Basa, Enikő M.

Library of Congress

DiasporaThen and Now: Multiethnic Reverberations

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Writers, and certainly Hungarian writers, have confronted the past in order to argue for a better future for the nation. Today, this is often means addressing the geographically fragmented reality of the Hungarian community. That is, the diaspora. Yet, the concept is not wholly new. Hungarian as a multiethnic nation had an internal diaspora before the Treaty of Trianon and an external one following it. I will examine the approaches of several writers to this problem.

Pál Závada sees a Slovak "diaspora" of sorts in his Jadviga párnája. Péter Huncik examines the conficts in the new nation states that thrust Hungarians into diaspora without the movement of populations. In Romania, Béla Markó's Költők koszorúja addresses the problem of cultural maintenance within different cultural environments. This seems to me the central problem of the Diaspora: while remaining culturally and (sometimes) linguistically part of the mother country, to come to an understanding of geographical and political realities that do not, and never have, reflected on ethnic or linguistic borders. Authors can transcend political borders and point to a cultural commonwealth that embraces the diversity of modern writing.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Enikő Molnár Basa received her PhD degree in Comparative Literature from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and is the author of a monograph on Petőfi (Twayne) as well as the editor of the Hungarian series within the Twayne World Authors series. She served as Guest Editor for volume, Hungarian Literature in the Review of National Literature series. Currently she is contributing to The Literary Encyclopedia on several authors ranging from Balassi to modern writers. Over the years, Dr. Basa has published numerous articles, contributed to books, and presented papers at scholarly venues such as the Modern Language Association, the American, International and Southern Comparative Literature Associations, the American Hungarian Educators Association and the Hungarian Studies Association of Canada. She is the Executive Director of the AHEA. eniko.basa@verizon.net





Behrendt, Andrew

University of Pittsburgh

Good Neighbors Make Better "Strangers": Hungarian-Austrian Tourism and the Legacies of Empire

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
My paper proposes to examine continuities and ruptures between post-Habsburg Austria and Hungary through the lens of tourism between the two countries in the interwar period. In their endeavor to package “Austria” or “Hungary” as attractive commodities, tourism promoters struggled to define who it was, precisely, that they were marketing them to. The very vocabulary of the tourism industry at this time blurred the lines between domestic and international tourists. Both were denoted, ambiguously, by the word “stranger,” leaving uncertain (at least on paper) the relationships among the imagined Tourist, his/her “home” nation, and the place he/she was visiting.

My paper will explore how the quest to lure the “stranger” both sustained and was reliant upon certain habits laid down during imperial times: cross-border traffic between Austria and Hungary, the symbiotic rivalry of Budapest versus Vienna, and attempts to rekindle Habsburg-era “friendship” between Austrians and Hungarians. Despite (mostly one-sided) competition between the two capitals, not to mention the violent hostility that marked the two countries’ separation in the early postwar years, the 1930s marked an “era of good feelings” between them, especially after the imposition of the Austrian Ständestaat in 1934. This was particularly evident in tourism promotion on both sides of the border, which cast Austrians and Hungarians as special and reunited friends, invoking the old imperial “partnership.” In these ways, tourism allows us to see how the breakup of the empire fundamentally reframed, but did not destroy, the economic and cultural networks of the successor states.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Andrew Behrendt is Academic Advisor at the Center for Russian and East and Russian and East European Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, as well as NewsNet Editor/Program Coordinator for ASEEES. He is a historian of modern east-central European culture, specializing in the history of media, tourism, consumerism, and nationalism in Austria and Hungary. He completed his PhD at the University of Pittsburgh in April 2016. His next project, provisionally titled “Operetta Empire,” will explore the media world of the Habsburg Monarch and its successor states from 1848 to the dawn of the television age. Contact: 4417 W. W. Posvar Hall, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260 aeb72@pitt.edu




Biro, Ruth [withdrawn]

Duquesne University

Models of Prosocial Action from WWII and the Hungarian Holocaust in Hungary: Hungarian Righteous Gentiles and Researchers in the Hungarian Diaspora

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Conference theme is addressed through prosocial behaviors of those honored as Hungarian Righteous Gentiles, designation bestowed by Yad Vashem on those who risked their lives to save Jews in the Holocaust, and from seminal contributions of two Hungarian diaspora researchers in the USA to the literature of optimal flow, positive interactions, and actions against hate. Hungarian Righteous Among the Nations women mentioned are the Csizmadia family (Malvina, Olga, Iren, Maria), immigrants to Israel, and Celestine Loewenberg-Loen and activist leader Margit Slachta, both diaspora Hungarians in USA. Military are represented by Imre Reviczky, Zoltan Kubinyi, and Bela Kiralyi, leader on the Russian front during WWII who treated conscripted Jewish men humanely and noted diaspora scholar in USA before his return to Hungary. Religious in diplomatic roles include Papal Nuncio Angelo Rotta and deputy Gennaro Verolino, whose Righteous Gentile status was promoted by Hungarian diaspora resident of Australia Frank Vajda, and immigrant Tibor Baranski who served on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council. Also featured are two diaspora Hungarians whose innovative research in the United States was influenced by their experiences abroad: in World War II by Mihalyi Czikszentmihalyi and flow theory from postwar observations, and by Erwin Staub, saved by Wallenberg at age six in the Hungarian Holocaust, author on helping behavior and altruism and imperatives for education. Presentation will conclude with ways in which prosocial actions can be encouraged in today’s world to envision and forge a better future.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Dr. Biro earned a B.A. in political science at Chatham College, an MLS and Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, and two certificates in Holocaust studies from Yad Vashem. Retired from Duquesne University, she researches Hungarian and Hungarian- American children's and adolescent literature and Righteous Gentiles in the Hungarian Holocaust. Published articles include: “Representations of Budapest in 1944-1945 in Holocaust Literature,” Comparative Central European Holocaust Studies. Eds. Louise O. Vasvari and Steven Totosy de Zepetnek. Purdue University Comparative Culture Series. West Lafayette IN: Purdue UP, 2009, 3-17, and “Christian Leadership in the Hungarian Holocaust: Celebrating the Moral Courage of Righteous Gentiles,” Proceedings of the Sixth Holocaust Education Conference, 2003. Ed. Kathleen McSharry. Greensburg: National Catholic Center for Holocaust Education, Seton Hill University, 2005, 39-52. Several book reviews appear in Hungarian Cultural Studies. rgbiro@gmail.com




Boros, Nicholas

Cleveland State University

Painting the Past with Paper: A Demonstration of the Value of the Pictorial History Genre for Hungarian Diaspora Studies

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
In commemoration of its 125th anniversary in December 2017, America’s first Hungarian Roman Catholic parish, St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Cleveland, recently prepared an anniversary book. Such publications are often consulted by historians investigating Hungarian diasporic communities because of the key role that churches played in the ethnic identity maintenance of immigrants and their descendants. Due in large part to the fact that these works are intended for a popular audience, the historical sketches within them typically lack the scholarly rigor of professional historical research. Attempting to meet the needs of the local popular audience while offering material that aligns more closely with the standards of academic history, a pictorial history featuring items from the parish’s museum and archives was added to the book.

Unlike most pictorial histories, this text consists largely of scans of printed materials and other ephemeral items organized into themes that showcase the various religious and secular functions that this church, once the nation’s largest Hungarian Catholic congregation, had served. By surveying a selection of the fifty scans and their accompanying descriptions, each image’s ability to distill historical insights about topics ranging from pre-Vatican II American Catholic culture to the bicultural identity that developed in Cleveland’s Hungarian neighborhood between waves of immigration, becomes apparent. Because of the many benefits offered by this format’s structure, I offer it as a model for other Hungarian-American organizations looking for a creative way to digitize holdings from their collections and recount their pasts while considering the perspectives of historians.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Nicholas Boros is a pre-service high school mathematics teacher completing his final semester of a post-baccalaureate teacher licensure program at Cleveland State University. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 2015 from Cleveland State University, where he triple majored in linguistics, comparative religion, and mathematics. His research interests include language maintenance and the historical development of diasporic religious communities. ngboros@yahoo.com




Brückner, Huba [withdrawn]

Independent Scholar

Lajos Bárdos Composer, Music Educator and Model for Generations

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Bárdos was one of the outstanding artistic talents of the twentieth century. His unique, captivating personality left an impression on all who came in contact with him. He was a highly effective educator, conductor, composer, musicologist, music publisher and last but not least he was a great family man who raised eleven children.
Bárdos was drafted in the army near the end of World War I. Later he enrolled at the Budapest University of Technology but after a year of successful engineering studies he switched to the Franz Liszt Music Academy to study composition under Zoltán Kodály.
At a large camping jamboree in 1921 he started teaching Hungarian folk songs and composed his first piece for mixed voices, the ever-popular hauntingly beautiful “Szellő zúg távol”. He was responsible for music during the 4th International Scout Jamborre at Gödöllő in Hungary in 1933. In 1928 he was invited to teach at the Music Academy, where during almost 40 years he taught fourteen different courses, subjects for future music teachers and conductors of choirs. The “Singing Youth” movement which became well known and practiced worldwide – including Hungarian communities in the United States – was launched and managed by him.
The presentation will introduce him and his model-value life and activities with special focus on his intention to make Hungarian folk music better known and to develop happy communities of young people.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Dr. Huba Brückner, born into an academic family in Budapest, in 1946, holds degrees in telecommunications and education from the Technical University of Budapest. His doctoral dissertation concerns the design and application of instruction with computers. From 1970 to 1986 he worked for SZÁMOK/SZÁMALK – a computer education center – providing training on computers for students and experts from forty countries. Dr. Brückner was responsible for the content and organization of these courses.
In 1974 Dr. Brückner spent six months in the United States under the United Nations Development Program and studied the use of technology in education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Illinois, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Florida and Stanford University as well as at the Mitre Corporation and the Control Data Corporation.
From 1975 to 1981 Dr. Brückner was the Director of Educational Television Programs at SZÁMALK. He has lectured at the Technical University of Budapest and at Eötvös Loránd University. Dr. Brückner served as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Hungarian Office of the International Data Group and he was the founding Editor-in-Chief of the Hungarian version of PC World.
He became the first Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission (Hungarian-American Commission for Educational Exchange) in January 1992. He served as Executive Director for 21 years and worked hard on developing the US-Hungarian Fulbright Program to one of the best in the world. The Fulbright Commission in Hungary had many initiatives which were implemented by other commissions worldwide.
Dr. Brückner is the author of ten books and many scholarly papers. His last book is on the life and achievements of composer, conductor, music educator and musicologist Lajos Bárdos. The hard covered book is color illustrated.
Dr. Brückner is married with six children. Among other civil activities he served as the president of the Hungarian Association of Large Families. hubabruckner@gmail.com




Chesla Elizabeth Lukács

Independent Researcher

History through Fiction: Using Autofiction to Explore Your Hungarian Heritage (Workshop)

Type of Abstract (select): Paper presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Autofiction—a text in which the author identifies with but is not necessarily identical to the narrator and/or protagonist—deliberately blurs the line between autobiography and fiction and exploits ambiguity in service of the story. Autofiction can be a particularly effective genre for those who wish to share their personal and family histories but whose access to or knowledge of intergenerational stories has been lost or limited. Autofiction offers unique possibilities for exploring and (re)constructing personal identity and collective memory, providing techniques for framing and reframing personal and family stories and intergenerational narratives.
In this workshop, we’ll define the characteristics of autofiction, examine examples of autofiction texts, and use autofiction techniques to explore our individual and collective identities as Hungarian Americans. You’ll have the opportunity to read, write, and share during the workshop and leave with additional resources and exercises to continue experimenting on your own.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Elizabeth Lukács Chesla holds an MA in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia University and a certificate in Transformative Language Arts Foundations. Her debut work of fiction, You Cannot Forbid the Flower, won the 2023 American Writing Award for Best Novella and was a finalist for Best Fiction Debut and Best Historical Fiction. She serves independent authors, nonprofits, and educational publishers as a professional writer and editor, is an assistant fiction editor for Consequence Forum, and volunteers as a Transformative Language Arts Network committee chair and board member. She writes, edits, and teaches from the suburbs of Philadelphia.




Csorba, Mrea

University of Pittsburgh

Ancient Diaspora: Evidence of an Iron Age Migrant at Zöldhalompuszta, 5200 Kilometers from Home

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
This paper contextualizes the historic diaspora of Iron Age peoples across the vast Eurasian steppe by analyzing the source and diffusion of three steppe motifs associated with gold objects recovered from the Zöldhalompuszta burial in the Carpathian Basin of Eastern Hungary. In earlier papers I investigated the source and ubiquitous spread of the stag motif featured as a shield ornament in the Hungarian burial. Subsequently I analyzed the motif of a stylized raptor head attached to the alert ear of the Zöldhalompuszta stag. In this last stage of research I analyze the source of a third motif – profiled images of lions also found in the burial. The evidence of the triad of motifs fits within a pattern of diffusion of steppe imagery emanating out of Southern Siberia in the seventh and 6th centuries BCE fanning east and west into the peripheral areas of the Eurasian steppes up the Danube delta into Central Europe and into East Asia along the Amur River. Analysis of the cache of artifacts from Zöldhalompuszta suggests the physical presence of a migrating group from the Arzhan region of Southern Siberia. On the basis of its preserved content, the burial represents the movement of steppe people some 5200 kilometers from home.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Mrea Csorba Ph.D. I received all three of he academic degrees from the University of Pittsburgh-. She has been teaching courses in art history at the University of Pittsburgh and Duquesne University as an adjunct faculty member since the early 90’s. Her MA thesis (1987) investigated horse-reliant cultures associated with Scythian steppe culture. For her Ph.D. (1997) she expanded research of pastoral groups to non-Chinese dynastic populations documented in northern China. Part of this research was published in the British prehistory journal ANTIQUITY, Cambridge, England (ANTIQUITY 70, 1996, 564—587). Her research may be viewed at http://edtech.msl.duq.edu/Mediasite/Play/2ea00c36fc2b4050ba46072efc0b80111d
and at http://www.duq.edu/academics/schools/liberal-arts/centers/interpretive-and-qualitative-research/video mrc25@pitt.edu





Custura, Stefania

Sapientia University Miercurea Ciuc Romania

Otilia Kozmutza Bölöni

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The books of the French or Magyar author, of Romanian origins, Otilia Marchişiu (born 1873 in Homorod, Satu-Mare, deceased 1951 in Hungary), an intimate friend of great personalities of European culture- Anatole France, Auguste Rodin, Constantin Brâncuși, the Hungarian poet, Ady Endre- appear as a coronation of special spiritual efforts, materialized in works of reference for the history of the feminist movement. The relationship with the great sculpture, Auguste Rodin, constitutes a special chapter in Otilia Marchişiu-Bölöni’s biography and that of her husband’s. The Bölöni’s are going to be dear guests in the workshop and dwelling of the sculptor in Meudon. Otilia dedicates a series of editorials, that will cause sensation in the media of the time, Rodin being at that time a consecrated artist, of world fame. The study of Otilia Marchişiu’ biography must be approached through the “moments” of the young author, in the company of celebrities from literature or international art. One such “moment” is with novelist, poet and literary French critic, Anatole France, a Nobel Prize laureate of 1921. The culminant point of this relationship is a common trip to Italy, that will become the pretext for an admirable travel memoir, published in 1924, published in Budapest under the name “The Walks of Anatole France” and in 1929 in French: “Promenades d’Anatole France”. Otilia Marchişiu’s biography and works are a testimony to a culture of three languages, of the way in which cultures intertwine in the consciousness of a single personality. Her works, which contain pages of memoirs, serials, diary and travel notes, studied until today only from the perspective of documentary, with the confessed intention to recompose images, biographies and faces lost with the passage of time, has revealed itself from the perspective of the fragmentary, bricoleur and multicultural postmodernist spirit.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Stefania Maria Custura is a graduate in philology (Romanian and German language), teaches Literature History at Sapientia University in Miercurea Ciuc- Romania. She has published in Romania and abroad, studies about imagery, multiculturalism, relations between ethnic groups in Transylvania. This work is realized with the collaboration of Valentin Trifescu and Corina Moldovan from Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj. stefaniacustura@yahoo.com
Csaba Molnár studied Engineering (1975-1980) and Applied Informatics (1999-2001) at Brașov University – Romania and has more than 30 years experience in education. An present he is a teacher of vocational subjects at Áprily Lajos Secondary School in Brașov. He is a passionate researcher of proofs, evidencies of anykind, connected to the ethnic groups who live or lived in minority or diaspora.




Deak, George

Harvard University (Davis Center Associate)

Ervin Sinkó and Hungary: A Story of Unrequited Love

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The writer and poet Ervin Sinkó was born in Szabadka in 1898 but spent only the first 21 years of his life within Hungary. As a participant in the Soviet Republic of 1919, he was a in danger of arrest had he returned to the country during the Horthy regime. Nor was he willing to return to live in Hungary under the Rákosi or the Kádár regimes. Instead, he lived his life as a Hungarian writer beyond Hungary's borders as an outsider in Austria, Yugoslavia, France, and the Soviet Union. He finally settled in Yugoslavia after World War II where he became the director of the Department of Hungarian Language and Literature at the University of Novi Sad. His marginality was exacerbated by his Jewish origins, from which he was also alienated. As a writer, the Hungarian language and the humanistic strain of its culture that it embodied, formed the basis of his identity. This presentation will examine Sinkó's attitudes towards his exile and marginal status, and evaluate what kind of loss it meant to him as well as to his motherland. The presentation will focus on the following episodes in his story. Why did Sinkó need to evade extradition from Yugoslavia after World War I? Why did he fear meeting members of the Jewish congregation in Szabadka in the early 1920s? How did he react to the Rajk trial? What did he say about Hungary in 1962, when he returned there for a short visit?


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
George Deák was born in Hungary and emigrated to the U.S. in 1957. He earned his PhD in History from Columbia University in 1980. His dissertation dealt with the early history of the National Association of Manafucturers (GyOSz). He abandoned the field of history for thirty years, working as a computer programmer and manager. He returned to the field in 2011 to teach as an adjunct instructor at University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Most recently, he has translated and edited Ervin Sinkó's The Novel of a Novel, Abridged Diary Entries from Moscow, 1935-1937, which is due to be published by Lexington Books in the summer of 2018. deakgy62@gmail.com





Eshbach, Robert W.

University of New Hampshire

Edouard Reményi: Fiddler, Patriot, Spy (?)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The violinist Edouard Reményi was one of the most colorful figures in 19th-century music. A significant virtuoso best known as the man who “discovered” the young Johannes Brahms, Reményi has gone down in history as somewhat of a charlatan: flamboyant, opportunistic, and deceitful — a characterization propagated by his contemporary Joseph Joachim, and, to a large degree, by Johannes Brahms. Joachim’s picture of Reményi entered the Brahms biographies, and has persisted to the present day. But is it true? In this talk, I will examine Reményi’s venturesome personality and adventurous life in the turbulent years before he met Brahms, including his life as a Hungarian revolutionary and his sojourn in America in 1850.

Concurrently, I will tell the story of Reményi’s involvement with a group of Hungarian exiles led by Count László Újházi, who sailed to America and, with President Zachary Taylor’s personal support, established the colony of New Buda in Decatur County, Iowa. Reményi accompanied the exiled patriots, who had fought against the Austrians and were hailed in America as heroes of democracy. Arriving in Boston, Remény gave a high-profile concert tour, beginning in New York and ending in New Orleans, to raise money for the exiles. Returning to Europe, he was listed as a “politically dangerous” member of the Hungarian "Umsturzpartei," and wanted by the police. It was then that he met the young Johannes Brahms, who accompanied him on a famous journey to visit his Hungarian compatriots Joachim and Liszt.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Robert Whitehouse Eshbach
Violinist, conductor, and historian Robert W. Eshbach is an honors graduate of Yale University (BA). He studied violin at the Vienna Conservatory, and holds a Master of Music degree in violin at New England Conservatory. His recent publications and invited papers have focused on nineteenth-century musicians: Joachim, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Reinecke, and Wilhelmine Norman-Neruda. His article, “Joachim’s Youth — Joachim’s Jewishness,” was published in The Musical Quarterly. He has presented papers in London, Oxford, Cardiff, Southampton, Meiningen, Leipzig, Weimar, New York, Boston, New Haven, Nashville and elsewhere. Eshbach is associate professor of music at the University of New Hampshire. robeshbach@aol.com





Fodor, Mónika

University of Pécs

I Just Feel Unique. Self-Reference and Self-Perception in Postmemory Narratives of Second and Third Generation Hungarian Americans

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
In this paper, I explain the ways in which storytellers construct their ethnic subjectivity using the inherited and often traumatic stories of their parents’ or grandparents’ experiences. For this purpose, I present a combined thematic, structural, and performance analysis of selected postmemory narratives collected in ethnographic interviews. Three main features of ethnicity as part of individual subjectivity have been central to the analysis: (1) the emphasis on choice concerning the individual’s ethnic heritage, (2) the flexibility of ethnicity as accessible complex narrative schemata of possible attitudes and decisions, (3) the negotiability of ethnicity in historical context-driven discourses. These features of self-perception support the seemingly paradoxical concurrence of declining objective ethnic differences and the new, subjective forms of ethnic identification with individually recognized value in ethnicity. The narrative analysis demonstrates how storytellers use positioning techniques in prototypical or Labovian and small story modes to deprive ethnicity of its original constraints of strictly imposed group norms or the necessary knowledge and use of the heritage language. I pinpoint how the language of the stories carries additional information about the relational values of ethnicity in one’s self-perception. In the selected narrative selfies, the idea of being “unique” is a pivotal concept recurring with a broad spectrum of potential meanings constructed in storytellers’ positive and negative experiences in connection with ethnic practices.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Monika Fodor works as Assistant Professor in the Department of English Literatures and Cultures at the University of Pécs. She teaches courses in American Studies, Applied Linguistics, and TESOL. Her research interest includes narratives, identity, ethnicity, oral histories and ethnographic fieldwork. She has authored book chapters and journal articles in the fields including narrative, identity, teaching culture and narrative, and translation studies. Currently, she is working on a book titled Ethnic Subjectivity in Postmemory Narratives: The Politics of the Untold which will be published by Routledge in 2019. In this academic year, Monika Fodor is a Fulbright Visiting Lecturer at the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio. fodor.monika@pte.hu




Gombos, Taylor

New York University

Contested Subjects Across Cold War Frontiers: Hungarian Refugees from 56'

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Although the Cold War has often been depicted in terms of bipolarity, and disconnection, more recent scholarship has sought to underline the various ways the Iron Curtain was in fact a porous boundary. Thus, I have set out to demonstrate in this paper the ways the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 functioned not only as a moment of political upheaval within Hungary itself, but also as a moment of contact between West and East. Mainly, I argue that Hungarian political refugees became contested subjects in the wider Cold War. For propagandists on both sides of the Iron Curtain they often functioned as props in broader ideological contests. Their intermediary and profoundly liminal status made them valuable commodities in the Cold War contest, but also rendered them potentially subversive and destabilizing. As such, they played central roles in challenging Cold War imaginaries, but they were also employed to re-inscribe psychologically satisfying narratives which had been temporarily disrupted by the Revolution. Thus, confronted with the destabilizing trans-border experience of the political refugee, Western and Hungarian ideologues sought to re-inscribe onto these contested bodies pre-conceived notions of the Cold War “other.” Instead of amending their existing imaginaries to agree with reality, they sought to resuscitate older Cold War fantasy. Michel-Rolph Trouillot’s pithy maxim bears mentioning here: “When reality does not coincide with deeply held beliefs, human beings tend to phrase interpretations that force reality within the scope of these beliefs. They devise formulas to repress the unthinkable and to bring it back within the realm of accepted discourse.” Using primarily newspaper articles from the time, but also cinematic and satirical sources I answer two interrelated questions in this paper: 1) how Hungarian political refugees challenged imaginary conceptions of the Cold War “other” by the mere fact of their origins, and 2) how governments on either side of the Iron Curtain sought to reassert ideological control over the destabilizing issues raised be refugees?


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Taylor Gombos is currently a Ph.D. student in History at New York University, working with Larry Wolff. He studys Modern Central and Eastern European history as well as the Austro-Hungarian Empire and its successor states, with a special interest in Hungary. Thematically, he is interested in Cold War imaginaries, and the history of science and technology. Before coming to NYU, Gombos completed an MA in “Central European History” at Central European University in Budapest and spent another year teaching in Hungary. Prior to his MA at CEU he completed an interdisciplinary MA in the “Social Sciences” at the University of Chicago. tjg353@nyu.edu




Havas, Judit

Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum

Bátran éltem idáig …. Szabó Magda

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Az ajtó című regény a nagysikerű író, Szabó Magda tán nemzetközileg legismertebb műve. Párizsban 2003-ban Femina díjat kapott s Amerikában is megismerhette az olvasó közönség több angolnyelvű átültetésben is.
Előadásomban a mű főszereplőinek nagy dilemmáival kívánok foglalkozni. Azokkal, amelyek közül tán az írónő házvezetőnője, Emerenc fogalmazza meg egyszerűen a legalapvetőbbet:
„Nagyobbat nem adhat az ember senkinek, minthogy nem enged neki módot a szenvedésre.”
Ha ízlelgetjük a kulcsszavakat: Szabó Magda, kereszténység, XX. század, méltóság, kötelesség, bizalom… Elgondolkodtató, mi az az érzelem, ami e között a két ember – Emerenc és az Írónő – között kialakul? Mi az a pogány szenvedély, amivel a klasszika-filológiában és a kereszténységben ugyanolyan mélyen hívő Szabó Magda a művében összeköti őket, őket, akiknek tulajdonképpen semmi közük nincs egymáshoz? Egyike sem a hagyományos kapcsolatoknak, melyekhez az európai irodalom – és saját kapcsolati hálónk – hozzá szoktatott bennünket: nem barátság, nem bajtársiasság, nem kollegialitás, nem szerelem, nem a vérrokonság megtartó ereje. Ez valami más. Valami ősibb. Valami barbárabb. Megszeretik egymást. Váratlanul, okok és előjelek nélkül. Olyan példaértékű ez a kapcsolat, hogy idéznünk kell mit mondott Ruth Naóminak:
,,ahova te mégy, oda megyek, és ahol te megszállsz, ott szállok meg; néped az én népem, és Istened az én Istenem. Ahol te meghalsz, ott halok meg, ott temessenek el engem is. Úgy tegyen velem az Úr akármit, hogy csak a halál választ el engem tőled.” (Ruth1:16-17)
Két ember ismerkedésének történetében az "antropológiai talányok" a mindennemű kapcsolatokban örökké nyitva maradó kérdések vagy éppen a rájuk adott rossz válaszok ott rejlenek a műben s úgy gondolom, hogy a 100 éve született Szabó Magda életművének ez a reprezentáns műve a mai 21. századi ember számára is tanúságtétel.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Havas Judit irodalomtörténész, előadóművész felsőfokú tanulmányait az Eötvös Loránd Tudomány Egyetem Bölcsészettudományi Karán magyar-könyvtár szakon végezte. 1975 óta előadóművész. 2003-ban PhD fokozatot szerzett az ELTE Irodalomtörténeti Intézetében. Témavezetője Dr. Kenyeres Zoltán professzor volt. Jelenleg a Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum tudományos főmunkatársa. 2006. március 15-én a Köztársasági Elnök a Magyar Köztársaság Érdemrend Lovagkeresztje kitüntetésben részesítette irodalmi munkássága elismeréseként. drhavasjudit@gmail.com




Jarjabka, Ákos, Jenő Palotai, and Viktor Wetzl

University of Pécs Faculty of Business and Economics

The Importance of Hungarian Language Education in Preserving the Identity of Hungarians Living in Diaspora [withdrawn]

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The study aims to give a comprehensive view on the Hungarian language education of those living in the Hungarian Diaspora. Through the review of international literature the authors examine the situation and position of Hungarians living outside the borders and the preservation of their identity as well as the history of their language education and its current trends. As a case study of the identity preserving activities of Hungarian Diaspora, the authors introduce the community organising activities of Hungarian Diaspora living on the different continents, and their Hungarian language education with its advantages and problems as well. Besides this, the study compares an Australian, North-American and Latin-American school and their language education as well as the identity preserving activities of Hungarian Diaspora living there.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
The study was made by three authors; each will present at the conference.

Ákos Jarjabka is an Associate Professor at the University of Pécs, Faculty of Business and Economics, where he received his PhD in 2004. Since 20013 he has been the head of the Department of Leadership and Organizational Sciences. His publications encompass the science of leadership, international management, and project management. Since 2005 he has been a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He is the leader of the University of Pécs Diaspora Program. akos@ktk.pte.hu

Jenő Palotai earned his BSc degree in the University of Pécs, at the Faculty of Business and Economics of Managemant in the topic of project management, his MSc degree in the topic of talent management. Since 2015 he is a PhD student in the topic of political geography, cultural geography, geopolitics at the Faculty of Sciences, Doctorate School of Earth Sciences in the Department of Political Geography, Development and Regional Studies. His publications encompass hungarian culture, cross border studies, hungarian minority research, as well. palotai@gamma.ttk.pte.hu

Viktor Wetzl earned his BSc degree in the University of Pécs, at the Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Geography, in the topic of regional and urban development, his MSc degree in the topic of tourism geography and regional development. Since 2015 he is a PhD student in the topic of political geography, cultural geography, geopolitics at the Faculty of Sciences, Doctorate School of Earth Sciences in the Department of Political Geography, Development and Regional Studies. His publications encompass tourism development, hungarian culture, cross border studies, hungarian culture historical geography, as well. Science. viktorwetzl@gmail.com




Jókay, Károly, Executive Director, Hungarian-American Fulbright Commission

Hungarian-American Fulbright Commission

Fulbright Hungary and the Diaspora: A Quarter Century of Friendship

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Fulbright Hungary with its over 900 US and a similar number of Hungarian alumni, not only engages with Hungarian-American diaspora issues, but has its own "American-Hungarian" diaspora.

True to its mission, Hungarians and Americans living in either country now form Fulbright's own diaspora-alumni network, a network that supports all aspects of cultural, research and practical exchange. But how will Fulbright Hungary and its diaspora tackle the next 25 years?


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
An expert in municipal finance and bankruptcy, Dr. Károly Jókay taught municipal finance, public budgeting and public management in the Department of Public Policy at Central European University between 2005 and 2017. Jókay has extensive experience in Central and Eastern European countries, including Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Macedonia, completing projects on municipal bond disclosure standards, public utility transformation and regulation in the municipal services sector, as well as municipal debt regulation. He was born in Chicago to Hungarian DP parents, earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan and has an M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Illinois. Jókay, who moved to Hungary in 1994, active in several civil society organizations, established a family foundation to support the education of poor, rural children in the High School of the Reformed Church in Pápa. Jókay has been Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission in Hungary since November 1, 2012. jokay@fulbright.hu




Kecskés, Gusztáv D. [withdrawn]

MTA Történettudományi Intézet

The Media Campaign of the UN Institutions for Assisting the 1956 Hungarian Refugees

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The present paper is based on documents from the archives of the UN itself (New York, Geneva), the Dag Hammarskjöld Collection of the Swedish National Library (Stockholm), the UNHCR Archives, the archives of International Committee of the Red Cross, (Geneva) and of the NATO (Brussels), and from those of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Paris, Nantes. We could regard as a rather new phenomenon the active and powerful participation of the Department of Public Information (DPI) of the UN Secretariat and the Office of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the support of the fundraising efforts of the world organization UN. The press campaign developing in November-December 1956 extended to both the printed and the audiovisual media, placing the emphasis on the latter. I intend to present the versatile efforts described in a huge number of press announcements and the dramatic photos spreading all over the world press about the escaping and Austria receiving the Hungarian refugees.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Gusztáv Kecskés D. is a senior research fellow of the Research Centre for the Humanities, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of History (Budapest). He received his PhD (history of the international relations) from the University of Paris III, Sorbonne and University of Pécs in 2003. He has conducted extensive research in the archives of European great powers and international organizations. He has published books about French-Hungarian relations (2013) and French foreign policy towards East Central Europe in the 20th century (2004), Hungary and the United Nations (2006) and the international reception of the 1956 Hungarian refugees (2014). kecskes.gusztav@btk.mta.hu




Konkoly, Borbála

Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Program

Possibilities for Implementing Hungarian Folk Song Teaching Methods into American-Hungarian Education // A magyar népi ének tanításmódszertan átültetésének lehetőségei az amerikai magyar oktatásba

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
What are pillars of the methods of teaching Hungarian folk singing today? What are the most important rules and directions that we should follow? How can you apply the practice of folk singing, with 40 years of history, in American-Hungarian education? What parts can be easily inserted without professional knowledge? Consequently, what are the areas to be developed and how can those be solved? Hungarian folk singing is one of the most fundamental parts of our Hungarian culture, so it is crucial in American-Hungarian education as well. Borbála Konkoly, a folk song performer and teacher, answers these questions, outlining a possible way that professional methods of Hungarian folk singing can be implemented in American-Hungarian education.

Hogy épülnek fel a mai magyar népi ének tanítás módszerei? Melyek a legfontosabb szabályok, irányok, melyeket érdemes követnünk? Hogyan lehetne a 40 éves múlttal rendelkező népzenetanítás, esetünkben népi éneklés gyakorlatait átvenni az amerikai-magyar oktatásba? Mi az, ami professzionális tudás nélkül is könnyedén beilleszthető? Ebből következően melyek a fejlesztendő területek és megoldási javaslatok? A magyar népi éneklés a magyar kultúra egyik legalapvetőbb része, így elengedhetetlenül jelen van az amerikai magyar oktatásban is. Konkoly Borbála népi ének előadóművész és pedagógus előadásában ezekre a kérdésekre ad válaszokat, felvázolva egy olyan lehetséges mintát, amely az amerikai-magyar oktatásba is beilleszthető.
(Presentation in Hungarian)


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
My name is Borbála Konkoly and I was born to a family of folk musicians in Budapest. The love of folk music has been natural to me since my childhood. I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Performance from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in 2015. I continued my studies, and in 2017 I received a Master's degree in Music Pedagogy from the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. I have 13 years of pedagogical experience. My earliest teaching experiences are related to scouting and summer music camps, and during college, I taught in music schools. In addition to my music diplomas, I also earned a music business management qualification (www.zeneiparihivatal.hu). My specialization is serving as festival promoter. I am currently working in Boston as a Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Program scholar.

Konkoly Borbála vagyok. Budapesten, népzenész családba születtem, ezért gyerekkorom óta természetes számomra a népzene szeretete. 2017-ben végeztem a Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetemen népi ének előadóművészként és pedagógusként. 13 éves tanítási tapasztalattal rendelkezem. Legkorábbi élményeim a cserkészethez és zenei nyári táborokhoz kötődnek, majd az egyetemi évek alatt már zeneiskolai keretek között is tanítottam. A zeneművészeti diplomáim mellett zeneipari menedzsment képesítést szereztem. A zeneiparban promoterként tevékenykedem. Jelenleg a Kőrösi Csoma Sándor ösztöndíjasaként a bostoni magyar diaszpórában dolgozom. konkolyborbala@gmail.com




Kovács, Eszter

Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Centre for Social Sciences, Institute for Minority Studies

Hungarian Diaspora Policy Since 1990

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
My paper focuses on the history of Hungarian diaspora policy since the democratic transition of Hungary, and how this policy is being interpreted by the organizational leaders of the Hungarian diaspora communities. I use the term “diaspora” in the sense of emigrant communities; thus, Hungarian minorities in the countries neighboring Hungary do not form a part of the research. The paper submitted constitutes a part of my doctoral dissertation.
After the democratic transition in 1990, the issue of Hungarian minorities in the neighboring countries dominated Hungarian kin-state politics, but diaspora communities received only incoherent, sporadic attention and support from Hungarian governments. On the other hand, educational and cultural relations have been developed on non-governmental platforms, such as the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, the Balassi Institute, and the Hungarian Scout Association.
The paper discusses the intensified phase of Hungarian diaspora policy after 2010 in more detail. Diaspora policy is interpreted within the wider framework of kin-state policy, as well as in the general domestic political sphere. The institutional, legal, discursive, and practical items of diaspora policy are examined in the paper. Besides the descriptive and analytical approach, I also work with empirical data. I conducted 23 semi-structured interviews with organizational and community leaders of the Hungarian diaspora from all over the world about how they receive, interpret, and evaluate Hungarian diaspora policy. The empirical research provides a new approach for researching diaspora policy, as previous researches only used state-focused, top-down theoretical frameworks.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Eszter Kovács holds two BA diplomas: in International Studies and in English and American Studies. She graduated from Central European University’s Nationalism Studies MA Program and has another Master degree in International Relations from Corvinus University of Budapest. She is enrolled in the Doctoral Program in Political Theory of Pázmány Péter Catholic University. Her field of research is Hungarian diaspora- and kin-state politics, and the Hungarian diaspora in the US. She currently works as a junior researcher at the Institute for Minority Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary. kovesz87@gmail.com




Kovács, Ilona

National Széchényi Library

Immigrant Integration and Identity Maintenance by Education. Helen Horvath's Special Educational Method for Hungarian Immigrants in Cleveland.

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Immigrant Integration and Identity Maintenance by Education -- Helen Horvath’s special educational method for Hungarian immigrants in Cleveland, 1901 -1940
The problem how to find the balance between assimilation and identity maintenance of the migration process to lead proper integration in a new society was a crucial question in the history and is the present age as well. This issue raised different problems for every waves of Hungarian immigration in America depending on the historical, economical and cultural conditions. There are, however, human factors as well being the same and valid among all conditions and for all generations: the problems of human dignity, partnership, understanding and acceptance at both sides. The recognition of the importance these values mean the basis for Helen Horvath’s philosophy and for her successful educational program arranged for Hungarian immigrants in Cleveland in the first decades of the twentieth century, a unique model for adult education of her time. This paper attempts to present her special approach and methods carrying this idea and applied in the classroom of her language schools or citizenship courses and outside the classroom in the community as well. It is worthwhile to study her dual role in the Cleveland Hungarian community and the American society in the Americanization program of the City of Cleveland. She was well known and remembered from time to time by the next generations, but her approach and attempt and value system needs more research and deserves more recognition even today.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Kovacs Ilona librarian, retired department head of the National Széchényi Library, Budapest.
She gained her diplomas at the Budapest University (ELTE, 1961) and at Kent State University, Ohio (MLS, 1975), and her doctoral degree at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA 1993). Her research area is Hungarians abroad focusing on American Hungarians. As head of the Hungarica Documentation she was director of grants for collecting information and documentation and build up Hungarica databases and also conducting surveys to publish a series of publications on Hungarica material of libraries in Europe, Australia and Canada. She attended several international conferences in Europe, USA, Canada and Hungary and published over 100 articles, studies and books. She was a Fulbright scholar at the American Hungarian Foundation in the AYs 1995 and 2001/03. bpilona.kovacs@gmail.com




Lee, Andrew

Northern VA Community College

Optimizing the Lecture in Medical Education: Lecturing at the University of Pécs Medical School and Lessons for Hungarian and US Teachers Based on Medical Student Feedback

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The University of Pécs Medical School includes an English language MD program (Hungary's oldest, established in 1984) and features 3,600 students from 66 countries study at the medical school. As with medical schools in the United States, Hungarian instructors are grappling with the best methods for encouraging student engagement, promoting retention of material, generating interest in their area of curricular study, and encouraging critical analysis (as well as the application of problem solving to other medical fields). Understanding the expectations and biases of current medical students (including Hungarian and international students studying in Hungary) can help assist instructors in designing course materials, aligning instructor efforts with student expectations, and creating a more robust learning environment.

The overlap in medical education goals in the Hungarian diaspora in America, all current American students and all current students in the Hungarian education system are surprisingly great, especially when one considers the commonalities of healthcare curriculum and the universality of health not knowing borders or races. Additionally, the expectations of students in medical studies may not be vastly different from students in other realms of study; the common goals of mastering core material and career development are not unique to a particular discipline.

The results of a student survey conducted in early 2018 at the University of Pécs medical school will be presented. Additionally, a brief summary of lessons learned from teaching at Pécs in 2017 and resulting suggestions regarding enhancing lectures will be added.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Andrew Lee studied biological sciences before continuing his graduate education in public health and medicine at Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University and Washington, DC-area hospitals. Not a practicing medical doctor, he works as science instructor interested in improving how students learn to improve their retention of material, engage with new ideas and apply often abstract ideas to everyday life. He teaches college biology and microbiology (at Northern Virginia Community College) along with medical biology (involving molecular biology and clinical applications) and medical public health (at George Washington and Georgetown medical schools) in the Washington, DC area. His ongoing research, studying the impact of student observation of fine art as a predictive measure of student academic success is ongoing. New research, in conjunction with the University of Pécs Medical School Institute of Public Health, examines medical student mental health across four countries. ajlee@nvcc.edu




Lendvai-Lintner, Imre, President, Hungarian Scouts Association in Exteris

Hungarian Scouts Association in Exteris

Rekindling the Flame of Scouting in the Carpathian Basin

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Scouting in Hungary between 1910 and 1948 was the premier youth organization with a goal of increasing the physical, mental, and spiritual capabilities and the moral fiber of its members. Shortly after the Second World War, the communist dominated government outlawed scouting replacing it with its own politically focused youth organization, the Pioneers. Immediately following the reemergence of democracy in Eastern Central Europe, scouting restarted in Hungary and the adjacent countries with significant Hungarian minorities.
This presentation will focus on the efforts of the emigre Hungarian Scout Association in Exteris to actively assist in reestablishing scouting in the Carpathian Basin. Leadership training camps, instructional material and financial assistance led to successful scouting organizations in Hungary and five adjacent countries within five years. Since then these scouting orgaizations have established an effective modus operandi allowing for mutual support, training and development. Today Hungarian Scouting is again the preeminent youth organization in Hungary, the adjacent countries and the Diaspora. With over 20,000 members today, Hungarian Scouting is again facing a bright future.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
The author is the President of the Hungarian Scouts Association in Exteris (HSAiE) since 1993. Previously he held other organizational positions such as Scoutmaster, Leadership Training Camp Commandant and Chairman of the Board of the HSAiE. In addition, he is the President of the Forum of Hungarian Scout Associations, which is responsible for coordinating all Hungarian Scouting initiatives worldwide. Prior to focusing full time on Scouting in 2006, he was employed by ExxonMobil Research and Engineering for 32 ½ years. After 10 years in research and consulting, he spent the final 20 years managing various engineering functions supporting ExxonMobil’s refining business both domestically and overseas. The author resides in Morris Plains, New Jersey. lendvaimre@aol.com




Lévai, Csaba [withdrawn]

University of Debrecen

The Comparison of the American (1776) and the Hungarian (1849) Declarations of Independence

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
One can find many interesting similarities between the two documents regarding their composition, langugae and conditions of drafting and approval. Here and now I wish to emphasize only one of them. Jefferson and Kossuth used very similar argumentation and language regarding the "domestic"insurrections" provoked by the kings of Britain and Hungary. The Virginian was talking about the movements of African American slaves to join the British army, while Kossuth was talking about the insurrections of the national minority groups against the Hungarian governemnet. Kossuth new well the final version of the American document, but not the original draft of Jefferson.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Csaba Lévai (1964) is an associate professor in the Department of History of the University of Debrecen. He was educated at the University of Debrecen and the Loránd Eötvös University of Budapest. He teaches 18th- and 19th-century history. His research interests are the history of the British colonies in North America and the history of the American Founding period. He has a special interest in the political thought of the American Founding fathers and in the history of slavery in revolutionary North America. Lévai was two times visiting research fellow at the International Center for Jefferson Studies (Monticello), and a visiting research fellow at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington (Mount Vernon). He was also a visiting Fulbright scholar at the University of Virginia. His publications include a collection of writings by the American Founding Fathers in Hungarian; The Republicanism Debate. A Historiographical Discussion of the Intellectual Background of the American Revolution (L’Harmattan, Budapest, 2003, in Hungarian); American History and Historiography. A Collection of Essays (L’Harmattan, Budapest, 2013, in Hungarian). He also edited Europe and the World in European Historiography (University of Pisa Press, Pisa, 2006, in English), and with Mary Harris Europe and Its Empires (University of Pisa Press, Pisa, 2008, in English). csabalevai@freemail.hu




Lewis, Virginia L.

Northern State University

Dehumanization in Zsigmond Móricz’s Árvácska

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Written in 1941, Árvácska is one of Hungarian author Zsigmond Móricz’s last, and most important, novels (the author died in 1942). It depicts, in dark and devastating terms, the miserable life of an orphan of the state (“orphan of the state” could be considered a rough translation of the title). In this paper I will address how Móricz offers, in condensed form, an intensely emotional exhibit of the various mechanisms of dehumanization that all too often accompany modernity, particularly as it impacts people who are reduced to objects by economic and governmental forces. In particular, Móricz depicts here a society where ethics and morals have been corrupted to the point where they no longer exist. His assumptions regarding how this state of affairs came about will be investigated and analyzed in light of theoretical concepts surrounding the modern state and dehumanization in the work of thinkers including Val Plumwood, Emile Durkheim, and Julia Kristeva. This glimpse of a traumatizing past in mid-20th-century Hungary will make it possible to appreciate Móricz’s contributions as an outspoken social critic.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Ginny Lewis received her Ph.D. in Modern German Literature from the University of Pennsylvania in 1989. She is currently Professor of German at Northern State University. Lewis has authored a translation into English of Zsigmond Móricz’s novel Sárarany, and has written numerous articles on German, Austrian, and Hungarian literature. ginny.lewis@northern.edu




Lo Bello, Maya J. [withdrawn]

ELTE - BTK, TÓK

Nyugat [West] in the West: Hungarian Literary Journals in the post-1945 Diaspora

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
As a researcher of Miksa Fenyő, Nyugat and the role played by literary journals in shaping Hungarian literature, in this lecture I will focus on the unpublished correspondence between Miksa Fenyő and Pál Ignotus, editor of the diaspora journal, Irodalmi Újság [Literary News]. From his home in New York City, Miksa Fenyő remained a participant in emigré circles while maintaining contact with figures from the Nyugat circle, such as Anna Lesznai and Pál Igntous, the son of Nyugat’s famed critic and editor, Ignotus. In Fenyő’s oeuvre, his years spent in New York also marked a resurgence in critical and literary works, many of which were published in diaspora journals. While Fenyő was clearly motivated by the need to remain active in the world of Hungarian literature, his little-known correspondence with Pál Ignotus also reveals how Fenyő, the former editor of Hungarian literature’s most prestigious, modern literary journal, supported and guided Pál Ignotus in his attempt to edit Irodalmi Újság. Following a brief overview of the Hungarian-language literary journals published in the post-war era, I will discuss Pál Ignotus and Fenyő’s correspondence in an attempt to reconstruct how Hungarian authors living in the diaspora maintained their authorial identities in an English-speaking environment.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
A PhD student at ELTE BTK, Budapest, Maya Lo Bello is currently completing her dissertation on the critical and editorial role played by Miksa Fenyő in the literary journal, Nyugat. As of September, 2017, Maya Lo Bello teaches at the Foreign Language and Literature Department at the ELTE School of Pre- and Primary Education. She is also Technical Editor of Hungarian Cultural Studies. mayatoth@yahoo.com




Lucas, Sarah

University of Iowa

Béla Bartók’s Piano Concerto no. 1: Corrected First-Edition Scores and the Concerto’s Performance and Publication History

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Bartók’s early performances of his Piano Concerto no. 1 (1926) in both Europe and the United States were hampered by issues in the first-edition score. As a result, on a few major concerts, most notably for Bartók’s American debut with the New York Philharmonic, the Concerto was replaced by Bartók’s Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra (1905), a work that was not representative of his more mature style. Although Bartók later acknowledged the Piano Concerto’s difficulty for players and audiences alike, the mistakes in the first edition also affected the success of his early performances, as well as the critical reception of Bartók’s music. Corrections of the errors mentioned above appear not only in the second-edition score, but also as handwritten entries made by at least two hands in the three extant first-edition scores, two of which are recently discovered scores associated with the conductor Fritz Reiner. This paper establishes the link of the three extant first editions to Bartók’s performances with two major American orchestras in 1928—Fritz Reiner and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Furthermore, it documents the nature of the corrections as they relate to one another, to Bartók’s corrections, and to the published second edition. Since no recording of the work with the composer at the piano is known to survive, analysis of the scores used by Reiner and Koussevitzky in performances with Bartók provides an important window into the way Bartók performed his Piano Concerto no. 1.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Sarah Lucas is a PhD candidate in musicology at the University of Iowa currently completing her dissertation “Fritz Reiner and the Legacy of Béla Bartók’s Music in the United States.” She carried out one year of dissertation research at the Budapest Bartók Archives with the support of a Fulbright Award in addition to her research in the U.S. at Northwestern University’s Fritz Reiner Collections and other archives. She holds an M.A. in Music History from the University of Missouri (2012) and her master’s work culminated in the thesis “Béla Bartók and the Pro-Musica Society: A Chronicle of Piano Recitals in Eleven American Cities during his 1927–1928 Tour.” sarah-lucas@uiowa.edu




Magdó, Zsuzsánna

University of Pittsburgh

Living in Modernity: Ferenc Balázs, Global Utopia and the Transylvanian Village, 1923-1927

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
In 1923-1928, the Transylvanian Hungarian intellectual and Unitarian minister Ferenc Balázs observed the global landscape of his historical present as he crossed the trans-imperial and colonial landscapes of Western Europe, North America, East and South Asia. During his travels, Balázs personally examined the radical socio-political initiatives that pacifist and anti-colonial intellectuals such as Toyohiko Kagawa, Rabindranath Tagore, and Mohandas Gandhi embraced in response to the post-war crisis of global modernity. After his return to Greater Romania, Balázs embarked on the rural development of Transylvanian micro-region in the pursuit of a new world society that would transcend a global system structured in his time by politics of difference indebted to empire, colonialism, the nation-state and minority-building.
By retracing how he capitalized on the flow of ideas and people across Protestant missionary, anti-colonial, and pacifist networks, this paper inserts Balázs's social reforms into a history of worldwide mobility, cultural exchange and connectivity.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Zsuzsanna Magdo is the Assistant Director for Partnerships and Programs at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Russian and East European Studies. Before her appointment to Pitt, Zsuzsa served at the Center for Global Studies and the Russian, East European, and Eurasian Center at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. At Illinois, she has taught on Eastern Europe and Russia, modernity and religion, utopianism and empires in world history - themes that are also central to her research and publication. Zsuzsa holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Illinois.
https://pitt.academia.edu/ZsuzsannaMagdo zsuzsannamagdo@pitt.edu




Maior, Enikő

Partium Christian University

New Challenges in a New Era: The History of the Partium Christian University

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
In my paper I want to present the history of the Partium Christian University from Nagyvárad, Romania. The university was set up after the events of 1989 in order to help the ethnic Hungarians to study in their native tongue. It was the first Hungarian university after more than forty years of Communism. The beginnings were characterized by many hardships but the founders believed in their dream to have a university where the language of instruction would be only Hungarian and that would give the possibility to the Hungarians from Transylvania to study on their native tongue. I will offer a detailed study of the university. I will present the different specializations from the beginnings till nowadays.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Enikő Maior, PhD. teaches at Partium Christian University in Oradea, Romania. She is the author of several scholarly publications on Jewish American literary themes. In the first half of 2013 she was a SCIEX fellow working at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland under the guidance of Professor Thomas Austenfeld. She was awarded a Fulbright scholarship and would work at the Central Connecticut State University for the first half of 2018. She likes to balance teaching, administration and research in her life.enikomaior@yahoo.com





Maróti, Orsolya

KKM-Balassi Intezet, Budapest

Heritage Language Instruction and the Success in Attaining Communication Goals

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The issue of whether polite language usage should be taught in a foreign language classroom is actually preceded by the following, equally complex question: what gestures, language strategies, or attitudes represent politeness for a given culture? While many may view politeness as a conceptual, or even ideological matter, it can also be interpreted as an opportunity for translating daily practice and customs into an essential classroom exercise. Throughout my work as an educator of Hungarian as a Second and Heritage Language and researcher in the field of empirical pragmatic linguistics, it has been the latter aspects of these questions—those pertaining to the instruction of foreign language students in the nuances of how Hungarian culture constructs politeness—that have fueled and continue to fuel my interest. In this lecture I will therefore explore how the question of politeness relates to the broader area of Hungarian as a Second Language and Hungarian Heritage Language instruction.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Orsolya Maróti (MA Hungarian Literature, Linguistics and Language Pedagogy, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest; MA Hungarian as a Second Language and Hungarian Studies, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest; MA Cultural Anthropology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest; working on her doctoral thesis in Pragmatics) is working as the Head of the Hungarian Language Department at the Balassi Institute. She has experience in teaching foreign (HSL) and heritage students (HHL) for 15 years in the Balassi Institute, at Eötvös Loránd University and at the Corvinus University in Budapest as well. She has worked with Hungarian language teachers as a teacher trainer (HSL and HHL) in Canada, in the Netherlands, in Germany and in many other countries where there are Hungarian language courses for heritage and HSL students. orsolyamaroti12@gmail.com




Niessen, James P.

Rutgers University

Send us a Planeload! Catholic Organizations and the Resettlement of 56ers

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The recent focus of the author’s multi-year project on Hungarian refugees after the 1956 Revolution has been on religious identity and relief organizations. The refugees were diverse and included many without strong religious attachments. However, voluntary agencies (as they were then called) provided much-needed support during the emergency, especially for resettlement to the US. Catholics were the largest religious cohort among the refugees and provided the most generously funded and staffed agencies as well as most of the resettlement sponsorships required under American law. “Send us a Planeload!” was the title of a story in the Resettlement Newsletter of Catholic Relief Services. It captures the generous enthusiasm of American Catholics for the refugees, which was a blend of the era’s characteristic anti-Communism, identification with the travails of their church under Communist rule, and the dedicated service to refugees of people like Fabian Flynn, Eileen Egan, and James J. Norris. This talk will examine the activity of the Catholic agencies and their contribution to the resettlement process.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
James P. Niessen earned his Ph.D at Indiana University with a dissertation on religion and politics in Transylvania during the 1860s. He has published various studies on Hungarian religious history, libraries and archives, and most recently on refugees from the Revolution of 1956. He is World History Librarian at Rutgers University where he is subject librarian for five academic programs and coordinates collection development for the New Brunswick Libraries, external public member of the Hungarian Academy, and currently serving his second term as President of AHEA. Many of his publications are accessible at http://soar.libraries.rutgers.edu/bib/James_P._Niessen/. niessen@rutgers.edu




Oross, Daniel

Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY

Political Participation, Civic Education and Gamification from Comparative Perspective

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
There is a consensus among researchers that compared to former generations, young peoples’ political participation is changing. Since globalization effects young people both in the USA and in Hungary, there is a need to understand how changing social (youth transition to adulthood) and technical conditions (digitalization) bring changes in the way how young people get information, get interested in public matters and find their ways of political participation.
Online games are recent technological advancement to be viewed as an educational panacea and a force for democracy. Civics education research shows that higher levels of civic knowledge are often correlated with greater civic participation. As such, the civic knowledge gains experienced by students playing online civics education gaming programs should not be discounted since this increase in civics knowledge may increase students’ propensity for civic participation.
Based on interviews and own teaching experience the first part of the presentation brings evidence from US Campus context to show how learning experience from online games (such icivics.org) can be incorporated into action civics in the classrooms.
The second part of the paper aims to find out how experiences from US College context can be replanted into civic education in a new democracy. Online games are a popular in Hungary and they are used for educational purposes (e.g. honfogalo.hu). However in Hungary, civic education is weak and political topics are expelled from classrooms. To show what effect lack of civic education had on Hungarian students’ civic skills and concept about democracy the paper brings empirical evidence from interviews with leaders of Hungarian NGOs dealing with non-formal civic education and from data collected by Active Youth in Hungary Research Group among students enrolled to Hungarian Higher Education.
Although social and political context matters, the presentation argues that online gamification can create platform for students in both countries to study and practice their civic knowledge.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Oross, Daniel PhD is political scientist. He received his PhD in political sciences from the Corvinus University of Budapest in 2015. Since 2011 he is junior research fellow of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Centre for Social Sciences Institute for Political Sciences. During the 2017-2018 academic year he teaches as a Fulbright Scholar at Hartwick College in Oneonta, (NY). His research interests are political participation, youth policy, political socialization. orossd@hartwick.edu




Ország, Éva

Kent State University

The Art and Science of Translation

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The purpose of this study is to describe the key factors to consider in the art and science of translation. This is a rapidly growing field. Improvement in software and technology is encouraging rapid innovation in the language service industry. There are numerous software platforms available for translation. A selected sample of available software programs will be described, with an emphasis on quality. For example, a Hungarian company, Kilgray Translation Technologies, stands at the forefront with their product, memoQ, a CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tool with many variations that allow for compatibility with other types of translation software as well as standard computer applications for text documents. Translators, editors, proofreaders and project managers use CAT tools to work on and expedite completion of translations of all sizes. Machine Translation (MT) continues to prove ineffective in supporting the vast complexity of languages with regards to context, tone and structure. For example, “Google Translate” generally provides word-for-word translation without consideration of the nuances of context and colloquial expressions. MT, however, would be considered the hypothetical successor to CAT tools in translation technology development. Examples will illustrate the sublime to the ridiculous in the field of translation using MT. In sum, the study provides recommendations regarding best practices to preserve and assure high quality translations as the outcome of these applications.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Éva Ország has been a member of Hungarian Scout Assocation of Exteris since 1999 and has taken on numerous leadership roles within the assocation in the past decade. She will graduate from Kent State University in the summer of 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in German Translation with a minor in Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature, Culture and Translation. She has worked at Localingua, a translation agency in Kent, Ohio, for the past two years, where she has taken on the role of project manager, account manager and correspondent. Éva intends to begin working toward a Master's in Translation and Project Management within the next two years. eorszag@kent.edu




Pack, Martha (Marty)

Northeastern Illinois University

Catholicism, Women and the Nationalist Movement

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
This research looks at Hungary and its current use of Catholicism in relation to Women and the Nationalist movement. Catholicism and Gender equality are interrelated. Catholicism as a state religion promotes traditional family values. The Roman Catholic Church teaches religion in public institutions in Hungary, interlacing traditional gender roles with the Nationalist movement and creating roadblocks toward women’s equality. Hungary’s concordats with the Vatican and the Istanbul Convention are in conflict when addressing women's human rights. In addition, the promotion of a moral authority blurs the separation of church and state making it difficult for a secular society to blossom. The Catholic Church in Hungary, wanting to establish political power and rationalize the Nationalist movement to solidify that power, conflicts with women’s equality and arguably, with democracy.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Marty Pack is a recent political science graduate student focusing on human rights. Her thesis concentrated on domestic violence in Eastern Europe through the lens of Catholicism. She is a freelance human rights documentary producer and teacher in the Columbus Public School system. Her freelance documentaries look at complicated social issues and explores them in a way that informs the public. Her films have been used to educate Chicago Teachers Union members and social work students. She has traveled to several countries presenting her political science masters research at various conferences, in hopes of enlightening educators about domestic violence in relation to gender equality and religion. She lives in Columbus, OH with her two teenagers and hopes to pursue a PhD in 2019 combining her film background and academic investigation. m-pack@neiu.edu




Pavlish, James V.

John Carroll University

Kosztolányi and China

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Throughout his life, Dezső Kosztolányi developed a tremendous appreciation for China and its literature. Not only did he translate many of China’s greatest poets into the Hungarian language, he himself wrote several essays on Chinese literature, philosophy, and culture. He also referenced China in several of his own essays and short stories. The presenter will explore Kosztolányi’s reflections on China and its literature during the interwar period which witnessed great intellectual ferment in 20th century Europe, and before China underwent its own major transitions and transformations.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
James V. Pavlish is an adjunct professor of Spanish language and literature at John Carroll University in Cleveland, OH. He holds a BS in Linguistics from Georgetown University, an MA in Spanish from Cleveland State University, and of Master’s in Theology from St. Mary Graduate School of Theology (OH). He has presented several papers on the works of Dezső Kosztolányi. He has also read papers on comparative literature at numerous national as well as international venues, the most recent being at the Crossing Borders Conference in Vasto, Italy (2017). jpavlish@jcu.edu




Pereszlényi, Mártha Pintér

John Carroll University

“ ‘Ölelem a Térded!’ I Hug Your Knees (Not Kiss Your Hand!): Béla Zerkovitz, Dezső Kosztolányi, and Joséphine Baker”

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
From dirt-poor beginnings in early 20th century racist America, African American cabaret performer Joséphine Baker rose to heights of global fame in interwar Europe, taking Paris by storm, later bedazzling the rest of Europe including two visits to Hungary. In 1928, this “Bronze Venus” was almost banned by the Hungarian Conservative Party, but after being screened before the police committee, her show was a huge success at the Orfeum Theatre in Budapest. According to a contemporary account from TIME Magazine, a Hungarian cavalry officer behaved too amorously, displeasing the Italian “Count” serving as her manager who challenged the officer to a sword-fighting duel. They met in a cemetery while Baker cheered from atop a tombstone. During her second Budapest visit, a young fan, hopelessly in love with Baker, shot himself after one of her concerts. Kosztolányi wrote a glowing article about her in the Pesti Hirlap. Béla Zerkovitz’ internationally renowned hit song, “Gyere Jozefin. . . ölelem a térded,” appears in the musical comedy Csókos Asszony/Kissing Lady, still regularly performed in the 21st century, though most spectators are clueless regarding the origin of the song. Despite her success as a Jazz Age mega-star, her worldwide performances were denounced as animalistic. Condemned as a primitive threat to civilization, still, she played to full houses who found her fascinating and amusing. This paper argues that Hungary was not isolated in post WWI European malaise, and by embracing Baker, who symbolized the Other of urban interwar European modernity, the country sought to evoke “metropolitan” or “European” culture and transform its capital city into a cosmopolitan metropolis.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Mártha Pereszlényi-Pintér is the former Chairperson of the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Cultures and Associate Professor of French at John Carroll University in Cleveland, OH. She earned her Ph.D. in Romance Languages from The Ohio State University, and studied at the Institut de Touraine (Tours) and the Bryn Mawr Program (Avignon) in France. Her research and publication accomplishments include French and also Hungarian Literature and Culture of the pre-modern period (Medieval, Renaissance, 17th century), Film, and Language for Business & the Professions. She has read papers at national and international conferences. While at OSU, she wrote or co-wrote 16 manuals for individualized instruction in both French and Hungarian with group grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Annenberg Foundation. She was born in Austria and emigrated to the USA with her Hungarian parents. She is also a past President of AHEA, and chaired or co-chaired four past AHEA annual Conferences.




Pereszlényi, Mártha Pintér

John Carroll University

Hidden Hungarians: Martin Rose, the founding father of Rose Iron Works, a Cleveland Treasure

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
This presentation will trace the history of Rose Iron Works, one of the little known treasures of Cleveland, Ohio, of which many native Clevelanders are unaware, much less that it was founded in 1904 by Hungarian immigrants. Martin Rose, born in 1870 in Csepe, Hungary, was a highly skilled ornamental blacksmith trained in the best shops in Budapest and Vienna. In 1929, he hired fellow Hungarian artisan, Paul Fehér, away from the preeminent Kiss studio in Paris in order to introduce Art Deco metalwork to the USA. “Muse with a Violin,” designed by Fehér in 1930, was inspired by the construction of Severance Hall, home of the Cleveland Symphony; the screen, a quintessential example of Rose and Fehér’s refinement of European style and an icon of American Deco metalwork, has toured many museums, including: The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Art Institute of Chicago; The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian, and many others, including the Cleveland Museum of Art’s 2017-18 “The Jazz Age” show. Rose Iron Works became the source of decorative metalwork for prominent families building Cleveland’s early economic empire. Rose and his descendants collaborated with world-renowned designers such as Viktor Schreckengost with whom they produced a large mural for the entrance to Cleveland Hopkins Airport. They also collaborated on murals for Marathon Oil Company at their Texas headquarters. Rose Iron Works is located in the heart of Cleveland’s historic Saint Clair Superior East side neighborhood, where their forge shop has been operating for over a century.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Mártha Pereszlényi-Pintér is the former Chairperson of the Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Cultures and Associate Professor of French at John Carroll University in Cleveland, OH. She earned her Ph.D. in Romance Languages from The Ohio State University, and studied at the Institut de Touraine (Tours) and the Bryn Mawr Program (Avignon) in France. Her research and publication accomplishments include French and also Hungarian Literature and Culture of the pre-modern period (Medieval, Renaissance, 17th century), Film, and Language for Business & the Professions. She has read papers at national and international conferences. While at OSU, she wrote or co-wrote 16 manuals for individualized instruction in both French and Hungarian with group grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Annenberg Foundation. She was born in Austria and emigrated to the USA with her Hungarian parents. She is also a past President of AHEA, and chaired or co-chaired four past AHEA annual Conferences. mpereszlenyi@jcu.edu




Peter, Christina

Frick Art Reference Library

Documenting Hungarian Underground Art, 1970s-1980s

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The proposed paper, with a focus on Hungarian alternative artists’ periodicals of the 1970s-80s, is based on research in connection with my work cataloging ephemeral Hungarian art publications for the Museum of Modern Art in 2016. The art of the Hungarian neo-avantgarde has generated considerable attention in recent years, as attested by a well-received recent retrospective at the Elizabeth Dee Gallery in New York entitled “With the Eyes of Others: Hungarian Artists of the Sixties and Seventies,” or two substantial consecutive exhibitions of the “Hejettes Szomlyazók” group in Budapest in 2017. While the corpus of critical literature analyzing and evaluating the art of the period is growing and the rediscovery of the most relevant artists – the majority of whom gained international recognition after having left Hungary – has been gaining momentum, a substantial amount of the ephemeral samizdat material still remains little known. My goal is to highlight some of the more obscure short-lived serial publications of the parallel world of art of the Socialist era, and to bring attention to the need of their preservation.
I presented a different version of this paper at the IFLA World Congress in Wroclaw in August 2017.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Christina Peter is Head of Acquisitions at the Frick Art Reference Library, an art research institution affiliated with The Frick Collection in New York. She holds an MA in Russian Language and Literature, English Language and Literature and in General and Applied Linguistics from the Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, and an MS in Library Science from the Palmer Library School, Long Island University. In her current position she is responsible for East European collection development, original cataloging and authority work. She has given presentations on East European collections, art book publishing and cataloging issues at a variety of conferences. In 2013 she received a “Pro Cultura Hungarica” award for fostering cultural relations between Hungary and other countries. peter@frick.org




Petrás, Éva

Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security

Theory, Results and Historical Background of Béla Kovrig’s Sociological Account of Hungarian Refugees of 1956

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Béla Kovrig (1900-1962) was a professor of sociology, Christian democratic politician, and a prominent member of public life in interwar Hungary. After confrontation with Communist authorities Kovrig left Hungary in October 1948, and, after a short stay in Italy, emigrated in the United States. He settled in Milwaukee and became a professor of sociology at Marquette Univervsity. Kovrig also actively participated in the American-Hungarian émigré community’s politics. He joined the Hungarian National Committee, the umbrella organization of the Hungarian expatriate community, and helped the work of Ferenc Nagy and István Barankovics.
In 1957 Kovrig started a research among the Hungarian refugees of 1956. He prepared a questionnaire, which was distributed among thousands of refugees in the United States and Canada, and he also made some interviews with certain freedom fighters. He summarized and analized his findings in his manuscript “National Communism and Hungary. The Way of an Idea – A Sociological Account”, which was preserved in the Raynor Memorial Libraries at Marquette University and finally published in Hungarian (Kovrig Béla: Nemzeti kommunizmus és Magyarország. Egy eszme története) in 2016.
In my contribution I introduce Kovrig’s theory, summarize his results and show the historical context of his researches. My presentation is based on archival and documentary material that can be found at Marquette University in Milwaukee, in Országos Széchényi Könyvtár and in the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security in Budapest.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Éva Petrás (PhD), Hungarian historian. She studied at Pécs University with specialization in history and English. She received MA degree in modern history at Central European University (1995). She continued her studies at the European University Institute in Florence (Italy) between 1995 and 2000 and obtained her PhD in the department of History and Civilization of EUI in 2003. As a researcher she worked in Budapest in European Comparative Minority Research Institute (Európai Összehasonlító Kisebbségkutatások Közalapítvány) between 2005 and 2008. Since 2009 she has been working in the Historical Archives of the Hungarian State Security (Állambiztonsági Szolgálatok Történeti Levéltára), Budapest. Her publications include studies and monographs in comparative minority research, church history in the twentieth century and recently in the history of the Hungarian state security (check list: www.mtmt.hu/PetrásÉva - Magyar Tudományos Művek Tára/Holdings of the Hungarian Scientific Works) mpetras.eva@gmail.com




Pigniczky, Réka

Independent filmmaker

Cold Warriors/Lövészek (Documentary Film)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Our new documentary: Cold Warriors (USA/Hungary, 56 minutes, director(s) Réka Pigniczky-Andrea Lauer Rice

This year the founders of the Memory Project (Hungarian-American visual history archive) directed and produced the Memory Project's first documentary, "Cold Warriors" (Lövészek), a 56-minute film about the nearly-forgotten American-Hungarian Rifle Association. The film was completed in May of 2017 and since then has screened at various locations including the Chagrin Falls Documentary Film Festival in Ohio, the Itt-Ott summer conference organized by the Hungarian Society of Friends, and at the prestigious Urania National Theater in Budapest on November 7th, the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. The film has also run on Duna Television, Hungary's primary broadcast channel.
Brief Synopsis:
In Rummerfield, Pennsylvania at the height of the Cold War, a handful of young American-Hungarians were ready to fight for freedom in a homeland they barely knew. Nearly half a century later, in 2016, they return to the remote, run-down farm along the Susquehanna River, to the revolution of their past - and the dreams of their youth. This is an unusual class reunion that speaks about the Iron Curtain, the Cold War and being a hyphenated American. About having two homelands - and one sense of justice.




Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Andrea Lauer Rice and Réka Pigniczky, co-founders of the Memory Project, are both daughters of 1956-ers and have worked together for 20 years. Réka Pigniczky is a journalist and award- winning documentary filmmaker. Her trilogy of documentary films - Journey Home (Hazatérés), Incubator (Inkubátor) and Heritage (Megmaradni) all explore the legacy of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the question of Hungarian identity. Andrea Lauer Rice is an author and producer of multimedia educational tools that teach young people about culture, history and language. She has co-authored several books, created an oral history website, and produced a computer game and graphic novel about the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. pigniczkyreka@gmail.com




Porter, Stephen R

University of Cincinnati

Unintended Consequences of Refugee Aid: Cold War Politics, ‘Freedom Fighters’ and Jim Crow

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
When the Hungarian uprisings of late 1956 sent two hundred thousand people fleeing across national borders in Central Europe, the United States boasted a well-established, decade-old regime of overseas refugee relief and domestic refugee resettlement. Emerging from the intertwined humanitarian and geopolitical crises spawned by the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War, the American system of refugee aid that took root in the middle to late 1940s was composed largely of a crisis-driven, ad-hoc series of programs. It employed the human and institutional resources of what I have elsewhere labeled a thoroughly hybrid blend of state and non-state (or “voluntary”) actors.
As elaborated in the first of two central claims my paper marshals, the nature of the U.S. refugee aid system would remain largely unchanged during its engagement with the Hungarian refugee crisis. The imperatives of Cold-War politics in the United States kept the role of the American state muted, particularly regarding refugee resettlement initiatives on U.S. soil, amid concerns that too robust a government role would spur red-baiting charges of government largesse in what were effectively social welfare programs for non-U.S.-citizens.
But as my paper’s second claim describes, the de-centralized, charity-heavy nature of that system came with a price, one a growing chorus of American critics of that system predicted. Poor management of refugee camps in Austria was credited with precipitating suicides and repatriation back across the Iron Curtain. Something similar happened on the American domestic front, as advocates of the U.S. Hungarian Refugee Program demanded the speedy resettlement of the forty thousand “Freedom Fighters” eventually admitted to the U.S., but were left to operate a program with insufficient resources and central oversight, particularly with regards to the state. The final portion of the paper follows the unintended and sometimes fascinating consequences of this confluence of phenomena through the case of one such Freedom Fighter who was unwittingly enrolled at a historically black university in the American Deep South, crossing the Jim Crow color line and sparking regional, national and international controversies that brought the limitations of America’s system of refugee aid into sharper relief.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
An Associate Professor of History at the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Stephen Porter’s research and teaching explore the intersection of humanitarianism, U.S. power, and American social and political life over the past century and a half. He is particularly interested in understanding changing conceptions of ethical responsibilities and rights as well as the ways in which a panoply of state and non-state actors have collaborated – productively and otherwise – in innovative strategies to manage humanitarian dilemmas wrought by war, persecution, upheaval, and other disruptive phenomena so emblematic of the modern world order. He has explored these issues in his book, Benevolent Empire: U.S. Power, Humanitarianism, and the World’s Dispossessed (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), and through published essays. At the University of Cincinnati, Porter is director of the International Human Rights Certificate, and co-chair of the Taft Center’s Human Rights Research Group. He is a former fellow of the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He has a PhD in History from the University of Chicago. portersp@ucmail.uc.edu




Portuges, Catherine

University of Massachusetts Amherst

1945: A Hungarian Film Reckons with Antisemitism

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Based on Gábor T. Szántó’s acclaimed short story Hazatérés/Homecoming, 1945 (dir Ferenc Török, Hungary, 2017) features a superb ensemble cast, lustrous black and white images shot by world-renowned cinematographer Elemér Ragályi, a score by Tibor Szemző, and historically detailed art direction, all of which contribute to an eloquent drama that confronts a traumatic chapter in the history of the Holocaust in Hungary.
In the immediate aftermath of WWII, two Orthodox Jews arrive by train on a sweltering August day as a domineering village notary is about to marry off his son to a peasant girl, catalyzing an unwelcome reckoning with the recent past for the local inhabitants. Meanwhile Red Army soldiers lurk on the sidelines, seeking to enrich themselves through the daily business of Occupation.
My presentation contextualizes the film's portrayal of the complex postwar situation at a pivotal moment in Hungarian life, exacerbated by housing and food shortages, and the status of possessions expropriated by the state and allocated to the people, and when Jews who had been deported and survived often found themselves targets of a new wave of antisemitism. Through film extracts and stills, I interrogate the film's narrative of distrust and denunciation, guilt and denial, recrimination and reparation in dialogue with historical documents and first-person video testimony from the USC Shoah Foundation.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Catherine Portuges is founding director of the Interdepartmental Program in Film Studies, professor of Comparative Literature and Film Studies, and curator of the Massachusetts Multicultural Film Festival, University of Massachusetts Amherst. A frequent lecturer at international conferences, an invited programmer, curator, juror and consultant for film festivals and colloquia, and a delegate to international film festivals, her books include Cinemas in Transition in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989 (Temple, 2013); Gendered Subjects (Routledge, 2012); and Screen Memories: the Hungarian Cinema of Márta Mészáros (Indiana, 1993). Her recent essays have appeared in Cinematic Homecomings: Exile and Return in Transnational Cinema; Cinema, State Socialism and Society in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, 1917-1989: Re-Visions; Bringing the Dark Past to Light: the Reception of the Holocaust in Postcommunist Europe; Projected Shadows: Psychoanalytic Reflections on the Representation of Loss in European Cinema; Cinema's Alchemist: The Films of Péter Forgács; and A Companion to Eastern European Cinemas.
Prof. Portuges is a member of the Academic Advisory Board for the Institute for Holocaust, Genocide and Memory Studies, and serves on the editorial boards of Studies in Eastern European Cinema, Jewish Film and New Media, and Hungarian Studies; she has recently been appointed associate editor for film for the journal American Imago. She was awarded the Chancellor's Medal for Distinguished Teaching, the Pro Cultura Hungarica Medal from the Republic of Hungary for her contributions to cinema, and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for "The Subjective Lens." The working titles of her current book projects are "Filming the Holocaust: Third Generation Eastern Europe" and "Hungarians in Hollywood." portuges@complit.umass.edu





Rajec, Elizabeth

Independent scholar; CUNY retired

Ferenc Molnár -- The Refugee New Yorker

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
140 years ago Ferenc Neumann, a.k.a. Ferenc Molnár, the journalist, novelist, and most famously dramatist was born in Budapest on January 12, 1878. He changed his name in 1896 as a gesture of asserted nationalism claiming that as a Hungarian writer, he felt obliged to use a Hungarian pen name. Being of Jewish origin, he had no choice but to escape as a refugee from Nazi Europe. In 1940 he joined his third wife Lili Darvas in New York who fled a year earlier. In spite of his great fame Molnár, the refugee missed Hungary, his native language, the Hungarian stage. None of his works written in the USA after 1940 could compete with Liliom or with his other well known works. He suffered from homesickness, died of cancer in New York in 1952.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Elizabeth Molnar Rajec is a retired professor emerita,Fulbright scholar, PEN member, academic librarian from City College CUNY, published author on Franz Kafka and Ferenc Molnar. The latest among her many publications is Climbing Out From Under the Shadow, New York, 2010. erajec@yahoo.com





Rosen, Ilana

Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel

Hungarian Cookbooks for Hebrew Readers – a Comparative Cultural Analysis

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
How long and how strong is Diasporic memory? How many generations can it, or should it, encompass? And how deeply can generations that never even lived in the old country relate to its landscape, language, colors and tastes? In rigorous state-formation settings, wherein the new society (re-)constructs itself by resurrecting its ancient or traditional infrastructures and creating new indigenous ones, while at the same time devaluating the shorter-term memories of its many newly-arrived immigrant groups, the answers to these questions inevitably tend toward negative or dismissive. This mechanism works even more strongly among relatively small origin groups, like Hungarian Israelis, and as we move further and further away from the moment of their arrival to the new country. On the face of this far from promising inventory of Hungarianism among present-day young Israelis of Hungarian origin, it was surprising and heartening for me to discover an entire Hebrew-language Hungarian cookbook (more precisely a card-box formed book), one of the only two of its kind in our culture, entitled Goulash lagolesh – matamei hamitbakh hahungari ['Goulash for the Browser - Delicacies of the Hungarian Kitchen'] (Tel Aviv: LunchBox, 2009), created by Ofer Vardi (b. 1973), a food journalist and owner of a recipe and life-style press. The other existing Hebrew Hungarian cookbook is the work of the late journalist, writer and politician Yosef/Joseph Tommy Lapid, né Tomislav Lampel, who was born in 1931 in Novi Sad or Újvidék and died in Tel Aviv in 2008. Lapid's Hungarian cookbook (co-authored and edited by Ruth Sirkis) is titled Paprika – kakha mevashlim hahungarim ['Paprika – This Is How the Hungarians Cook'] (Tel Aviv: R. Sirkis Publishers, 1987). Based on the general portraits of the two Hebrew Hungarian cookbooks and those of their authors, as well as on the understanding that cookbooks are never just lists of recipes but also cultural products and culture preservers, my presentation asks and offers answers to these questions: What kind of Hungary is imagined (in Benedict Anderson's sense of "imagined communities" as formulated in his 1983 book by this title) by the authors of the two cookbooks and their expected or implicit readers? Which periods and events in Hungarian history are stressed and which times and issues are suppressed or barely glimpsed or misrepresented in each of the two books and why? What parts of the two books are specifically Jewish, or even Israeli? And last, in what ways are these two cookbooks also, or to no less extent, powerful, multi-sensory personal, familial and communal memory works whose proof lies not only in their puddings but also, if not more so, in their hindsight prudence?





Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Prof. Ilana Rosen of the Dept. of Hebrew Literature at the Ben Gurion University of the Negev is a researcher of documentary literature of Jews and Israelis in the twentieth century. She has written five books and over forty articles on these topics.
Her last study, Pioneers in Practice – an Analysis of Documentary Literature by Veteran Residents of the Israeli South, was published in 2016 by the Ben Gurion Institute for the Study of Israel and Zionism. As of 2013 she is the Book Review Editor of Hungarian Cultural Studies, published by the University of Pittsburgh. ilanaro@bgu.ac.il





Sohar, Paul

Independent Scholar

The Sad Recent Past and Uncertain Future of the Szeklers of Transylvania

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
The peace treaty after WWI aimed to break up the Austro-Hungarian Empire to its constituent nations, but somehow the traditionally Hungarian Transylvania was attached to Romania, and suddenly in 1920 the ethnic Hungarians there – Szeklers, as they are known— found themselves in minority in Romania. They were not only dispossessed of their country but their identity; nationalist policies were soon put into practice to force assimilation with the majority. This process only intensified under rule of the communist dictator Ceaucescu who –in contrast to the generally multicultural Soviet Union –wanted to abolish ethnic cultures in the guise of “proletarian internationalism”. The cultural shock of the Hungarian community in Transylvania was vividly dramatized in their poetry already starting in the 1920’, but it reached its high point under the particularly repressive Ceaucescu regime. Hungarian poets all through history were regarded as beacons leading the nation in adverse situations, and it was only natural that the struggle for ethnic cultural survival forced this special role on the poets of Transylvania. Paul Sohar proposes to give voice to three of these poets in his translation from books already published or about to come out, quoting Sándor Kányádi from Dancing Embers (Twisted Spoon Press, 2002), In Contemporary Tense (Iniquity Press, 2014) and Behind God’s Back (Ragged Sky Press, 2016), Géza Szőcs from Liberty, Rats and Sandpaper (Iniquity Press, 2017) and Arpád Farkas from Tunnels in the Snow (Magyar Naplo, 2018). In effect, the talk will explore history and future prospects through the eyes of poets who live in Transylvania.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Paul Sohar drifted as a student refugee from Hungary to the U.S. where he got a BA degree in philosophy and a day job in chemistry while he continued writing and publishing in every genre, including thirteen volumes of translations such as Dancing Embers, his first Sándor Kányádi translations from the Hungarian (Twisted Spoon Press, 2002). His own poetry: Homing Poems (Iniquity Press, 2006) and The Wayward Orchard, a Wordrunner Press Prize winner (2011). Other awards: first prize in the 2012 Lincoln Poets Society contest and a second prize from Rode Island Writers Circle prose contest (2014). Latest translation volumes: Silver Pirouettes (TheWriteDeal 2012) and In Contemporary Tense (Iniquity Press, 2013) in addition to a bilingual (English/Spanish) Sándor Kányádi volume (Under the Southern Cross, Ragged Sky Press, 2015). Prose works: True Tales of a Fictitious Spy published by SynergeBooks in 2006 and the collaborative novel The Club at Eddy’s Bar (Phaeton Press, Dublin, Ireland, 2014). Theater experience: contributed the lyrics to a musical G-d is Something Gorgeous produced in Scranton PA 2007 and has had four one-act plays published by One Act Depot in Saskatchewan, Canada, 2013 and 2014. Magazine credits include Agni, Gargoyle, Kenyon Review, Rattle, Poetry Salzburg Review, Seneca Review, etc. He often lectures at AHEA and MLA conferences and at Centennial College, NJ. Sohar’s translation work has been recognized in the form of prizes such as the Irodalmi Jelen Translation Prize (2014), Toth Arpád Translation Prize and the Janus Pannonius Lifetime Achievement Award (both in 1916, Budapest, Hungary). sohar.paul@gmail.com







Teleky, Béla

Andrássy University Budapest

The Hungarian Minority in Burgenland, Especially in the District of Oberwart/Felsőőr (Őrség)

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Today in Burgenland a small minority of approximately 10,000 people speak Hungarian and an even smaller group of about 4,700 people see themselves as ethnic Hungarians. Besides some Hungarian speaking areas in the north, the main regions where the Hungarian minorities are located, are Oberpullendorf/Felsőpulya and Oberwart. Since Burgenland was part of the Hungarian Kingdom until 1921, it may seem surprising that nowadays not more then 1.8 percent of the population belongs to the Hungarian minority. However, this fact is strongly linked to the history of this region. In the Middle Ages, under the rule of the Árpád’s between the 10th and the 12th century, villages in the western part of Hungary were founded to defend the Hungarian borders. Interesting in this context is the fact that even today this former „frontier-guard-villages” are the core area of the Hungarians today. Since 1526, after the death of King Lajos II. (1506–1526), West-Hungary became part of the Habsburg Empire. Due to the Reformation, the Turkish Wars, the Revolution of 1848, or the compromise of 1867 the ethnic, religious, and economic structure changed dramatically. Since 1921 Burgenland became a part of the Republic of Austria. Consequently, a lot of Hungarians left this region and the situation of the Hungarian minority declined. Linked to this history, the question I want to raise in my paper is: How has the Hungarian minority developed after 1945 in Burgenland in general? And especially in the district of Oberwart, meaning in the two “villages” Siget in der Wart (Őrisziget), Unterwart (Alsóőr) and the city of Oberwart (Felsőőr)?



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Béla M. Teleky studied History and International Relations at the University of Vienna. His Diploma-thesis about the Reformation in Western Hungary was published 2014 and awarded with the "Bischof DDr. Stefan László-Preis". Since October 2014 he is part of the Doktoratskolleg at the Andrássy University in Budapest. His PhD-thesis is about the economic relations between Austria and Hungary in the interwar period. Since October 2017 Béla Teleky is a Research Fellow of the Ministry of Science at the University of New Orleans bela.teleky@andrassyuni.hu





Vajda, Norbert

University of Miskolc

The Social Impacts of Dementia

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
If we compare the American and the Hungarian population we will find a huge difference between the size of their populations, but if we concentrate on the social challenges, then we will discover many similarities. Unquestionably, the growing number of people who live with dementia in both countries, is one of these common challenges. Dementia is much more than forgetting things periodically; as the years pass a significant number of neurons die in the cerebral cortex, in the hippocampus and in the limbic system. With the failure of the nerve impulses, a patient not only experiences deepening memory loss, but also develops several behavioral disorders. These symptoms gradually exclude the patient from general society as well as their smaller communities. Meanwhile, the family members can feel helpless and do not know what they could do with their loved one. They typically respond poorly to the unpleasant situations arising from dementia. Due to a lack of support and recognition from communities, family members may feel ashamed. In many cases, they separate from their own communities and no longer will be able to contribute to their society. In this paper, I am going to present suitable alternatives for family members to reduce the negative social impacts of dementia in both countries.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Norbert Vajda is an assistant professor of sociology at the Applied Social Science Institute, Faculty of Arts, University of Miskolc and a Fulbright scholar at the Larkin University, Florida. His main areas of research are community integration, elderly care and dementia care. vajdanorbert@yahoo.com




Varga, Zsuzsanna

University of Glasgow

The Memoirs of a Hungarian Lady: Theresa Pulszky in Vienna, Szécsény and London

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
My presentation sets out to examine the life and work of Theresa Pulszky, the wife of Kossuth’s diplomatic envoy Ferenc Pulszky, whose authorial persona came to be remembered as a‘Hungarian lady,’ as she fashioned herself in her memoir of 1849. Although their books were signed as co-written by Ferenc and Theresa, her person and work deserves particular attention for her important role in serving the cause of the 1848-49 revolution with her pen: her memoir and the three-volume publications Tales and Traditions of Hungary and Red, White, Black in the early 1850s make a significant contribution spreading knowledge about Hungary but also about the New World. Her role as the female émigré writer was instrumental in establishing a number of interconnected phenomena including the role of the female literary author and transmitter of knowledge between Central Europe and the Anglophone world.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Zsuzsanna Varga studied English, Hungarian and Portuguese language and literature at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. She received her PhD in nineteenth-century English literature at Edinburgh University. She has taught and researched at different British universities, including the University of Essex, University College London, and De Montfort University. She has taught Hungarian Studies at Glasgow U. since 2008, and she is also in charge of the Hungarian library collection at the U. of Oxford. Her research interests include nineteenth-century women’s writing, travel writing and translation history. She serves as Section Editor for Hungarian Cultural Studies, e-Journal of the AHEA. zsuzsanna.varga@glasgow.ac.uk




Vass, Ágnes

Corvinus University of Budapest

Reconfiguring Ethnopolitics: post-territorial nationalism and diaspora

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
In the last couple of years, Hungarian ethnopolitics has experienced a significant shift, largely due to the nationalist rhetoric of Prime Minister Viktor Orban. We believe this change reflects a turn of Hungarian nationalism into what Ragazzi and Balalovska have called post-territorial nationalism (Ragazzi & Balalovska 2011), where national belonging becomes disconnected from the territory. Post-territorial nationalism thus reconfigures the nation as something global, where it does not matter in which country ‘co-nationals’ live exactly.
The aim of this paper is to examine how the concept of post-territorial nationalism has developed in Hungary and how it is integrated into its ethnopolitics. We seek to answer what is the relation between internal political developments and kin-state practices and how kin-state policy is synchronized with the real demands, needs and challenges of Hungarian communities living abroad. We believe it is because of this new conception of Hungarian nationalism that we witness that Hungarian communities living in other countries are approached by the Hungarian government in new ways, with new policy tools: the offer of extra-territorial citizenship; political campaigns to motivate them to take part in Hungarian domestic politics by voting in legislative elections; or the never before so high state budget allocated to support communities abroad. This paper is based on data from focus group discussions conducted in the Hungarian community of Western-Canada to understand the effects of this new politics on Hungarian-Hungarian relations through a critical case – a most distant and diverse Hungarian community, consisting of immigrants from Ukraine, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Agnes Vass is an international relations expert with a focus on extra-territorial citizenship and kin-state politics of CEE countries. She is currently working on her dissertation at Corvinus University of Budapest. In 2015 – 2016 Ágnes served as research fellow at University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Prior to this, she served as Junior Research Fellow at the Institute for Minority Studies, Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Currently, she is working as Project Manager in a Budapest-based think tank organisation, where she is responsible for international projects focusing on Central and Eastern Europe. agnesvass87@gmail.com




Vasvári, Louise O.

Stony Brook University & New York University

Identity and Intergenerational Remembrance Through Foodways: Case Studies of Three Generations of Hungarians of Jewish Origins

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
In this study, through the interdisciplinary analysis of foodways with Gender Studies and Holocaust Studies, I aim to show the cultural and gendered significance of the wartime sharing of recipes for starving women prisoners in concentration camps, as well as for the continued importance of food talk and food writing in the aftermath of the Holocaust in the memory work of survivors and their descendants. Fantasy cooking, or “cooking with the mouth,” as it was called in many camps, and recipe creation was a way for many inmates to attempt to maintain their identity and connection to their ethnic and family history, while depiction of food memories also has a continuing role in the postwar memoir writing of survivor women. I will also examine the continued use of food talk as a genealogy of intergenerational remembrance and transmission in the postmemory writing of the second generation and even-third generation daughters, and very occasionally of sons. Studying multigenerational Holocaust alimentary writing becomes particularly important today because we are fast approaching a biological and cultural caesura, where direct survivors will disappear and we will need new forms of transmission to reshape Holocaust memories for the future.



Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Louise O. Vasvári (M.A. and Ph.D., UC, Berkeley) is Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature and of Linguistics at Stony Brook University. Currently she teaches in the Linguistics Department at NYU and is also Affiliated Professor at the University of Szeged. She works in medieval studies, diachronic and socio-linguistics, Holocaust studies, and Hungarian Studies, all informed by gender theory within a broader framework of comparative cultural studies. She has published with Steven Tötösy, Imre Kertész and Holocaust Literature (2005), Comparative Central European Holocaust Studies (2009), and Comparative Hungarian Cultural Studies (2011). louise.vasvari@stonybrook.edu