JDM 2026
August 29, 2026
via Zoom
The Speaker
Andrea Štěpánková
Andrea Štěpánková (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic) is a historian, researcher at Masaryk University, and specialist in the study of Anabaptist communities, particularly Hutterites. Her work focuses on their social and economic interactions, as well as the legal and political context of their presence in sixteenth and seventeenth century Moravia. She is currently a member of the research team for the project Mapping the Dynamics of Anabaptist Communities in Moravia in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, which aims to create an online database of Anabaptist settlements and develop an interactive map presenting the collected data to both scholarly and general audiences.
From Strangers to Neighbours: How the Hutterites Found a Home in Moravia, 1526–1628
LECTURE 1 (Saturday, August 29, 2026, 8:30-9:30 a.m. CDT)
Negotiating Belonging: Hutterites and Nobility in Moravia
Let us explore how the Hutterites, a persecuted Anabaptist community, found a place within early modern Moravian society. We will examine contemporary perceptions of the Hutterites, consider the role of the Moravian nobility as a key mediator between a marginalized minority and the wider society, and trace the process by which fear and distrust gradually gave way to acceptance. Finally, we will look at the political efforts of the Moravian nobility to protect the Hutterites against Habsburg attempts to expel them and consider how Moravia's distinctive religious environment made their integration possible.
LECTURE 2 (Saturday, August 29, 2026, 10:00-11:00 a.m. CDT)
A Century of Coexistence: Hutterite Life and Memory in Moravia
In this session, we will turn out attention to the practical realities and enduring legacy of Hutterite life in Moravia. We will examine the economic value of Hutterite communities and the pragmatic reasons behind noble support, while also considering the tensions and conflicts that accompanied their coexistence. We will then look at the political and religious changes that brought an end to a century of Hutterite presence after 1620 and reflect on the cultural and biological traces they left behind. Finally, we will introduce current interdisciplinary and applied research projects that preserve and explore the Hutterite heritage of Moravia.