The Problem of the Notion of Modernity in the Contemporary History of Literature in Hungary and beyond

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Abstract (max. 250 words):
The Hungarian history of literature and within it the term for the period of so-called modernity has generated several debates in the last three decades. The Hungarian literary periodization, on the one hand, has tried to find starting points in international literature; on the other hand, it has attempted to describe 20th-21st-century Hungarian literary fiction by such scientific neologisms as, for example, György Tverdota’s term of ‘tradition-preserving modernity’ (hagyományőrző modernség. The aim of my paper is, after briefly outlining the stakes of the debate developed so far and getting to the historical root of the terminological question, to find a way out of the difficulties of periodization of literature and other arts. In order to achieve this, broadening the starting point taken from Hungarian literary studies in concentric circles, I will first review comparative literature, then other branches of the art of the age, and finally, with the help of considerations across disciplinaries, I will look outside humanities. According to my thesis, the changes started in the middle of the 19th century in both Hungarian and international literature have been strongly interrelated with other aspects of culture and civilization. A common term for these changes is necessary because of the aspect of periodization and possible due to the existing common traits; however, it cannot be ‘modernity’. This is why, considering a long 20th century, due to the emphasis on relations and relativity, I suggest introducing the notion of ‘relationism’.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Literary theorist and theologian. He received his first Ph.D. degree (2017) from the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in literature. He received his Licentiate of Sacred Theology (2017) from the Pázmány Péter Catholic University (PPKE). Now he is a Ph.D. candidate at PPKE and a senior lecturer at ELTE. He carried out research work in Belgium (K.U. Leuven) and in the U.K. (University of Oxford). He published his first book entitled Prophetic Counterparts in The Brothers Karamazov in 2015. Currently, he is a Visiting Research Fellow at Yale University.