Cultural Studies paper by Kovács, Dezső
Cultural Experiences of a Hungarian Visiting Professor in the US (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
One’s life is deeply rooted in his/her own culture. In the presentation the author shares some of his experiences he gained in the US as guest researcher. He’ll discuss his experiences related to cultural differences of everyday life in the US and Hungary. As a researcher, the author spent one year in the US on two occasions. The first stay occurred after the 1990 political changes as a John Marshall Fellow in the Regional Research Institute in West Virginia University. The second time he was the Senior fellow of HAESF (Hungarian American Enterprise Scholarship Fund) in the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) of the University of Missouri, Columbia, MO. His experiences in the US induced him to draft a paper about everyday events, stories and compare their relevance in different social context. These everyday stories reflect the cultural and social differences in attitudes of people living in these different societies. The stories often better illuminate the differences and aspirations of people than "serious" social studies. Everyday people often create their American or Hungarian pictures through these kinds of stories.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
The life of Dezső Kovács is centered around rural issues: rural tourism, rural policy, rural women, rural experience economy etc. He conducted research and lectured on various rural subjects at two universities in Hungary, Gödöllő University and Sopron University, as associate professor and honorary professor. He was also a rural researcher in the Center for Regional Studies in Pécs, a former Academic Research Institure. He has about 120 publications, 5 books written and edited and several other activities, drafting and managing EU projects, supporting NGO-os. Kovács had frequently participated in the international scientific life of rural researchers, mainly in Europe.