Past Abstracts
1,037 abstracts found
Inside Borders – Jewish Settlement in Banned Cities: Jewish Immigration in Debrecen in the Periods between 1790-1870
History/Political ScienceMost of the free royal cities and all mining cities of Hungary banned Jewish in-settlement by 1840. Nevertheless, we are first focusing our attention to the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, because in effect the roughly 50 years preceding the settlement permits for the inner areas of the indicated cities saw several waves of Jewish immigration in Hungary and it was the first important stage of mutual acculturation of the above-mentioned urban societies and Jewish communities. It was a period of time that is essential for the understanding of urban settlement, the subsequent integration and the controversial processes of assimilation/dissimilation and intra-urban spatial segregation.
The closing date of our study falls on the year of 1870 because my intent was to do an extensive survey of space and society structures relying on the data of the poll taken in that year, or to be more precise on the basis of the analytic sources of the Geoinformatic Social History Database of Debrecen (GISHDD) created by the digital processing of the manuscript maps and the statistical sheets of the age in Debrecen.
The present lecture also examines the fundamental legal, economic and social contexts of the immigration process and draws a comprehensive picture of the specific chronological segmentation and the various aspects of the settlement process in the environs of cities starting from the 1790’s and in the inhabited inner urban areas after 1840.
The second part of the lecture is devoted to the presentation of the spatial patters of Jewish settlement in Debrecen according to the following points of views:
• Initial steps of settlement, moving in the settlements in the vicinity of the city (-1840);
• Aspects and waves of settling to cities (1840-1867);
• Housing conditions and residence segregation, neighbourhood relations, rented and owned family homes, family structure and residence patterns of Jewish families (1869/70);
• The spatial layout of the established Jewish ritual and community institutions (1840-1870).
• Comparison of Debrecen Jewish settlement case to the others in Hungarian banned cities (urban in-settlements types in Hungary)
Apart from the comparative summary of the various research conclusions, the closing part of the final section of the lecture strives to raise and reconsider the research methodology issues of integration, acculturation and urban residence segregation on the basis of the study based on the findings and resources of the Geoinformatic Social History Database of Debrecen (GISHDD).
Research results provide a way to rethink the interpretations of the birth of modern Hungarian Nation, acculturation/integration, inside borders, segregation or/and cooperation of communities creating Hungarian Nation inside or outside of the National State.
The closing date of our study falls on the year of 1870 because my intent was to do an extensive survey of space and society structures relying on the data of the poll taken in that year, or to be more precise on the basis of the analytic sources of the Geoinformatic Social History Database of Debrecen (GISHDD) created by the digital processing of the manuscript maps and the statistical sheets of the age in Debrecen.
The present lecture also examines the fundamental legal, economic and social contexts of the immigration process and draws a comprehensive picture of the specific chronological segmentation and the various aspects of the settlement process in the environs of cities starting from the 1790’s and in the inhabited inner urban areas after 1840.
The second part of the lecture is devoted to the presentation of the spatial patters of Jewish settlement in Debrecen according to the following points of views:
• Initial steps of settlement, moving in the settlements in the vicinity of the city (-1840);
• Aspects and waves of settling to cities (1840-1867);
• Housing conditions and residence segregation, neighbourhood relations, rented and owned family homes, family structure and residence patterns of Jewish families (1869/70);
• The spatial layout of the established Jewish ritual and community institutions (1840-1870).
• Comparison of Debrecen Jewish settlement case to the others in Hungarian banned cities (urban in-settlements types in Hungary)
Apart from the comparative summary of the various research conclusions, the closing part of the final section of the lecture strives to raise and reconsider the research methodology issues of integration, acculturation and urban residence segregation on the basis of the study based on the findings and resources of the Geoinformatic Social History Database of Debrecen (GISHDD).
Research results provide a way to rethink the interpretations of the birth of modern Hungarian Nation, acculturation/integration, inside borders, segregation or/and cooperation of communities creating Hungarian Nation inside or outside of the National State.
Instruction in Hungarian Language and Culture and Language Maintenance in Vienna – A magyar nyelv megőrzése, magyartanítás, honismereti oktatás Bécsben
Education/Social SciencesUtak és lehetőségek a magyar identitás megőrzésében, a Bécsi Magyar Iskola modellje
A bécsi magyar népcsoport lehetőségei az anyanyelv gyakorlására, a kultúra megőrzésére
-egyesületek, szervezetek Bécsben a magyar kultúra szolgálatában
- kisebbségi törvény adta lehetőségek, hiányosságok
A Bécsi Magyar Iskola, mint modell - út a tudatos ausztriai magyar identitás megőrzésére
-az iskola rövid története, a bécsi magyarság tükrében
-BMI felépítése, működése, fejlődése, az iskola ma, projektek
-tanulói létszám ugrás szerű emlekedése, ennek okai
-valódi kétnyelvűség, tipegőktől a magyar érettségiig
-tapasztalatok, célok
Europa-Büro: EdTWIN projekt - CentroLING
Jövőkép
A bécsi magyar népcsoport lehetőségei az anyanyelv gyakorlására, a kultúra megőrzésére
-egyesületek, szervezetek Bécsben a magyar kultúra szolgálatában
- kisebbségi törvény adta lehetőségek, hiányosságok
A Bécsi Magyar Iskola, mint modell - út a tudatos ausztriai magyar identitás megőrzésére
-az iskola rövid története, a bécsi magyarság tükrében
-BMI felépítése, működése, fejlődése, az iskola ma, projektek
-tanulói létszám ugrás szerű emlekedése, ennek okai
-valódi kétnyelvűség, tipegőktől a magyar érettségiig
-tapasztalatok, célok
Europa-Büro: EdTWIN projekt - CentroLING
Jövőkép
Instrumental Technique in Béla Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1: Reconciling the Composer, Modern Performance, and Field Recordings
Music/FolkloreAs an American cellist seeking to perform Béla Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1, I found that Hungarian folk music was not an extensive part of my musical vocabulary. There is an inherent difficulty in assimilating three seemingly autonomous sources with the intent of performance: The published composition that was crafted by Bartók, the recordings of modern artists like Bartók, Szigeti, and Starker, and the field recordings of Hungarian, Rumanian, and Gypsy folk music. It is the intent of this string-performer’s guide to explicate performance of four techniques through these sources: bow articulation, rubato, vibrato, and glissandi.
Beginning with a discussion of Bartók’s written word (essays, letters, etc.), I consider his view of the bowed strings with respect to folk instruments, Western art instruments, the voice, and performance. I then analyze his compositional processes for incorporating six folk melodies into Rhapsody No. 1 and offer a map of folkloric techniques such as pizzicato and imitation of bagpipes, placing special emphasis on the four techniques mentioned above. After analyzing the published composition, I discuss the major keystone recordings spanning 75 years and apply the methodology of László Somfai to decipher the discrepancies between notation and sound. Also presented within this section is an examination of the field recordings of the six incorporated folk melodies. Next, I discuss how the sound of the folk instrumentalist influenced performance by modern artists. I conclude by offering the violoncellist a technical “how-to” for performing Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1 with the character and zest of a native Hungarian.
Beginning with a discussion of Bartók’s written word (essays, letters, etc.), I consider his view of the bowed strings with respect to folk instruments, Western art instruments, the voice, and performance. I then analyze his compositional processes for incorporating six folk melodies into Rhapsody No. 1 and offer a map of folkloric techniques such as pizzicato and imitation of bagpipes, placing special emphasis on the four techniques mentioned above. After analyzing the published composition, I discuss the major keystone recordings spanning 75 years and apply the methodology of László Somfai to decipher the discrepancies between notation and sound. Also presented within this section is an examination of the field recordings of the six incorporated folk melodies. Next, I discuss how the sound of the folk instrumentalist influenced performance by modern artists. I conclude by offering the violoncellist a technical “how-to” for performing Bartók’s Rhapsody No. 1 with the character and zest of a native Hungarian.
Intangible Cultural Heritage Communities in the Pandemic
Music/FolkloreIn my presentation, I will try to illustrate the impact of the pandemic on intangible cultural
heritage in Hungary through the practices of ICH communities and the specific responses
that emerged. I will examine the communities which are in the national inventory of
intangible cultural heritage for example Busó festivities, blue-dyeing tradition and táncház
method. Hungary joined the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage in 2006. Intangible cultural heritage is essentially a cultural practice that exists in
oral form, in knowledge, skills and customs, and can be linked to living communities. This
intangible cultural heritage, handed down from generation to generation and constantly
recreated by communities, provides them with a shared identity and a sense of continuity.
The Convention aims to safeguard these communal practices, to strengthen the identity of
communities with their own cultural identity, thereby promoting the mutual recognition of
cultural diversity, and to raise awareness of the importance of intangible forms of
expression. A general characteristic of heritage communities is that they respond to the
world around them, constantly shaping their traditions. During the period of the COVID-19
pandemic, these communities, like the world at large, were in a state of constant change,
and the heritage communities had to respond to the pandemic.
heritage in Hungary through the practices of ICH communities and the specific responses
that emerged. I will examine the communities which are in the national inventory of
intangible cultural heritage for example Busó festivities, blue-dyeing tradition and táncház
method. Hungary joined the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage in 2006. Intangible cultural heritage is essentially a cultural practice that exists in
oral form, in knowledge, skills and customs, and can be linked to living communities. This
intangible cultural heritage, handed down from generation to generation and constantly
recreated by communities, provides them with a shared identity and a sense of continuity.
The Convention aims to safeguard these communal practices, to strengthen the identity of
communities with their own cultural identity, thereby promoting the mutual recognition of
cultural diversity, and to raise awareness of the importance of intangible forms of
expression. A general characteristic of heritage communities is that they respond to the
world around them, constantly shaping their traditions. During the period of the COVID-19
pandemic, these communities, like the world at large, were in a state of constant change,
and the heritage communities had to respond to the pandemic.
Interactive Photo-History Project On Rural Hungarian Life, 20AD-1956
Cultural Studies/ArtsProud and Torn: A History of Life in Hungary is a unique interactive timeline that visualizes Hungarian history (20 CE-1956) through archival photographs, maps, illustrations, animation, and short film clips. Combining the stylistic genres of photomontage, graphic memoir, and parallax scrolling, the timeline ultimately tells the story of immigration—the many circumstances that led a young Hungarian farmer to leave Hungary for a new life in America, and his sister (and best friend) to remain in Hungary. Told with the narrative perspective of the Hungarian immigrant’s American daughter, the project helps readers make sense of the dramatic and often horrific events that led to his immigration: two World Wars, the Holocaust, and more than a century of instability with competing regimes of capitalism, fascism, and communism. The family narrative perspective explores history from the ground up (rather than the top down), utilizes family photos and documents alongside archival findings, and challenges the dominant and narrow portrayals of Hungarian and European history by placing a greater emphasis on rural and agricultural history and using fresh visual sources from amateur and underutilized collections, both digital and archival.
Intergenerational and Collective Memory’s Role in Constructing Ethnic Identity: A Study of Interview Narratives and Hungarian Folktales
Language/LiteratureIntergenerational memory (IgM), expressed in narrative form, is the mental and linguistic
representation of a series of past events drawn from the lives of the rememberer’s ancestors.
Located between personal and collective memories, IgM answers existential questions and
positions the individual in the surrounding culture. Scholarship on intergenerational memory
focuses on the impact of IgM sharing on mental health, its role in identity construction, and the
connection between personal, intergenerational, and collective memories (Fivush, R. 2011;
Fodor, M. 2019; Pohn-Lauggas, M. 2021. Findings reveal that intergenerational family memory
is often fragmented, marked by clues or figurative language only, seeming transient or easy to
miss in any narrative form.
In this talk, I will discuss and compare the features of intergenerational memory narratives from
interview excerpts with third-generation Hungarian Americans and selected Hungarian folktales
in 19 th -century collections to show how the narrative construction of intergenerational memory
is identical or very close. I aim to pinpoint that the Hungarian folktale is a collective memory
form that provides essential memory-sharing structures and meaning-making tools observable
in life-history interview-based narratives. I analyze the interview excerpts and the folktales with
narrative and discourse analysis to identify the narrative features of tellability, memorability,
and context-embeddedness. My analysis highlights how Igm’s appearance in remnant memory
fractions displays similar narrative features across genres, revealing remarkably similar identity
work. The findings provide more information on how narrative structure travels across genres,
especially in non-literary narratives, and demonstrate how acquiring narrative forms inherent in
folktales determines our life story telling modes.
representation of a series of past events drawn from the lives of the rememberer’s ancestors.
Located between personal and collective memories, IgM answers existential questions and
positions the individual in the surrounding culture. Scholarship on intergenerational memory
focuses on the impact of IgM sharing on mental health, its role in identity construction, and the
connection between personal, intergenerational, and collective memories (Fivush, R. 2011;
Fodor, M. 2019; Pohn-Lauggas, M. 2021. Findings reveal that intergenerational family memory
is often fragmented, marked by clues or figurative language only, seeming transient or easy to
miss in any narrative form.
In this talk, I will discuss and compare the features of intergenerational memory narratives from
interview excerpts with third-generation Hungarian Americans and selected Hungarian folktales
in 19 th -century collections to show how the narrative construction of intergenerational memory
is identical or very close. I aim to pinpoint that the Hungarian folktale is a collective memory
form that provides essential memory-sharing structures and meaning-making tools observable
in life-history interview-based narratives. I analyze the interview excerpts and the folktales with
narrative and discourse analysis to identify the narrative features of tellability, memorability,
and context-embeddedness. My analysis highlights how Igm’s appearance in remnant memory
fractions displays similar narrative features across genres, revealing remarkably similar identity
work. The findings provide more information on how narrative structure travels across genres,
especially in non-literary narratives, and demonstrate how acquiring narrative forms inherent in
folktales determines our life story telling modes.
Interlingual Characteristics of the Family Names Found in the Carpathian Basin in the 18th Century
Language/LiteratureIn Europe, contemporary research of family names places great emphasis on the importance of digital atlases, sources that render information about the spatial extension of names and allonyms, their localization and dialectal differences. The past five years has witnessed the emergence of Hungarian geonomastics, resulting in genuine achievements in the synchronic as well as the diachronic analysis of this field.
In order to start these historical examinations, a homogeneous corpus was needed that would best represent the regional distribution of surnames. The first country-wide census of Hungarian Kingdom in 1715 is the earliest record to suit this purpose. The second part of the database consists of the census from 1720. The two censuses yield a total of 344 thousand names, an amount of data that provides a significant base source for the analysis.
An advantage of the The Atlas of Historical Hungarian Surnames (AHHS 1715–1720) is among others, that the organic “unity” of personal names of the Carpathian Basin could be represented on maps in the way how name-systems of different languages took effect on each other. The corpus of personal names of different languages appears free from external influences (e. g. changing or “Hungarianisation” of names) reflecting the natural language contacts of centuries. When sorted by language, the collected names found in the database provide a reliable indication of the percent of minority populations in this era. According to our estimates, roughly half of this corpus is comprised of Hungarian names. Researchers from neighboring countries have yet to exploit the linguistic and onomastic possibilities offered by digitalized national censuses, even though at least one-fourth of the personal names gathered are Slavic in origin (mostly Slovak, Ruthenian, with smatterings of Czech or Polish), while one-fifth is either Romanian or Southern Slavic.
In the multilingual Carpathian Basin, the meeting and mingling of languages affects not only language, but names as well. The name systems utilized by different languages influence name-giving, resulting in the emergence of interferential properties in name usage. These characteristics are found where languages come in contact, appear on language borders and therefore provide an ample source of study. My paper’s main focus will concentrate on an examination of name-contact phenomena emerging from Hungarian and Slavic connections.
In order to start these historical examinations, a homogeneous corpus was needed that would best represent the regional distribution of surnames. The first country-wide census of Hungarian Kingdom in 1715 is the earliest record to suit this purpose. The second part of the database consists of the census from 1720. The two censuses yield a total of 344 thousand names, an amount of data that provides a significant base source for the analysis.
An advantage of the The Atlas of Historical Hungarian Surnames (AHHS 1715–1720) is among others, that the organic “unity” of personal names of the Carpathian Basin could be represented on maps in the way how name-systems of different languages took effect on each other. The corpus of personal names of different languages appears free from external influences (e. g. changing or “Hungarianisation” of names) reflecting the natural language contacts of centuries. When sorted by language, the collected names found in the database provide a reliable indication of the percent of minority populations in this era. According to our estimates, roughly half of this corpus is comprised of Hungarian names. Researchers from neighboring countries have yet to exploit the linguistic and onomastic possibilities offered by digitalized national censuses, even though at least one-fourth of the personal names gathered are Slavic in origin (mostly Slovak, Ruthenian, with smatterings of Czech or Polish), while one-fifth is either Romanian or Southern Slavic.
In the multilingual Carpathian Basin, the meeting and mingling of languages affects not only language, but names as well. The name systems utilized by different languages influence name-giving, resulting in the emergence of interferential properties in name usage. These characteristics are found where languages come in contact, appear on language borders and therefore provide an ample source of study. My paper’s main focus will concentrate on an examination of name-contact phenomena emerging from Hungarian and Slavic connections.
International Medical Education at the Semmelweis University in Budapest
Education/Social SciencesSemmelweis University is the leading higher education institution in medical and health sciences in Central Europe. Ever since 1769, its main commitment remains
the integrity of education, research and healing, which makes the more than 250-year-old Semmelweis University an internationally recognized center of knowledge. Semmelweis University is also the Alma Mater of Ignaz Semmelweis, the “Saviour of Mothers”, Nobel laureates Albert Szent-Györgyi and Georg von Békésy to name a few among the most pioneering doctors in medical history, whose contributions have significantly advanced the field of medicine globally. A significant step in the university’s life was when international programs were launched over 40 years ago, behind the iron curtain at that time. Today, a truly international community studies in three languages (Hungarian, English, German), the students’ number at our six faculties reaches 16,000 and is constantly growing. Semmelweis University is involved in higher education vocational training, specialist postgraduate training, the cultivation of the next generation of scientists, and nurturing talent. Our very best (1%) students enjoy individual mentorship of distinguished professors in our Kerpel Fronius Talent Program. The Students’ Scientific Association, which includes over 1200 members, is to provide an opportunity for every student to get involved in research and enables them to build personal and professional relationships that prepare them for their scientific career.
the integrity of education, research and healing, which makes the more than 250-year-old Semmelweis University an internationally recognized center of knowledge. Semmelweis University is also the Alma Mater of Ignaz Semmelweis, the “Saviour of Mothers”, Nobel laureates Albert Szent-Györgyi and Georg von Békésy to name a few among the most pioneering doctors in medical history, whose contributions have significantly advanced the field of medicine globally. A significant step in the university’s life was when international programs were launched over 40 years ago, behind the iron curtain at that time. Today, a truly international community studies in three languages (Hungarian, English, German), the students’ number at our six faculties reaches 16,000 and is constantly growing. Semmelweis University is involved in higher education vocational training, specialist postgraduate training, the cultivation of the next generation of scientists, and nurturing talent. Our very best (1%) students enjoy individual mentorship of distinguished professors in our Kerpel Fronius Talent Program. The Students’ Scientific Association, which includes over 1200 members, is to provide an opportunity for every student to get involved in research and enables them to build personal and professional relationships that prepare them for their scientific career.
International Relations at the Pius Jesuit Gymnasium of Pécs
Education/Social SciencesThe Society of Jesus is long known as one of the best network builders of the Roman Catholic Church. The Ignatian brothers are founded an international educational system all around the world. After the order's supression in 1773, the Hungarian Jesuit schools were forced for a hiatus until the second half of the nineteenth century. The Pius Catholic Gymnasium (1912–1948) – founded by Count Gyula Zichy, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pécs – was one of the most developed secodary schools in Hungary, at the first half of the twentieth century. The bishop entrusted the Jesuits with the operation of the school after the incorporation of the Independent Hungarian Province of the Society of Jesus. The school’s fist headmaster was P. Gábor Jablonkay SJ – a Jesuit monk moved from the Jesuit Gymnasium of Kalocsa – set the foundations of the school’s pedagogical program, called the Péter Pázmány Study Group to life at 1916, as a supplement beside the regular educational program and of course tended the international relations with the Office of the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, and the other institutes of the Society. The paper presentation has two goals: firstly, it is to show the archival sources related to the onetime Gymnasium’s international relations, and secondly to represent the Hungarian Jesuits networking process at the early twentieth century.
Internationalization of the Hungarian Higher Education: Dilemmas, Challenges and Future Perspectives
Education/Social SciencesAfter the systemic changes in the late eighties, early nineties, the number of university students increased dynamically, reaching its peak with 380 000 students in 2006. This number has declined to 247 000 in the 2017-2018 academic year due to demographic causes and regulatory changes. As a result, the need for more active internationalization through recruiting foreign students emerged. The Hungarian higher education has been facing the challenges of internationalization for several years. Individual universities, however, were not at all prepared for this trend and only some institutions were able to accommodate students from a great variety of countries. Currently, various factors are pushing Hungarian universities to elaborate better strategies for internationalization. First, with ERASMUS funding, the number of European students in Hungary has nearly doubled in the past decade. Second, the Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship program – launched in 2012 in order to attract foreign students and push Hungarian Universities towards more openness – has brought thousands of student with diverse background to Hungary. Third, the global demand for study abroad opportunities has grown tremendously in recent years and has created more business opportunities for many countries. The paper argues that with some exemptions, universities in Hungary are still lacking the proper internationalization strategy and more targeted efforts are required to compete successfully with other countries. The study also investigates the challenges universities in Hungary are facing due to the global competition for international students.
Internationalization of the University of Pécs
Education/Social SciencesAz Egyetem nemzetköziesítési stratégiai programjának megtervezése, végrehajtása. Az Egyetem képviselete nemzetközi szervezeteknél és partnerintézményeknél. Az Igazgatóság munkájának koordinációja.
Interpreting Hungarian Culture and Identity in Ottó Tolnai’s Wilhelm-dalok, avagy a vidéki Orpheus to an American readership
Language/LiteratureAccording to prominent Tolnai literary scholar, Beáta Thomka, “The countryside is the land of wonders. Those who grow up here have broader horizons, [Ottó Tolnai] quotes Kosztolányi in the motto. At the end of the 1970s, Tolnai first performed Wilhelm Songs at a memorable reading in Novi Sad with a special atmosphere. “...the mousetrap snapped shut,” reads the first line: an overture, an acoustic introduction to a project that would keep him in a state of unwavering excitement for a decade and a half” (Thomka, 89)”. Relatively still unknown outside of Hungarian literary circles, The Balkans or the Eastern European region, Ottó Tolnai made his publishing debut with short stories in 1956 and then with poetry in 1960 in the former Yugoslavia. Wilhelm-dalok was published in Hungary in the 80s and has been a source of inspiration to generations of aspiring poets ever since. My project of translating this poetry collection in English has shed light on various aspects of literary translation such as translating transculturalism by means of exploring Tolnai’s broader cultural and historical perspective, ethnic minority identity, and Hungarian language and culture through a transcultural mediator’s lens which is especially relevant in Tolnai’s work since his origins allowed him to travel to the west at a time when most of his broader peer group on the other side of the border could not. Wilhelm-dalok, avagy a vidéki Orpheus is an avant-garde poetry collection, which highlights many modern-day themes such as existentialism, morality, greed, and spirituality through its main protagonist, Wili, the toothless bard and halfwit country bumpkin, as well as one of Tolnai’s most memorable alter-egos. Presenting Ottó Tolnai to an American readership is obviously a challenge, but not an impossible feat if the transcultural mediator remains committed to the author’s aesthetic sensibility and intent, as well as by applying a sensitivity to both the local and global experience.
Interpretive Fidelity to Gypsy Creativity: Liszt’s Representations of Hungarian-Gypsy Cimbalom Playing
Music/FolkloreLiszt’s Hungarian Rhapsodies I–XV (1846–1853) draw our attention immediately to the pianist-composer’s indulging in showmanship through the predominant display of technical brilliance. At the other end of the spectrum of his Rhapsodies, nevertheless, Liszt faithfully emulates the elements of Hungarian popular Gypsy bands. Then what is the meaning of his fidelity to Gypsy-band music in the midst of these highly brilliant piano pieces? Throughout his Rhapsodies, Liszt effectively captures the distinctive sounds and effects of cimbalom playing in his creative pianistic renderings. Liszt’s own remarks on the cimbalom in his Des bohémiens (1859) and his continuous relationships with cimbalom players, makers, and pedagogues provide context for his connections to the instrument. The contemporary articles about the cimbalom evocations, “Die Musik der Ungarn” from Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (1852), as well as the method book Cimbalom iskola [Cimbalom School] (1889) by Géza Allaga provide useful examples to explore several essential techniques of the cimbalom in a systematic manner. Liszt’s renderings evoke five salient features associated with the instrument’s timbres and techniques: (1) visually stunning cimbalom trills, (2) rebounding hammers on the cimbalom, (3) the unique texture of the cimbalom when it interacts with the violinist, and (4) cimbalom improvisation. All of his cimbalom evocations illuminate how meticulously Liszt expresses each technique and effect with a particular type of notation and how convincingly his reworking methods approximate the instrument’s distinctive sounds and techniques. The result of his reworkings is a skillful coalescence of his sensitive attention to the integrity of the instrument and his inventive pianistic solutions.
Introducing Musical Applications: games and assessment tools, based on recent research studies in Hungarian music education (Workshop)
Music/FolkloreIn recent decades, the role of children's musical skills has become increasingly important owing to the growing body of scientific research and their results in music education. The renewal of music education was promoted by the Content Pedagogy Research Program supported by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, within the framework of which two Hungarian music research groups started the 4-year-long research programs in 2016. The MTA-LFZE Active Music Learning Research Group was led by László Norbert Nemes. The group developed two music pedagogy models based on the Kodály Concept, i.e. the Creative singing games with rhythmic movements and the Dynamic music learning, an adaptation of Klára Kokas’s pedagogy.
The research group of the Faculty of Music of the University of Szeged, the MTA-SZTE Music Methodology Research Group – led by Márta Janurik – aimed at enriching music methodology culture based on Hungarian traditions, using the latest technological achievements. A software program called ‘Music Island’ was developed (zenesziget.eu), which is suitable for teaching music to 6-10-year-old pupils. It is equipped with a digital task bank, and a collection of musical exercises. In the workshop, as a member of the second research group, I introduce useful applications, a collection of rhythmic and melodic games, singing activities, and online assessment systems that improve music teaching and learning based on the latest scientific findings. The aim of the activities is to introduce to the participants the joy of playing games and singing songs together, listening to music by applying a few music apps (like Zenesziget), introducing musical experiences, understanding and enjoyment. (maximum 35 persons)
The research group of the Faculty of Music of the University of Szeged, the MTA-SZTE Music Methodology Research Group – led by Márta Janurik – aimed at enriching music methodology culture based on Hungarian traditions, using the latest technological achievements. A software program called ‘Music Island’ was developed (zenesziget.eu), which is suitable for teaching music to 6-10-year-old pupils. It is equipped with a digital task bank, and a collection of musical exercises. In the workshop, as a member of the second research group, I introduce useful applications, a collection of rhythmic and melodic games, singing activities, and online assessment systems that improve music teaching and learning based on the latest scientific findings. The aim of the activities is to introduce to the participants the joy of playing games and singing songs together, listening to music by applying a few music apps (like Zenesziget), introducing musical experiences, understanding and enjoyment. (maximum 35 persons)
Irish Images of Hungarian National Identity in the Interwar Years
History/Political ScienceLate 1918 saw the complete transformation of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, from a Dual Monarchy into a number of independent, self-declared “nation-states”. Drawing on contemporary Irish newspapers, journals and diplomatic accounts, this paper aims to investigate the formulation of national identity in interwar Hungary, as perceived by the newly independent Irish Free State, since both small states shared border-related challenges after gaining independence following the end of the Great War. Tracing what factors defined the Irish image of independent Hungary, in contrast to Hungarian self-image, is of primary importance, in addition to determining the impact of Hungary’s historical past on Irish opinion. This paper concentrates on the changing identities in Central Europe from a transnational perspective, with special attention to Hungary, arguing that investigating Irish perceptions of Hungary may provide insights into not only the transformation of Habsburg Central Europe, but also into the development of Irish national identity. Altogether, the paper aims to add to our current understanding of Hungarian identity in the interwar era, providing an additional dimension to the Hungarian self-image built around resenting the “truncated” nature of the independent small state, in contrast with the perceptions of the small Irish state in the early 1920s.
Istvan Farkas, Painter, Books and Magazines Publisher, an Outstanding Representative of the Twentieth Century Hungarian and European Paintings and my Savior during the Siege of Budapest
Cultural Studies/ArtsIstvan Farkas was an expressionist and a modern painter and also was the owner and director of a famous books and magazines publishing house in Budapest. He was a prominent painter in Paris, member of the Ecole de Paris during the interwar years. In his paintings of the 1930’s and 1940’s, he depicted an alien and a mysterious world full of ghostly figures, which could be understood as meditations on the frailty of the human existence. Some of his paintings were recalling his service in the Austro-Hungarian Army during the First World War. His mentor was the famous painter Laszlo Mednyanszky. Upon the death of his father in 1932, he assumed the leadership of his family’s prominent publishing company in Budapest, Singer & Wolfner. Publishing writers and artists like Ferenc Herczeg, Geza Gardonyi, Sandor Brody, Ignotus, Zsolt Harsanyi, Gyula Krudy, Lorinc Szabo, Lajos Posa, Karoly Lyka, Juliana Zsigray among many others. Also, he published the magazines “New Times” (Uj Idok) a literally journal, which catered to the, Hungarian middle classes, “Hungarian Women” (Magyar Aszonyok), and “My Newspaper” (Az En Ujsagom), a children magazine. The publishing house motto was: “Hungarian to the Hungarians” ( “Magyart a Magyarnak”). When the Germans occupied Hungary in March, 1944, Farkas was among the first ones arrested by the Gestapo. Some of his prominent friends who were close to Admiral Horthy, like the writer Ferenc Herczeg, tried to save him, but it was either too late or as the legend goes, he did not want to be saved. His life ended in the concentration camp. My own personal connection to him that I knew him quite well as a little boy, since my mother was his confidant and his personnel secretary. Both my mother and I survived the siege of Budapest during the Second World War, staying in his specially built, reinforced, concrete underground shelter during the biggest street fighting.
István Lakatos and 1956
Language/LiteratureIstván Lakatos (1927-2002) was a Hungarian Kossuth Prize-winner poet, writer and one of the founding members of Digital Literary Academy (DIA). In 1949 he was awarded the Baumgarten Prize, but between 1949 and 1972 he was unable to have a volume of his poems published. After 1956 he was in prison (until 1959). He was considered an “counter-revolutionary” because of his "anti-regime poems" in the journal called Igazság and because he was a board member of Hungarian Writer’s Association in 1956-57. While in prison he translated Virgil’s Aeneid. I will talk about Lakatos’s literary significance and will analyze Lakatos's poems and essays. After the regime change in 1991 Lakatos was awarded the “1956 Commemorative Medal”.
János Pilinszky’s <i>Apocrypha</i>: A Wavering Catholic’s Reflections on God, Human Suffering and the Relationship Between History and the Past
Language/LiteratureJános Pilinszky's poem "Apokrif" (Apocrypha), initially published in 1954, was the first time that the poet's work was permitted to appear in print, following a state-imposed period of silence for what Hungary's Stalinist authorities labelled as his excessive "pessimism." In 1944, Pilinszky--at 23 years of age--was drafted into the Hungarian army, spending the final months of the Second World War in soon-to-be defeated Nazi Germany. This paper argues that Pilinszky and his poems, most notably "Apocrypha" and "The Passion of Ravensbrück," occupy a unique place in postwar Hungarian literature and discourse, due to the infusion of Christian spirituality when reflecting on the War and for deconstructing notions of memory, history and the past.
Pilinszky approaches the Second World War past, a tragedy still very much within living memory in postwar Hungary, from the perspective of Catholic and Christian faith--albeit, a faith that is deeply uncertain, ambivalent and even tormented.
The experience of war and destruction, and having witnessed first-hand the Ravensbrück concentration camp, not only informed Pilinszky's poetry, but also shaped an outlook that one may describe as a postwar, twentieth century version of Deism; the Creator is distant, silent and possibly even indifferent to what has become a perverse and depraved creation, while each individual human is isolated, forsaken and insignificant. Pilinszky not only provided a distinctive prism through which to explore recent Hungarian and European history, but pushed Hungarian thinkers to question the relationship between memory, history and the past.
Pilinszky approaches the Second World War past, a tragedy still very much within living memory in postwar Hungary, from the perspective of Catholic and Christian faith--albeit, a faith that is deeply uncertain, ambivalent and even tormented.
The experience of war and destruction, and having witnessed first-hand the Ravensbrück concentration camp, not only informed Pilinszky's poetry, but also shaped an outlook that one may describe as a postwar, twentieth century version of Deism; the Creator is distant, silent and possibly even indifferent to what has become a perverse and depraved creation, while each individual human is isolated, forsaken and insignificant. Pilinszky not only provided a distinctive prism through which to explore recent Hungarian and European history, but pushed Hungarian thinkers to question the relationship between memory, history and the past.
Jékely Zoltán útjai — 1913-1982
Language/Literature„csak hangyamódra matarásztam a földtekén.”
Néhány életrajzi tény ismertetése elengedhetetlen a költőről, íróról, műfordítóról szólva; egész életét meghatározta az az erdélyi irodalmi műhely, amelyben a mestere, édesapja, Áprily Lajos volt.
Első verskezdeményei Enyeden születtek. A gimnázium első három osztályát Enyeden végezte.Tizenhárom éves korában az első barátságok és szerelmek élményével gazdagítottan el kellett hagynia a ,,Maros-parti Athént”, mert a család ismét Kolozsvárra költözött a megélhetés gondja, és az 1926-ban bontakozó erdélyi magyar irodalom okán. Jékely Zoltán 1931-ben középiskolai tanulmányi versenyt nyert s a 7-8. osztály elvégzése után érettségi vizsgát tett. Az Áprily-család otthonra lelt a budai Baár-Madas leánynevel? intézetben, lévén Áprily Lajos 1934-ben elnyerte az igazgatói kinevezést. Jekely a középiskolai verseny elismerésnek köszönhette, hogy mint magyar-francia-német szakos bölcsészhallgatót felvették a híres Eötvös Kollégiumba. A német szakos képzést az első félév végén művészettörténeti tanulmányokra cserélte. Egyetemi tanulmányait 1935-ben fejezte be, s még ez év decemberében bölcsészdoktorrá avatták. Lévén egyetemi évei alatt Jékelyre a legnagyobb hatást Horváth János lenyűgöző személyisége és hatalmas tudása tette, doktori értekezését Az erdélyi magyar irodalom kezdetei a háború után és Kuncz Aladár címmel Horváth Jánoshoz nyújtotta be.
1935 decemberében az Országos Széchenyi Könyvtárban helyezkedett el, mint fizetés nélküli gyakornok, s csak 1938-ban kapott könyvtárosi kinevezést. Első jelentős külföldi útjának időpontját 1937. júniusára tehetjük, amikor is az 1937-ben megjelent Kincskeresők című regényének tiszteletdíjából Velence, Verona, Firenze, Chiavari felfedezése után öt hetet Párizsban töltött.1939. nyarát ismét Velencében és Firenzében töltötte. S Jékely 1939 végén és 1940 elején már mint ösztöndíjas tért vissza Rómába.
Jékely Zoltán életében sorsdöntő dátum 1941, amikor a kolozsvári Egyetemi Könyvtár munkatársa lett.
1946 nehéz év volt Jékely Zoltán számára, mert megjelentetett műveinek örömét az új állampolgársági rendelkezések beárnyékolták. Döntéskényszerbe került 1946. augusztusában befejezte a Világosságbeli szerkesztői munkáját, s november végén Budapestre költözött. Hazatérését örömmel fogadták. Munkahelye ismét az Országos Széchenyi Könyvtár hírlaptára lett. 1948-ban ismét Itáliába utazott. A Római Magyar Akadémia élén Kardos Tibor állt, aki mondhatni irodalmi műhelyt hozott létre a Palazzo Falconieriben. Visszatérése után napi könyvtárosi munkája mellett, mondhatni az asztalfióknak írta verseit. Nyugalmat csupán a Szentgyörgy-pusztai ház nyújtott. Visegrád és Dunabogdány között Jékely nyaranta itt hódolt horgászszenvedélyének, amely ihlető forrása is volt. 1982-ben bekövetkezett haláláig számtalan külső és belső utazást tett meg a költő, aki mindvégig hű maradt szülőföldjéhez.
Néhány életrajzi tény ismertetése elengedhetetlen a költőről, íróról, műfordítóról szólva; egész életét meghatározta az az erdélyi irodalmi műhely, amelyben a mestere, édesapja, Áprily Lajos volt.
Első verskezdeményei Enyeden születtek. A gimnázium első három osztályát Enyeden végezte.Tizenhárom éves korában az első barátságok és szerelmek élményével gazdagítottan el kellett hagynia a ,,Maros-parti Athént”, mert a család ismét Kolozsvárra költözött a megélhetés gondja, és az 1926-ban bontakozó erdélyi magyar irodalom okán. Jékely Zoltán 1931-ben középiskolai tanulmányi versenyt nyert s a 7-8. osztály elvégzése után érettségi vizsgát tett. Az Áprily-család otthonra lelt a budai Baár-Madas leánynevel? intézetben, lévén Áprily Lajos 1934-ben elnyerte az igazgatói kinevezést. Jekely a középiskolai verseny elismerésnek köszönhette, hogy mint magyar-francia-német szakos bölcsészhallgatót felvették a híres Eötvös Kollégiumba. A német szakos képzést az első félév végén művészettörténeti tanulmányokra cserélte. Egyetemi tanulmányait 1935-ben fejezte be, s még ez év decemberében bölcsészdoktorrá avatták. Lévén egyetemi évei alatt Jékelyre a legnagyobb hatást Horváth János lenyűgöző személyisége és hatalmas tudása tette, doktori értekezését Az erdélyi magyar irodalom kezdetei a háború után és Kuncz Aladár címmel Horváth Jánoshoz nyújtotta be.
1935 decemberében az Országos Széchenyi Könyvtárban helyezkedett el, mint fizetés nélküli gyakornok, s csak 1938-ban kapott könyvtárosi kinevezést. Első jelentős külföldi útjának időpontját 1937. júniusára tehetjük, amikor is az 1937-ben megjelent Kincskeresők című regényének tiszteletdíjából Velence, Verona, Firenze, Chiavari felfedezése után öt hetet Párizsban töltött.1939. nyarát ismét Velencében és Firenzében töltötte. S Jékely 1939 végén és 1940 elején már mint ösztöndíjas tért vissza Rómába.
Jékely Zoltán életében sorsdöntő dátum 1941, amikor a kolozsvári Egyetemi Könyvtár munkatársa lett.
1946 nehéz év volt Jékely Zoltán számára, mert megjelentetett műveinek örömét az új állampolgársági rendelkezések beárnyékolták. Döntéskényszerbe került 1946. augusztusában befejezte a Világosságbeli szerkesztői munkáját, s november végén Budapestre költözött. Hazatérését örömmel fogadták. Munkahelye ismét az Országos Széchenyi Könyvtár hírlaptára lett. 1948-ban ismét Itáliába utazott. A Római Magyar Akadémia élén Kardos Tibor állt, aki mondhatni irodalmi műhelyt hozott létre a Palazzo Falconieriben. Visszatérése után napi könyvtárosi munkája mellett, mondhatni az asztalfióknak írta verseit. Nyugalmat csupán a Szentgyörgy-pusztai ház nyújtott. Visegrád és Dunabogdány között Jékely nyaranta itt hódolt horgászszenvedélyének, amely ihlető forrása is volt. 1982-ben bekövetkezett haláláig számtalan külső és belső utazást tett meg a költő, aki mindvégig hű maradt szülőföldjéhez.
Jewish Mysticism and Difference Feminism in Anna Lesznai’s Early Love Theory
Language/LiteratureIn this paper I argue that Anna Lesznai’s radical imagining of sex and its use for transcendental purposes heavily relies on Jewish mystical ideas, intertwined with Otto Weininger's theory of gender binarism and Martin Buber's dialogue principle. In her early love theory—part of feminist discourse at the turn of the twentieth century—Lesznai describes szerelem as female love, using religious language and ideas from Jewish mysticism, especially those resembling Hassidic concepts, and ultimately compares sexual union to yihud-unio mystica with God. Working within the patriarchal understanding of the biological definition of gender and of the concept of "female difference," Lesznai’s difference feminism rooted in the belief that certain personality traits and skills are inherently gendered, reverses the hierarchy by placing women in the position of power, thus turning Jewish mysticism and Weininger’s gender philosophy on its head.
