Education paper by Molnár, Erzsébet
University of Miskolc

The Influence of Brassai's Life-Work on Hungarian Culture and Science Within and Beyond Borders

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
At the centre of Brassai’s life-work, which influenced his whole life and his scientific work, was his research into the methodological principles of teaching. In his long life he was engaged in the sciences; he fought for education in the Hungarian language eagerly and successfully. Besides jurisprudence he was very good in almost every science; excellent linguist, natural scientist, philosopher, critic, mathematician, musician, teacher and headmaster, essay writer, university professor, and a regular member of the Academy of Sciences.
The presentation relies mainly on facts in the monographs about Brassai; on the contemporary periodical reviews and publications published in Kolozsvár; on the writings of Sámuel Brassai; on the documentary data, on the history of foreign-language teaching, on his influence at home and abroad, as well as on the development of the Direct Method and its methodological background.
His works had a great influence on the scientific life of our country. With his achievements, scientific researches, writings and teaching he contributed to the development and spread of the Hungarian culture and science. Sámuel Brassai’s teachings are so fundamental and deep that they are substantial even today for all Hungarians within and beyond borders.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Erzsébet Molnár is Senior Lecturer at the University of Miskolc, Hungary. She received her Ph.D. from Pannon University in Veszprém, based on a dissertation about the great Transylvanian-Hungarian Polymath, Sámuel Brassai (1797-1897). She has been working at the Department of English Linguistic and Literature at the University of Miskolc. Her specialty is language pedagogy and the main issues of foreign language teaching. Her publications include half dozen textbooks, three dozen related articles in English and Hungarian, as well as a book on the topic of her dissertation, Sámuel Brassai. The Last Transylvanian Polymath (2008). She is a frequent participant at various international conferences, including those in Great-Britain, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Albania, Malta, Canada, and the United States.