Not Just Another 'Romkocsma': Everyday Geographies of Budapest's Cafes and Bars

Type of Abstract (select):

Abstract (max. 250 words):
A city’s cafes, bars and other semi-public venues constitute a significant part of residents’ and tourists’ everyday geographies of sociality: when friends gather for a birthday, when colleagues meet for lunch, or when tourists search for the best selfie, they rely on—and contribute to—such spaces’ reputations to decide where they might ‘fit in’. Budapest is no exception, and spaces ranging from classical cafes to the so-called romkocsmák continue to attract waves of customers while contributing to significant physical and social transformations in the surrounding urban environment. This paper will draw on ethnographic fieldwork to explore the intertwined and changing landscapes of Budapest and its hospitality venues, focusing particularly on contemporary groups working to re-imagine the cafe/bar as a social enterprise designed to support civil society and activist work. It will also involve looking back at counter-cultural spaces from Budapest’s past—such as Tilos az Á and Fekete Lyuk—to trace lineages and transformations that contextualise Budapest’s current ’scene.’ While Habermas famously described the cafe as an idealised public sphere, the aim of this talk will be instead to explore how the politics, sociality and culture of the public sphere is experienced in different-yet-interconnected ways in the various bars and cafes of Budapest.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Shawn Bodden is a PhD Researcher in human geography at the University of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences. His doctoral research is an ethnographic study of everyday experience of politics and activism in Budapest.