Past Abstracts
1,037 abstracts found
Hungarian-American Literature in the Age of Dualism and the Interwar Years
Language/LiteratureDuring the four decades before World War I nearly two million Hungarian citizens, among them about 650,000 Magyars, emigrated to the United States. They were part of the so-called “great economic immigration” whose members left their homeland in search of a more promising future. Although often mistreated and exploited at home, upon arrival they soon developed a keen longing for their homeland. This longing became one of the main features of their cultural activities and of their literature. The other dominant feature of that literature was the description of the harshness of life in the coal mines, steel plants, and smoke-belching factories of America, including the frequent industrial accidents that resulted in the death of hundreds of immigrants every year.
This Hungarian-American poetry was not a high quality literature, but it was close to the immigrants. It expressed in a simple way their pains and sufferings, as well as their hopes for a better future. Most of these poets -- whose life was equally harsh -- continued to write even in the period between the two world wars. But after the First World War their original themes were joined by the pain they felt at Hungary’s dismemberment and of the transfer of their immediate homelands and villages to the newly created “successor states” created by the Treaty of Trianon. This poetry of interwar years is filled with the bemoaning of this dismemberment, which they viewed as a national tragedy on par with the consequences of the Battle of Mohács in 1526.
This Hungarian-American poetry was not a high quality literature, but it was close to the immigrants. It expressed in a simple way their pains and sufferings, as well as their hopes for a better future. Most of these poets -- whose life was equally harsh -- continued to write even in the period between the two world wars. But after the First World War their original themes were joined by the pain they felt at Hungary’s dismemberment and of the transfer of their immediate homelands and villages to the newly created “successor states” created by the Treaty of Trianon. This poetry of interwar years is filled with the bemoaning of this dismemberment, which they viewed as a national tragedy on par with the consequences of the Battle of Mohács in 1526.
Hungarian-American Parents’ Perspectives on their Children’s Hungarian Language Use – Results of an Online Survey
Education/Social SciencesPrevious research on Hungarian-Americans’ language has focused on adults, while less attention has been paid to parent-child communication. To address the gap, in 2021, parents of Hungarian-American children were invited to complete a survey. 578 respondents, mainly mothers, completed the survey from 40 states. The bilingual survey consisted of various multiple-choice and open questions on the linguistic background, language use and attitudes of the parents and their children, as well as on the parent-child interactions.
The talk will present the findings based on the analysis of a 11 590-word sub-corpus. This includes qualitative data of responses to three open questions inquiring about the parents’ perspective on their children’s Hungarian language use: linguistic challenges, instances of language contact, code-switching/mixing and translanguaging. Results of the analysis will be related to and interpreted in light of the quantitative data gained from few associated multiple-choice questions.
The talk will present the findings based on the analysis of a 11 590-word sub-corpus. This includes qualitative data of responses to three open questions inquiring about the parents’ perspective on their children’s Hungarian language use: linguistic challenges, instances of language contact, code-switching/mixing and translanguaging. Results of the analysis will be related to and interpreted in light of the quantitative data gained from few associated multiple-choice questions.
Hungarian-Romanian Cultural Relations as Reflected by Old Hungarian Language Use in Transylvania
Language/LiteratureIt is a well-known fact that there has always been a very intense cultural relation between Hungarians and Romanians living in Transylvania. The imprints of these cultural relations can be found in both languages in the sense that Romanian dialects In Transylvania have numerous Hungarian elements, and vice versa.This paper presents this subject from a historic perspective. The source of the research is the Historical Dictionary of the Hungarian Language in Transylvania, which is the complete thesaurus of old Hungarian language use in Transylvania of the period between the 15th and 19th centuries.
The hypothesis of the paper is that the Romanian influence was quite strong in the above-mentioned period, thus there must be many words of Romanian origin in the Historical Dictionary. These words can be grouped based on which area of everyday-life received the most impact from the Romanian culture: gastronomy, clothing, traditions/superstitions, religion etc. In conclusion the aim of the paper is to present how language can reflect the cultural influence of one nation on another one.
The hypothesis of the paper is that the Romanian influence was quite strong in the above-mentioned period, thus there must be many words of Romanian origin in the Historical Dictionary. These words can be grouped based on which area of everyday-life received the most impact from the Romanian culture: gastronomy, clothing, traditions/superstitions, religion etc. In conclusion the aim of the paper is to present how language can reflect the cultural influence of one nation on another one.
Hungarian-Romanian Political Relations in Northern Transylvania Between 1940 and 1944 from the Perspective of the Transylvanian Party
History/Political ScienceThe lecture deals with the problem of changing of the ethnic composition after the Second Vienna Award in Northern Transylvania. It tries to present the relationship between the Hungarians becoming the majority and Romanians the minority in the region, offering an overview of the problem from the political perspective. The activity of the Transylvanian Party (Erdélyi Párt), the most important political formation of the Transylvanians in that time, is analized. The discourse concentrates on the analysis of the party program with special focus on the basic conception of the party regarding ethnic problems in Transylvania. The source material of the lecture consists of special books, studies, essays, memoirs, published recollections, as well as data and articles published in the contemporary press.
Hungarians in Africa
Cultural Studies/ArtsThis paper is a selective study of outstanding Hungarian travelers who have crossed borders, geographically and figuratively speaking, into the African continent. There is considerable distance between Hungary, their homeland, and Africa, if we take culture and civilization into consideration. Africans are not neighbors, except maybe in a spiritual sense.
My selection would include the careers of Moritz Benyovszky, Laszlo Magyar and Emil Torday from the 18th and 19th centuries. These names are vaguely familiar to many Hungarians, but almost unknown to the world at large. They deserve better. Unlike their West European counterparts (Burton, Baker, Stanley, Brazza, Evans-Pritchard, but even the relatively liberal Livingstone and Leo Frobenius), they have distinguished themselves by their receptive and respectful attitude toward Africans in the Congo, in Angola, in Madagascar in particular. Two of the three travelers became African rulers or chiefs, not by dint of force, but by earning the friendship of the native population. The third, Torday, had to abandon Africa because of a hunting accident.
The three Hungarian travelers distinguished themselves in different fields. In addition to familiarization with cultures and languages, one became a self-taught anthropologist, an art collector, and a historian. Torday wrote grammars and compiled vocabularies in half a dozen African languages. It was only in 2011 that his contributions became amply recognized in Hungary proper, thanks to a scholarly expedition focusing on his legacy to the continent and the touring exhibition resulting from it.
My selection would include the careers of Moritz Benyovszky, Laszlo Magyar and Emil Torday from the 18th and 19th centuries. These names are vaguely familiar to many Hungarians, but almost unknown to the world at large. They deserve better. Unlike their West European counterparts (Burton, Baker, Stanley, Brazza, Evans-Pritchard, but even the relatively liberal Livingstone and Leo Frobenius), they have distinguished themselves by their receptive and respectful attitude toward Africans in the Congo, in Angola, in Madagascar in particular. Two of the three travelers became African rulers or chiefs, not by dint of force, but by earning the friendship of the native population. The third, Torday, had to abandon Africa because of a hunting accident.
The three Hungarian travelers distinguished themselves in different fields. In addition to familiarization with cultures and languages, one became a self-taught anthropologist, an art collector, and a historian. Torday wrote grammars and compiled vocabularies in half a dozen African languages. It was only in 2011 that his contributions became amply recognized in Hungary proper, thanks to a scholarly expedition focusing on his legacy to the continent and the touring exhibition resulting from it.
Hungarians in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
Cultural Studies/ArtsThis paper will describe the role of two world famous Hungarian photographers, Robert Capa and Kati Horna, in the Spanish Civil War. It will include a discussion of some of their photos from the War and give a brief biography of each. In addition, it will include information on the role of the "Rakosi Brigade," one of the International Brigades that participated in the War in support of the Second Republic. Two individuals who fought with the Brigade and became famous in their own right in Hungarian history, Laszlo Rajk and Ferenc Munnich, will also be discussed. As an introduction, a brief history of the Spanish Civil War and its outcome will also be included.
Hungarians Talk Homeward from the Celestial Empire: Voices in the Hungarian Press on China and the Chinese
History/Political ScienceThis paper deals with the creation, transmission and application of stereotypic images of a country and its people by agents of a traditionally non-colonial state in the period of imperialism. By exploring the representation of China and the Chinese in the Hungarian-speaking press between 1869 and 1904, I have two purposes in mind. On the one hand I intend to contribute to the understanding of the emerging Hungarian Orientalism and Sinology as well as its place in the broader Euro-American discourses. On the other hand I am focusing on a phenomenon of talking about relevant issues at home under the disguise of the otherized foreign. In this paper I am introducing the concept of “homeward-talking”, and the reasons of its application in the Sino-Hungarian context.
Sources include reports from and news about a traveler-scientist writing about the status of Asian women, the accounts of a custom officer describing various aspects of Chinese life, two missionaries operating in turbulent periods, and a technocrat engineer of many superficial and biased ideas about China. I argue that all these individuals were largely part of the coeval Western discourses on China while partly had their own, specific topics for their Hungarian readers.
Sources include reports from and news about a traveler-scientist writing about the status of Asian women, the accounts of a custom officer describing various aspects of Chinese life, two missionaries operating in turbulent periods, and a technocrat engineer of many superficial and biased ideas about China. I argue that all these individuals were largely part of the coeval Western discourses on China while partly had their own, specific topics for their Hungarian readers.
Hungary and the Refugee Question, 1914 – 2015
History/Political ScienceDuring the past century, Hungary has confronted the challenge of refugee crises four times.
During World War I, tens of thousands of Galician Jews fled to Hungary, mainly to Budapest, ahead of the advancing Russian imperial army. The Hungarian government provided social, medical, and housing assistance for these refugees. Despite the protection of the state, the Galician Jews were the target of criticism, and newspapers and politicians waged discrediting campaigns against them.
In autumn 1939, more than one hundred thousand Polish refugees arrived in Hungary. Most of them left for the Mediterranean region, but thousands remained and found shelter here during the war.
In 1989, thousands of East Germans gathered in Budapest because Hungary had given up the mines and barbed wire sealing the border with Austria. They demanded to be let through to democratic West Germany and, in an extraordinary historic moment, the government heeded their wish.
In 2015 more than three hundred thousand refugees from the Middle East and Afghanistan crossed Hungary for Germany and Sweden. The Hungarian government replied to this latest crisis with a vehement anti-migrant campaign, and built a barricade along Hungary's southern border in late summer to keep newly arriving refugees out of the country.
The proposed paper would compare government policy in these four situations. The paper would then examine the factors that affected the government behavior and public opinion in these cases.
After two of these four refugee crises, Hungarians themselves needed international support as 200 hundred thousands out-migrated with the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Issue: did Hungary treat their in-migrants with the support that so many Hungarian out-migrants sought?
During World War I, tens of thousands of Galician Jews fled to Hungary, mainly to Budapest, ahead of the advancing Russian imperial army. The Hungarian government provided social, medical, and housing assistance for these refugees. Despite the protection of the state, the Galician Jews were the target of criticism, and newspapers and politicians waged discrediting campaigns against them.
In autumn 1939, more than one hundred thousand Polish refugees arrived in Hungary. Most of them left for the Mediterranean region, but thousands remained and found shelter here during the war.
In 1989, thousands of East Germans gathered in Budapest because Hungary had given up the mines and barbed wire sealing the border with Austria. They demanded to be let through to democratic West Germany and, in an extraordinary historic moment, the government heeded their wish.
In 2015 more than three hundred thousand refugees from the Middle East and Afghanistan crossed Hungary for Germany and Sweden. The Hungarian government replied to this latest crisis with a vehement anti-migrant campaign, and built a barricade along Hungary's southern border in late summer to keep newly arriving refugees out of the country.
The proposed paper would compare government policy in these four situations. The paper would then examine the factors that affected the government behavior and public opinion in these cases.
After two of these four refugee crises, Hungarians themselves needed international support as 200 hundred thousands out-migrated with the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. Issue: did Hungary treat their in-migrants with the support that so many Hungarian out-migrants sought?
Hungary as a Global Campus: Exploring the Hungarian Culture through the Eyes of International Students
Education/Social SciencesThe number of international students in Hungary has experienced a substantial increase in recent years, reflecting the growing global interest in the country's higher education institutions and presenting a dynamic landscape for cultural exchange and academic diversity. This presentation aims at demonstrating the results of a survey involving 197 international students studying in the country, encompassing disciplines ranging from business, healthcare and medical studies to diverse fields, such as engineering, IT, social sciences, and the arts. The questionnaire delves into various aspects, from students’ socio-demographic and cultural background, to language barriers, assimilation, and adjustments to Hungarian society and student life.
The findings not only shed light on the appreciation of Hungary's vibrant culture, traditions, and welcoming communities but also highlight specific challenges faced by international students, such as navigating language barriers, adapting to different academic systems, and coping with cultural adjustments. This contributes to a broader comprehension of cultural exchange in Hungarian higher education. By understanding these experiences, valuable insights are gained into the adaptation processes of international students, thereby providing information for the development of targeted support systems and initiatives. Thus, the identification of areas for improvement enables higher education stakeholders and Student Unions to formulate and implement policies and strategies addressing the specific shortcomings.
Consequently, Hungary's internationalization strategy, its evolving role as an educational hub and the impact of international students on the nation's global identity highlight Hungary's potential as a prominent destination for international education, positioning it on the map as an attractive educational landscape.
The findings not only shed light on the appreciation of Hungary's vibrant culture, traditions, and welcoming communities but also highlight specific challenges faced by international students, such as navigating language barriers, adapting to different academic systems, and coping with cultural adjustments. This contributes to a broader comprehension of cultural exchange in Hungarian higher education. By understanding these experiences, valuable insights are gained into the adaptation processes of international students, thereby providing information for the development of targeted support systems and initiatives. Thus, the identification of areas for improvement enables higher education stakeholders and Student Unions to formulate and implement policies and strategies addressing the specific shortcomings.
Consequently, Hungary's internationalization strategy, its evolving role as an educational hub and the impact of international students on the nation's global identity highlight Hungary's potential as a prominent destination for international education, positioning it on the map as an attractive educational landscape.
Hungary in Europe: what the law can tell us about Hungary’s integration into the European Union
History/Political ScienceHungary has been a Member State of the European Union for 20 years, its integration process having started about 10 years before the date of its eventual accession. During this period, Hungarian society, politics and policy-making, and its economy has become integrated with the rest of Europe without much doubt. Since European integration to a large extent takes place with the help of law, Hungary's integration with Europe can be successfully examined by analyzing the level of legal harmonization achieved, as well as the evident, often recurring areas of legal conflict between Hungary and the EU. In this presentation, we will look at the state of legal harmonization in the Hungarian legal system as a source of evidence of Hungary's integration into Europe. We will rely on the main data available from the EU legal harmonization and compliance databases, as well as case studies developed by us in different areas of law and regulation that are directly exposed to EU requirements.
Hungary’s Compelling Legacy of Visual Literacy: Memorable Spatial/Historical/Cultural Images of the Homeland in Materials for Youth
Education/Social SciencesStudy regarding Hungary's legacy of visual literacy emanates from an examination of school atlases published in Hungary, a series which presents memorable spatial/historical/cultural images that enhance visual learning, support Gardners's theory of multiple intelligence, and produce lasting memories. Comparative methods and geography scores attained by Hungarian students in international assessments also receive attention.
Hungary's exceptional contributions to numerous fields of endeavor are widely acknowledged and include WWII era emigre scientists in the USA such as Szilard, Teller, Von Neumann, Wigner and others frequently designated "Hungarian Martians" for their remarkable talents. Five Hungarian emigre author/illustrators have been identified as "Hungarian Martians with Color Pencils" in recognition of their superior skill in portraying memorable Hungarian characters, descriptions, and themes pertaining to the homeland for youth following their immigration to English-speaking countries. British Kate Greenaway Medal awardees Victor Ambrus (many Hungarian tales) and Val Biro (Hungarian Folk Tales and other) now live in England. Willy Pogany illustrated Tisza Tales and Hungarian Fairy Tales, among others. Caldecott awardees MIska Perersham and his American wife wrote Miki and other books. Kate Seredy was a Newbery honoree twice and the Newbery medal winner for three of her books about the homeland, The Good Master, The Singing Tree, and The White Stag. An additional author/illustrator to be discussed is Tibor Gergely, Caldecott honor illustrator of Wheel on the Chimney about the migration of storks in Hungary which includes images of the Kortvelyes ancestral estate of his wife poet/artist Anna Lesznai, also seen in other works.
Visual images appearing in The Hunter and the Animals , a wordless picture book by American author/illustrator Tomi DePaola feature folk depictions fro Hofer and Fel's Hungarian Folk Art in the background. Memorable visual images inspired the Hungarian Picture Dictionary for Americans by Biro, Kontra, and Radnai ( Budapest Tankonyvkiado, 1989), illustrated by Ferenc Sajdik, with photographs by Ede Tomori. Specific visual components complete the picture of compelling spatial/historical/cultural images of the Hungarian homeland for youth.
Hungary's exceptional contributions to numerous fields of endeavor are widely acknowledged and include WWII era emigre scientists in the USA such as Szilard, Teller, Von Neumann, Wigner and others frequently designated "Hungarian Martians" for their remarkable talents. Five Hungarian emigre author/illustrators have been identified as "Hungarian Martians with Color Pencils" in recognition of their superior skill in portraying memorable Hungarian characters, descriptions, and themes pertaining to the homeland for youth following their immigration to English-speaking countries. British Kate Greenaway Medal awardees Victor Ambrus (many Hungarian tales) and Val Biro (Hungarian Folk Tales and other) now live in England. Willy Pogany illustrated Tisza Tales and Hungarian Fairy Tales, among others. Caldecott awardees MIska Perersham and his American wife wrote Miki and other books. Kate Seredy was a Newbery honoree twice and the Newbery medal winner for three of her books about the homeland, The Good Master, The Singing Tree, and The White Stag. An additional author/illustrator to be discussed is Tibor Gergely, Caldecott honor illustrator of Wheel on the Chimney about the migration of storks in Hungary which includes images of the Kortvelyes ancestral estate of his wife poet/artist Anna Lesznai, also seen in other works.
Visual images appearing in The Hunter and the Animals , a wordless picture book by American author/illustrator Tomi DePaola feature folk depictions fro Hofer and Fel's Hungarian Folk Art in the background. Memorable visual images inspired the Hungarian Picture Dictionary for Americans by Biro, Kontra, and Radnai ( Budapest Tankonyvkiado, 1989), illustrated by Ferenc Sajdik, with photographs by Ede Tomori. Specific visual components complete the picture of compelling spatial/historical/cultural images of the Hungarian homeland for youth.
Hungary’s Immigrant Women Poets: Reading the Works of Zsófia Balla
Language/LiteratureThe diversity of languages and cultures in motion is central to contemporary European experience. Such diversity is represented in a variety of textual forms that challenge existing concepts of genre, audience and cultural production which shape our current European experience. These emerging varieties of cultural expressions connect diverse communities and have the potential to better contextualise our understanding of cultural patterns within Europe.
A significant body of migrant women’s textual expression has been produced in contemporary Hungary by native speakers of Hungarian who have immigrated to Hungary from neighbouring countries such as Romania, Slovakia, Croatia or Slovenia. The present paper’s objective is to examine this phenomenon through the lens of the poetry of Zsófia Balla and also to problematise the manner in which this work has been conceptualised within, and integrated into, the Hungarian literary establishment. In addition, the findings will be placed in a European context.
The paper proposes to contribute to a better understanding of current cultural developments in postcommunist spaces, and the ways contemporary migrants tend to articulate their positions within the European cultural framework; it will also add to the mapping of contemporary women’s writing in Europe. The central objective of this project is therefore the investigation of Hungary’s immigrant women’s textual production in the context of reinterpreting their past positioning within the Hungarian literary canon and offering alternative future readings.
A significant body of migrant women’s textual expression has been produced in contemporary Hungary by native speakers of Hungarian who have immigrated to Hungary from neighbouring countries such as Romania, Slovakia, Croatia or Slovenia. The present paper’s objective is to examine this phenomenon through the lens of the poetry of Zsófia Balla and also to problematise the manner in which this work has been conceptualised within, and integrated into, the Hungarian literary establishment. In addition, the findings will be placed in a European context.
The paper proposes to contribute to a better understanding of current cultural developments in postcommunist spaces, and the ways contemporary migrants tend to articulate their positions within the European cultural framework; it will also add to the mapping of contemporary women’s writing in Europe. The central objective of this project is therefore the investigation of Hungary’s immigrant women’s textual production in the context of reinterpreting their past positioning within the Hungarian literary canon and offering alternative future readings.
Hungary’s Third Way model: A reality or utopia as a political and economic system alternative?
Science/EconomicsThe Hungarian Third Way's (HTW) movement can be associated with internationally known movements that had similar spiritual historical roots. The result of the cooperative movement at that time is today’s COOP in Bulgaria, Italy, and France. COOP plays a significant role in food production and trade. Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa (MCC) started in the Basque Country. The elements of the third way can also be discovered in the so-called Scandinavian and Finnish models of social organization, which created new institutions of training and education. HTW’s economic and social vision accepted the sanctity of private property, however, it aimed for a new collectivist economic organization: it wanted to solve the many problems of rural, peasant society with land reform, education and other social reforms during the inter war period. The HTW’s model was a realistic working alternative that took the political and economic conditions of the time, the local historical background, the uniqueness, and the inherited social conditions into consideration. Followers of the model believed in an organic process that carried out the desired social change in several iterative steps. Instead of wanting to cut the Gordian knot, it wanted to solve it. Is there a possibility that the HTW is relevant today as a variety of Capitalism?
Hungary’s Diaspora Engagement Practices
History/Political ScienceIn the first half of my presentation I will analyze the development of the expanded diaspora politics of Hungary on four levels: 1) at the level of legislation; 2) at the level of decisions-making bodies and consultative forums; 3) at the level of financial support, and 4) at the level of specific programs. In reference to the latter, I will examine the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Program (KCSP), which was initiated in 2013. Every year with this program the government sends 50–150 grantees to different parts of the world, to assist diaspora organizations. For a deeper understanding of this program, I carried out a survey research about the activities of the KCSP grantees of two successive years (2016–2017 and 2017–2018). From their responses it has been possible to conclude which activities provided more and which ones provide less importance in the diaspora communities dispersed all around the world.
In the second half of my presentation I will present the results of another research project focused on the Hungarian diaspora’s organizational life. The target group of the research consisted of the leaders of those diaspora organizations, which are members of the Hungarian Diaspora Council. The questionnaire dealt with three issues: 1) the organization’s characteristics, local conditions and opportunities; 2) regional networks and contacts; and 3) relationship with the kin-state. The latter issue is related to how Hungary’s diaspora engagement practices—analyzed in the first half of my presentation—are received by the affected diaspora communities.
In the second half of my presentation I will present the results of another research project focused on the Hungarian diaspora’s organizational life. The target group of the research consisted of the leaders of those diaspora organizations, which are members of the Hungarian Diaspora Council. The questionnaire dealt with three issues: 1) the organization’s characteristics, local conditions and opportunities; 2) regional networks and contacts; and 3) relationship with the kin-state. The latter issue is related to how Hungary’s diaspora engagement practices—analyzed in the first half of my presentation—are received by the affected diaspora communities.
Hungary’s Rajkó Ensemble at Home Abroad: Socialist Cultural Diplomacy or Capitalist Commodity?
Music/FolkloreHungary’s Roma musicians have long traveled not as vagabonds, but as cosmopolitan touring artists with a home base in Hungary. During the state socialist period, Roma musicians had more opportunities to travel than other members of the population. One of the most interesting contexts in which they could travel was in the orchestras of professional folk ensembles. This presentation focuses on one important ensemble of Roma musicians of the state-socialist period, the Gypsy Orchestra of the Communist Youth League, commonly known as the Rajkó Ensemble, to explore the complexities of how these minority musicians were used as a national symbol during the Cold War. Ensembles like the Rajkó made “Gypsy music” more suitable for the new socialist era; in the context of international cultural exchanges, particularly the World Youth Festivals in which they were often featured, they played an important role in celebrating socialist youth and acting as musical ambassadors for socialist Hungary and for the Communist Youth League that sponsored their ensemble. At the same time they were a key element of an entertainment supply chain that brought in income for the country. Documents, press coverage, and interviews with former members of the Rajkó reveal the contradictions in the group’s representation and reception at home and abroad. First-hand accounts show how members turned their travels with this idealized socialist ensemble into a capitalist opportunity.
I Just Feel Unique. Self-Reference and Self-Perception in Postmemory Narratives of Second and Third Generation Hungarian Americans
Language/LiteratureIn 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.
Identifying with Others: Righteous Among the Nations from Different Countries Connect and Experience the Holocaust in Hungary
Cultural Studies/ArtsMy paper introduces my new identity recently discovered from a DNA test - Eastern European and Jewish Diaspora ancestry, previously unbeknownst to our family. Because my new DNA identity revealed more regions and countries than I originally thought in my ancestry (including Eastern Europe, Spain, and Northeastern Europe) this prompted me to examine the idea of Righteous Gentiles from several different countries who saved Jewish lives in the Hungarian Holocaust. The main portion of my paper features those honored as Righteous Gentiles from several nations who identified with the plight of their Jewish brethren in Hungary. Righteous Gentiles from different counties often collaborated with each other, and after the Holocaust were honored by Yad Vashem for having risked their lives. Among the rescuers, Raoul Wallenberg was aware and proud of his one-sixteenth Jewish ancestry from his great-great-grandfather (his maternal grandmother's grandfather) Michael Benedicks, who immigrated to Stockholm in 1780. In fact, Wallenberg, who saved 100,000 Jewish lives in the Hungarian Holocaust, sometimes exaggerated his Jewish ancestry, stating in 1930 to Swedish Philosopher Ingemar Hedenius that “A person like me, who is both a Wallenberg and half-Jewish, can never be defeated.”
I will discuss several other rescuers: Italian Papal Nuncio Angelo Rotta and his assistant Gennaro Verolino, Swedish diplomats, Per Anger, Carl Ivar Danielsson, and Valdemar and Nina Langlet of the Swedish Red Cross. Tens of thousands were saved by Righteous Gentiles from other countries, as well, and some of these will also be mentioned: Charles Lutz of Switzerland, Polish Charge d’Affairs Henryk Slawik, Spanish diplomat Angel Sanz-Briz, Italian purveyor Giorgio Perlasca, and Scottish missionary Jane Haining. At the conclusion of the presentation, I will apply Frigyes Karinthy’s theory of six degrees of separation from his 1929 short story “Chains” [‘Láncszemek’] to survivors and rescuers. Each member of the AHEA audience will be invited to identify a survivor or rescuer and to apply to the six degree of separation concept. My aim is to propose that through Karinthy’s theory we will be brought closer to both survivors and rescuers -- --AHEA presenters, family members, and others.
I will discuss several other rescuers: Italian Papal Nuncio Angelo Rotta and his assistant Gennaro Verolino, Swedish diplomats, Per Anger, Carl Ivar Danielsson, and Valdemar and Nina Langlet of the Swedish Red Cross. Tens of thousands were saved by Righteous Gentiles from other countries, as well, and some of these will also be mentioned: Charles Lutz of Switzerland, Polish Charge d’Affairs Henryk Slawik, Spanish diplomat Angel Sanz-Briz, Italian purveyor Giorgio Perlasca, and Scottish missionary Jane Haining. At the conclusion of the presentation, I will apply Frigyes Karinthy’s theory of six degrees of separation from his 1929 short story “Chains” [‘Láncszemek’] to survivors and rescuers. Each member of the AHEA audience will be invited to identify a survivor or rescuer and to apply to the six degree of separation concept. My aim is to propose that through Karinthy’s theory we will be brought closer to both survivors and rescuers -- --AHEA presenters, family members, and others.
Identitásdráma tér és idő határain túl, kognitív narratológiai nézetben
Language/LiteratureIgnácz Rózsa: Torockói gyász (In memoriam Görömbei András)
A kommunizmus évtizedeiben méltatlanul félreállított, erdélyi származású, kiváló írónő, Ignácz Rózsa Torockói gyász című történelmi regénye (1958) a szerző által alaposan megkutatott, megtörtént eseményeken alapul. Az 1702-es torockói „bányászforradalom” eltiprásáról, a kivégzésekről, a templom szétlövetéséről, a gyalázatos jogfosztásról szól. A szörnyű tettekre az osztrák zsoldban álló francia generális (Rabutin de Bussy gróf) adott parancsot, a királyi adomány- és kiváltságleveles szabad bányásznépet önös érdekből örökös jobbágysorba taszítani akaró kapzsi Toroczkay grófok ármányának köszönhetően. Az intenzív kognitivitású mű a torockói nép identitásdrámájának is tekinthető. A Torockói gyász alapvonása, hogy a lehetőségek gazdag tárházát kínálja a kognitív narratológiai közelítésmódhoz, hiszen szerzőjének, narrátorának, cselekvőinek kognitív világfeldolgozásával, intenzív mentális tevékenységével, pozícionáltságával, önpozícionálásával és át- meg átpozícionálásával (vagy erre képtelen rugalmatlanságával), intra- és intermentális folyamataival van dolgunk. A szövegvilág beszélőjének közvetlen diszkurzusában megjelenő, valamint a történetvilágbeli cselekvők nyílt vagy fedett motívumaiból közvetetten kibomló gondolkodás révén képződik meg a mű „fiktív tudatosság”-nak mondható tudati-gondolati tartománya. Ebben a tartományban szövi Ignácz finoman azt a gondolatiságot is, mely az erdélyi magyarság 20. század eleji identitástraumájáig és onnan tovább, az elnyomott magyar önazonosság 1956-os forradalmáig és szabadságharcáig vezeti – terek és évszázadok határain túlra – az erdélyi kulturális emlékezetben oly mély nyomot hagyott 18. század eleji identitás-tragédia relevanciáját. Ennek az összefüggésnek a kimutatása kognitív narratológiai elemzéssel lehetséges. Kritikai és elméleti eszköztáramat a kulturális narratológia, kognitív narratológia, regényelmélet, történetfilozófia és az Ignáczra vonatkozó kritikai irodalom eredményeiből veszem. Munkámat a határon túli magyar irodalom nemrég elhunyt jeles tudósa, Görömbei András emlékének ajánlom.
A kommunizmus évtizedeiben méltatlanul félreállított, erdélyi származású, kiváló írónő, Ignácz Rózsa Torockói gyász című történelmi regénye (1958) a szerző által alaposan megkutatott, megtörtént eseményeken alapul. Az 1702-es torockói „bányászforradalom” eltiprásáról, a kivégzésekről, a templom szétlövetéséről, a gyalázatos jogfosztásról szól. A szörnyű tettekre az osztrák zsoldban álló francia generális (Rabutin de Bussy gróf) adott parancsot, a királyi adomány- és kiváltságleveles szabad bányásznépet önös érdekből örökös jobbágysorba taszítani akaró kapzsi Toroczkay grófok ármányának köszönhetően. Az intenzív kognitivitású mű a torockói nép identitásdrámájának is tekinthető. A Torockói gyász alapvonása, hogy a lehetőségek gazdag tárházát kínálja a kognitív narratológiai közelítésmódhoz, hiszen szerzőjének, narrátorának, cselekvőinek kognitív világfeldolgozásával, intenzív mentális tevékenységével, pozícionáltságával, önpozícionálásával és át- meg átpozícionálásával (vagy erre képtelen rugalmatlanságával), intra- és intermentális folyamataival van dolgunk. A szövegvilág beszélőjének közvetlen diszkurzusában megjelenő, valamint a történetvilágbeli cselekvők nyílt vagy fedett motívumaiból közvetetten kibomló gondolkodás révén képződik meg a mű „fiktív tudatosság”-nak mondható tudati-gondolati tartománya. Ebben a tartományban szövi Ignácz finoman azt a gondolatiságot is, mely az erdélyi magyarság 20. század eleji identitástraumájáig és onnan tovább, az elnyomott magyar önazonosság 1956-os forradalmáig és szabadságharcáig vezeti – terek és évszázadok határain túlra – az erdélyi kulturális emlékezetben oly mély nyomot hagyott 18. század eleji identitás-tragédia relevanciáját. Ennek az összefüggésnek a kimutatása kognitív narratológiai elemzéssel lehetséges. Kritikai és elméleti eszköztáramat a kulturális narratológia, kognitív narratológia, regényelmélet, történetfilozófia és az Ignáczra vonatkozó kritikai irodalom eredményeiből veszem. Munkámat a határon túli magyar irodalom nemrég elhunyt jeles tudósa, Görömbei András emlékének ajánlom.
Identitások határon innen és túl
Cultural Studies/ArtsA témát, a határon túli identitást én egy tágabb kérdésnek tekintem. Identitásaim s annak változásai összefüggnek életem és sorsom alakulásával. 1944-ben származásom miatt, családommal együtt, deportáltak, a határon túlra. Zsidóságom, kisebbségi helyzetem is határokat húz, lehetek egyszerre kívül és belül. 1956-ban elhagytam Magyarországot s ismét a határon túlra kerültem. Sok éve időm jelentős részét Magyarországon töltöm, a határon innen. Ahogyan korábban megírtam, az a véletlen, hogy hol élek s nem az, hogy hol születtem.
Megkísérlem elemezni a magyar - zsidó, zsidó – magyar problematikát, a másságot, amely szintén kapcsolódik a határhelyzethez, akár egy kisebbség, akár az emigráció kontextusában, akár az azt megelőző, vagy azt követő, a szülőhazában töltött időszakokkal összefüggően. Az identitás időnként változhat is. A határon belüli és kívüli identitásnak fontos kritériuma nyelv.
Lehet több identitásunk is, amely összefügghet a nyelvvel, amelyet használunk s az országgal, ahol élünk. A nyelv is meghatározhatja, hogy határon kívül vagy belül élünk. Az emigráns író, aki továbbra is az anyanyelvén ír, megint külön kategória, egy másfajta határhelyzet. Én 1956-ban elmentem Magyarországról s a következő évtizedekben több nyelven kommunikáltam, dolgoztam, miközben igyekeztem megőrizni anyanyelvemet is, melyet tanítottam is. Hosszú idő óta főleg csak magyarul írok, publikálok, magyar közegben élek. Mégis, mint kettős állampolgár, de mindenütt kisebbség, egyszerre élek határon belül és kívül.
Megkísérlem elemezni a magyar - zsidó, zsidó – magyar problematikát, a másságot, amely szintén kapcsolódik a határhelyzethez, akár egy kisebbség, akár az emigráció kontextusában, akár az azt megelőző, vagy azt követő, a szülőhazában töltött időszakokkal összefüggően. Az identitás időnként változhat is. A határon belüli és kívüli identitásnak fontos kritériuma nyelv.
Lehet több identitásunk is, amely összefügghet a nyelvvel, amelyet használunk s az országgal, ahol élünk. A nyelv is meghatározhatja, hogy határon kívül vagy belül élünk. Az emigráns író, aki továbbra is az anyanyelvén ír, megint külön kategória, egy másfajta határhelyzet. Én 1956-ban elmentem Magyarországról s a következő évtizedekben több nyelven kommunikáltam, dolgoztam, miközben igyekeztem megőrizni anyanyelvemet is, melyet tanítottam is. Hosszú idő óta főleg csak magyarul írok, publikálok, magyar közegben élek. Mégis, mint kettős állampolgár, de mindenütt kisebbség, egyszerre élek határon belül és kívül.
Identitásokon átívelő diskurzusok
Cultural Studies/ArtsAz identitás és a kulturális identitás hagyományos esszencialista, szubsztancialista és konstruktivista elméletei a posztmodernizmus kontextusában mindinkább megkérdőjeleződnek. Az olyan elméletek mint a filozófiai destrukció különböző formái, a dekonstrukció, a posztstrukturalista és a posztmodern elméletek megingatják az identitás és a kulturális identitás hagyományos homogén- és egységorientált státusát, ezzel párhuzamosan viszont a posztModernizmus kontextusában ugyancsak megfigyelhető az identitás hauntológikusan új konstruálása. Központi szerephez jut e fogalmak definíciós problémája, nem csak a humán- és a társadalomtudományok tekintetében, hanem nemzetközi és globális vonatkozásban egyaránt. Radikalizálódnak továbbá az univerzális definíciók és az erre épülő etikai, politikai és jogi praxisok diskurzusai. A kérdés viszont az, hogy az univerzalista egységorientált elméletek mennyiben hitelesek és életképesek a kulturális, nemzeti, etnikai, vallási, szemléletbeli és más különbözőségek vonatkozásában? Határokon átívelő identitások körvonalazódnak vagy pedig inkább identitásokon átívelő diskurzusok?
