ASEEES News

Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Marty Manor Mullins

Marty Manor Mullins Headshot

Marty M. Mullins is an adjunct professor of History and the co-director of the Honors Program at Flathead Valley Community College.

LinkedIn

When did you first develop an interest in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies?  

I was a college student on a short-term trip to Poland in 1997 when the area’s history “came alive” to me. All the information I’d learned about WWI, WWII, and communism suddenly felt palpable to me and I couldn’t get enough. The next summer, I taught English in Slovakia, and the combination of mountains and genuinely warm people resulted in my desire to return to the region. I have no ancestral roots in the area, so my introduction to Slovakia was purely providential and turned out to become a gateway to my eventual career path. 

Hosting Fellow European “Socrates” Schools at Srobarova Gymnazium, Kosice, Slovakia

How have your interests changed since your initial interest in the field? 

After teaching at a secondary school in eastern Slovakia and learning the language, I wanted to earn a doctorate in the history of East Central Europe so that I could share my passion for the area with university students in the States. I completed a Fulbright-Mellon Fellowship abroad in 2012 and earned my Ph.D. in History at the University of Washington in 2013. Since then I’ve been teaching, publishing and lecturing, as well as encouraging my Honors Program students to study abroad. 

What is your current research/work project?  

Visit to Slovak Embassy in Washington, DC

Having lived for 7 years in  Košice, Slovakia, just 50 miles from the Ukrainian border, my current passions are to educate Americans about the importance of continued U.S. support for Ukraine and also the danger of emulating the pro-Russian populism espoused by the current governments in Slovakia and Hungary. I have recently had the privilege of delivering public lectures on Ukraine and the rise of Nationalism in East Central Europe as well as teaching a class at The Chautauqua Institution

Tell us about your most interesting/enjoyable research or work experience.  

Sharing eastern Slovakia’s perspective of Czechoslovakia’s turning points under communism has become compelling for me. My dissertation and subsequent published articles have focused on how Czechoslovakia’s 1948 communist consolidation of power, 1968 Prague Spring and 1989 communist collapse played out uniquely in eastern Slovakia. It’s important for me to give voice to how Košice’s distinct groups (the steelworkers, Eastern Rite Orthodox, and Hungarian minority) effectively subverted the regime’s efforts at these critical junctures.  

Teaching at Flathead Valley Community College in Montana

What do you value about your ASEEES membership? 

As a board member of the Slovak Studies Association (SSA), I value ASEEES’ support for its affiliate organizations and the opportunities that the annual convention affords us. The SSA so appreciates our ability to sponsor an ASEEES panel, which provides a platform for young scholars to present their work. And we often hold our annual meeting at the convention, which is a terrific networking opportunity for junior and senior scholars alike. 

More ASEEES News

ASEEES News