes say that medieval people lived in isolated societies and traveled a little, the research proved that the long journeys to the pilgrim locations, annual fairs, and other destinations were common. The doctor also claims that the roa...

Interview with Christian Raffensperger, Professor and Chair of the Department of History, Kenneth E. Wray Chair in the Humanities, Wittenberg University, USAIn this interview, Professor Christian Raffensperger discusses his current research and forthcoming book Rulers and Rulership in the Arc of Medieval Europe, 1000-1200. The ‘arc’ refers to a vast area from Iberia through Scandinavia, central Eu...

In this episode, Chris Mielke speaks with Rubina Raja, the professor of Classical Archaeology at Aarhus University in Denmark, about her research of regional identities in the Roman Empire. First, the professor explains how archaeologists can study identities and what “Roman” really means for such studies. Rubina Raja also talks about the functions of the temples, objects, and city walls in urban...

This is an interview with Maarten Prak, Professor of Social and Economic History at the Department of History and Art History, Utrecht University, Netherlands, hosted by Karen Culver. They discuss Maarten’s book Citizens without Nations: Urban Citizenship in Europe and the World c. 1000-1789. Maarten discusses how urban citizenship functioned in medieval and early modern Europe.  He argues that ur...

Sigismund of Luxembourg (1368-1437) was king of Hungary, king of Bohemia, and Holy Roman Emperor at the same time. However, he was popular neither in Germany nor in Hungary or Bohemia, and long-abandoned in historiography. In this interview, Chris Mielke and his guest, Attila Bárány, talk about mysterious king Sigismund and Hungarian diplomacy of his age. The first part of the interview is about K...

In this interview, Dan Knox, (PhD student), talks about his research into coalitions, networks, and conflict around the double papal election in 498 and the subsequent Laurentian Schism.   Using social network analysis methodologies, and based on personal letters and other writing of the period, Dan aims to tell the story of the papal election and the period of post-election violence in terms of t...

In this interview, Anna (Ph. D student) talks about her research into the construction and function of late medieval cathedrals in Central Europe.  Her research focusses on the eastern end of the cathedral and how the design and use of the space reflected the contemporary society.  Anna also discusses how the concepts used in the design of these ancient buildings are relevant to the design of buil...

What can the fragments of glass bottles or beakers retell from their past? In this episode, Christopher Mielke speaks with Tanja Tolar about this very particular type of source materials and discovers how much the fragments can say about trade, manufacturing techniques, imagery, diplomacy, and contacts between the Western and Middle East societies in the 15-16th century. Tanja Tolar talks about he...

In this interview, David Rockwell, Ph. D student with the Department of Medieval Studies, discusses his research into the lobbying practices of bankers and other lenders that aimed to influence imperial law-making affecting the economic life of sixth century Byzantium.  He looks at the history of economics and corruption of the period from his unique perspective as a former senior finance and capi...

In this interview Antonin Kalous talks about his recent book ‘The Legation of Angelo Pecchinoli at the Court of King of Hungary, 1488- 1490’.  This wonderful book includes documents and personal letters to Pope Innocent VIII from his nuncio Angelo Pecchinoli, detailing daily life and even personal conversations at the court of King Matthias Corvinus.  Antonin also discusses his new research into t...

Why was Jewish the only non-Christian minority tolerated in Europe? How did the Jewish and Christians share their neighborhood? What was the tendency in attitude to this minority in Medieval Europe? Today, Chris Mielke discusses these and many other questions with Carsten Wilke, primary CEU specialist in Jewish studies.  The historian speaks about engagement of Jewish people into various aspects o...

A Military Analysis of the ‘Iron Gate’ Defence against the Ottoman Invasion of Hungary in the 14th century. In this interview, Jason Snider (Ph. D Student) talks about his research into the defence of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Teutonic Knights.  He considers the defensive strategy from a military perspective and poses the question of why it failed. This podcast is part of the ‘New Faces, New I...

In the new episode of Past Perfect, professor Terence Barry from Trinity College, Dublin, speaks about the Norman conquest of Ireland, urban development, and the island's economy in the Middle Ages. He starts with the Normans' invasion, explaining how they appeared on the Irish coast and why it was so difficult to conquer the whole island. In the second part, Terence Barry reveals what castles can...

In this episode, Chris Mielke speaks with Alan Cameron, Professor Emeritus at Columbia University, New York. The professor tells about his various books on the Late Antique world and the unexpected interconnections between paganism and Christianity. In the first part, Alan Cameron focuses on the figure of Claudian, a Greek poet at the court of emperor Honorius in Rome. What could a pagan poet writ...

Andrea Petö, Professor for Gender Studies at the Central European University, Vienna, talks with Lori Weintrob, Professor of History and founding director of the Wagner College Holocaust Center, Staten Island, New York, and Laura Morowitz, who is currently researching issues of art in Nazi Vienna about the different forms of Jewish women’s heroism. They discuss why it is important to remember thes...

Urban Arena is a series of critical conversations with activists, entrepreneurs, intellectuals and policy-makers in different European cities who are working, in complimentary and conflicting ways, to create cities that respond to the twin challenges of justice and sustainability. This time we're talking with Linda Gustafsson, Gender Equality Officer, City of Umeå. Image by Arnica Bäckström from P...

This Nightworkpod episode is based on a talk centred on the experiences of a platforming woman offering ‘alternative transport’ services with Bolt, Romania. The talk focuses on one day in the life of S. a Bolt driver. "In July 2021, S. switched from the long hours of international driving between Oradea and Milan, to offering 'alternative transport' services on a 2km radius and four rides per hour...

This episode is based on a talk that I gave as part of a conversation moderated by Ann Lui, principal @futurefirm. I was delighted to join @cyruspenarroyo discussing our films at this event organised @futurefirm and hosted by @exhibitcolumbus and moderated by Ann Lui, principle at Future Firm. You can also watch both films (Nightshift Spitalfields, 2020, UK and Manifest Destiny, 2021, US) througho...