The departments presented altogether 21 proposals for development projects to the Higher Education Development Fund; eight projects for the year of 1999 were accepted.

The Grant Agency of the Czech Republic was presented with twelve three–year projects supposed to begin in 1999, four of which were accepted. A large number of the members of the Faculty of Arts were involved in working for various associations and societies: 25 teachers worked in field committees of grant agencies, 80 teachers worked in committees of Czech professional associations and 22 teachers in foreign professional associations, international commissions and learned societies (ASCR, UNESCO, CIOFF, CIPEM, etc.) or as editors of scholarly and professional journals.

Out of the many scientific conferences organised by the departments of the Faculty, especially notable are: the 6^th International Conference of English and American Scholars organised by the Department of English and American Studies; the conference Internationale Volkskundliche Bibliographie, organised by the Department of European Ethnology; The Composer and Humanity, organised by the Department of Musicology on the occasion of the Janáček Year of Music; the international conference Central Europe in the 20^th Century: Integration and Disintegration, Ideas and Reality, organised by the Seminar of the History of Central and Eastern Europe of the Department of History; the 1^st International Conference of Canadian Studies in the Central European Region, organised by the Centre for Canadian Studies at the Department of English and American Studies; a conference on The Co-operation of Czech and Austrian Theatre Artists, organised by the branch of the Austrian Institute for Eastern and South-eastern Europe and the Department of Film and Theatre Studies.

The Faculty played host to a number of important guests: the German Ambassador, the Greek Ambassador, the Romanian Ambassador, the First Secretary of the Republic of Cyprus, Prof. Jean-Pierre Vernant (who was awarded an honorary doctoral degree by Masaryk University) and Prof. François Rivenc, the playwright and writer Pavel Kohout, and many others.

Special attention was paid to students’ research. The first religious studies conference of Czech and Slovak students and a scholarly conference of history students took place at the Faculty. Three works written by students of the Faculty ranked among the five best papers.

In 1998, there were 5,644 applicants for studying at the Faculty of Arts, which was a lower number compared to 1997, when 7,335 applied. This was due to the fact that the new Faculty of Social Studies was established, comprising four subjects (sociology, social politics and social work, political science, and journalism) that were previously (until 1 September 1998) taught at the Faculty of Arts. Therefore, overall interest in studying at the Faculty had not diminished.

The international activities of the Faculty of Arts are very diverse. Last year, there were 105 international students studying at the Faculty on scholarships of the Ministry of Education and the Faculty of Arts, and various fellowships and exchange programmes. International students have primarily shown an interest in Czech and Slavonic Studies and Musicology. This year, the first students studying through the SOCRATES–ERASMUS programme arrived. The Department of Czech for Foreign Students offers a wide range of courses at all levels, including an introductory course for the exchange students of the SOCRATES–ERASMUS programme. The Department also organises the annual Summer School of Slavonic Studies, which unquestionably ranks among the most important international events at the Faculty. In 1998, its 31^st year took place with 124 participants from 27 countries.

More than 200 teachers went abroad on study trips and to give lecture series. The countries included nearly all European countries and the USA, Canada, China and India. Student exchanges based on bilateral agreements with the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga (USA), the University of Leeds (UK), Bristol (UK) and Kyiv (Ukraine) actively continued. International contacts are mediated mostly by the lecturers from abroad; there were nineteen lecturers from abroad at the Faculty last year, including new lecturers from Latvia and Japan.

Our teachers published a large number of works and essays in Czech and foreign almanacs and journals. The Faculty published 23 monographs, while four monographs appeared internationally. These include: Art Nouveau – Word and Shape by D. Kšicová, The Creation of the Oldest Czech Names by J. Pleskačová, The Progressive Era in American Historical Fiction by T. Pospíšil, Genealogy and the Transformations of Literature by I. Pospíšil, Polish Epigrams by L. Štěpán, And What If It's Theatre by E. Stehlíková, Philosophy of the Last Years Before the End of Philosophy by B. Horyna, Leoš Janáček and 20^th Century Music by M. Štědroň, Organology by P. Kurfürst, An Introduction to Comparative Ethics by R. Brázda, Concepts and Objects by P. Materna, and The Hard Bed of Wild Vine by Z. Kožmín and J. Trávníček.