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Conversations with UP Alumni: Connecting Science with Everyday Life | FHŠ Meetings: With American Author Amy Fradel on the Lives of Emigrants
7. October, 2024,18:00 - 19:30
On Monday, October 7, at 6:00 PM, a meeting with the American physician Amy Fradel from the town of Belfast in the U.S. state of Maine will take place in the lobby of the UP Armerija building. She is a descendant of Slovenian emigrants. In the attic of her late parents’ home, she once discovered a box containing 300 letters and numerous photographs through which her grandmother had maintained contact with relatives in the homeland throughout her life. This discovery led to the book Four Acres under Slavnik: A Slovenian Migration Story, which will be the focus of the FHŠ meeting. The author will be interviewed by historian Prof. Dr. Aleksej Kalc.
The event will be held in Slovenian and English, with interpretation provided.
Before and after the First World War, many residents from the area beneath Mount Slavnik emigrated in search of better earnings and a brighter future. Some moved to Trieste, while others crossed the Atlantic to North America. Among them were Janez Fradel and his fiancée Marija Fabjančič, who in 1913 traveled across the ocean to the promised land, intending not to stay permanently. They planned to return after a few years and use their earnings to expand their small farm back home. However, as happened with many other emigrants, they eventually settled in the United States, where their lives—and the lives of their children—continued.
Their ties to the “old country” were never broken, as family and kinship relationships continued at a distance through correspondence. The letters that crossed the Atlantic for fifty years thus became the primary source through which Amy Fradel reveals the vivid story of her ancestors. While reading the translated letters, she discovered family members she had not known about and learned what had happened to them in the past. At the same time, the work portrays everyday practical life, experiences, and emotions of ordinary people throughout the turbulent history of the twentieth century.
Her work is not only a story of emigration, but also an important document shedding light on the broader historical and cultural experience of Slovenian immigrants in the United States. The author provides insight into their everyday lives in the new world, their struggles, successes, and challenges, as well as the preservation of Slovenian identity abroad. It is therefore not surprising that the book received the prestigious Slovenian Union of America Literary Award for 2022.
Events organised by the Alumni Office team, involving alumni and professors from specific faculties, aiming to create a dynamic environment for meaningful discussions on contemporary and relevant topics, including fake news and conspiracy theories. The six sessions will take place throughout the year, with a moderator leading a structured discussion at each session, after which we will open the floor for questions from the audience and further informal conversation over a reception to follow.
Further below, you are kindly invited to read and view the following materials related to the event:
- The invitation with the program is available at this link.
- Photos from the event:
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