SSEES Alumnus winner of Best Book in the Field of Czechoslovak Historical Studies.

Congratulations to former SSEES student, Felix Jeschke (PhD, 2016) who has been awarded the prize for Best Book in the Field of Czechoslovak Historical Studies, by The Czechoslovak Studies Association.

The award recognizes an outstanding book published in 2021 or 2022, and one that is primarily concerned with the history of Czechoslovakia, its predecessor and successor states, or any of its peoples within and beyond its historical boundaries.

The book, titled Iron Landscapes: National Space and the Railways in Interwar Czechoslovakia (Berghahn, 2021). tells a new story of the country's earliest years by examining the building of its national rail network. Drawing together an impressive variety of primary and secondary sources, from visual sources to travelogues to contemporary literature, Jeschke's book draws on the newest literature in the field to open new areas for study of the connections, ideas, and infrastructure that underpinned the Czechoslovak state at home and abroad. He expands the traditional 'geography' – literally and figuratively – of the First Czechoslovak Republic, integrating the study of the Czech lands with discussions of Slovakia, Subcarpathian Ruthenia, and other regions. In the process he discusses the multiple, contested meanings of 'Czechoslovak' over time, space, and national language. His account is a fresh, deeply researched approach to the history of the First Czechoslovak Republic, its challenges, contested politics, discourses, and everyday life.

Felix also completed an MRes in East European Studies and BA History at SSEES prior to his PhD.