Rozhovor Britských listů 115: Slovanská zádumčivost je překážkou úspěchu Čechů v Americe [Britské listy Interview 115: Slavonic melancholy is an obstacle preventing Czechs from becoming successful in the United States]

Jan Čulík interviews Josef Švéda, the author of the monograph Země zaslíbená, země zlořečená [The Promised Land, the Accursed Land], which analyses images of the United States in Czech 19th and 20th century literature. Švéda has found that the construction of these images tells more about internal political and social problems in the Czech Lands rather than about the United States. In the 19th century, the US often functioned as an example of freedom and democracy for Czech authors, although they often assumed the generally widespread period racist attitudes to the blacks and to the indigenous American population. In the 20th century, the US was often an example of brutal, exploitative capitalism. After the fall of communism in 1989, America was idolised, recently, Czech attitudes towards the US are rather sceptical. - The interview was broadcast on the Czech cable TV station Regionalnitelevize.cz from 23rd June, 2017