Assistant professor University of Ostrava Czech Republic
Jan Pezda is a dedicated academic specializing in modern history with a focus on East Central Europe, particularly the Czech lands during the Habsburg Empire era. With a strong educational foundation and numerous accolades, Jan has contributed significantly to the understanding of tourism, physical culture, and social practices in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Profile
ORCiD
Education
🎓 Ph.D. in Czech and Czechoslovak History (2021), University of Ostrava, Czech Republic. His dissertation, Tourism and Spatiotemporal Imagination of Middle-Class Citizens and Villagers in the Nineteenth Century, explores the intersection of social practices and tourism. 🎓 Master’s degree in Modern Economic and Social History (2016), University of Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Experience
🧑🏫 Assistant Professor (since 2022), University of Ostrava. 🧑🏫 Teacher (since 2021), Elementary School in Bohumín. 🌐 Erasmus Exchange (2018), The University of Passau, Germany, where he spent six months enriching his academic perspectives.
Research Interests
🔍 Research Interests: Jan Pezda’s research delves into the modern history of East Central Europe, emphasizing the Czech lands under the Habsburg Empire. His work examines nationalism, body, gender, sexuality, popular urban culture, physical culture, and tourism during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Awards
🏆 Awards and Grants:
- SGS02/FF/2021-2022: Focused on Czechoslovak society during the interwar period.
- SGS01/FF/2019: Investigated economic and social history of Moravia and Silesia.
- Moravian-Silesian Regional Council Grant (2017-2020): For talented postgraduates.
- Award of the Rector of University of Ostrava (2014): For successful representation.
- National Student Scientific Conference (2014): 1st Place and Special Award for Best Paper.
Publications
📚 Monographs:
- Slunce, voda, vzduch. Zrod moderního turismu [Sun, Water, Air. The Birth of Modern Tourism] (forthcoming, 2025).
📘 Chapters in Monographs and Proceedings:
- Pezda, Jan ‒ Klement, Martin (2023). Showers in the Prague Sokol Club by Miloš Jiránek (1903). In: A History of Sport in Europe in 100 Objects. Hildesheim: Arete Verlag Hildesheim, pp. 398-401.
- Pezda, Jan (2021). Kult masa. Tělotvorba, „muskulinita“ a Frištenský okolo roku 1900. In: Bendová, Eva – Hojda, Zdeněk (eds.): Od práce k zábavě. Volný čas v české kultuře 19. století. Praha, pp. 160-187.
- Pezda, Jan – Klement, Martin (2021). Přemysl’s Soldiers and Libuše’s Companions. On Gender and the Limits of Female Emancipation in the Sokol Gymnastic Movement. In: Cleophas, Francois Johannes (ed.): Critical Reflections on Physical Culture at the Edges of Empire. Stellenbosch, pp. 57-83.
- Pezda, Jan (2019). Industrializace venkovského času (1842-1861). In: Hrdina, Martin – Piorecká, Kateřina – Bendová, Eva (eds.): Pochopit vteřinu. Prožívání času v české kultuře 19. století. Praha, pp. 64-76.
- Pezda, Jan (2016). A smallholder on the road. Selected aspects of pilgrimages and travel in the second half of the 19th century, based on the example of Josef Stříž (1833-1905). In: Teterycz-Puzio, Agniezska – Kościelak, Lech – Łączyńska, Ewa (eds.): Via viatores quaerit. Mobilność społeczna w dziejach krajów Grupy Wyszehradzkiej. Słupsk, pp. 379-398.
- Pezda, Jan (2014). K vybraným aspektům poutnictví a cestování ve druhé polovině 19. století na příkladu chalupníka Josefa Stříže. In: Čadková, Kateřina (ed.): Historie 2013. Sborník prací z 19. celostátní studentské vědecké konference konané 3.−4. dubna 2014 v Pardubicích. Pardubice, pp. 175-199.