History/Political Science paper by Czeferner, Dóra
Why is the Rosika Schwimmer Collection in New York Worth for Research? (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
Why would it be essential to carry out a systematic research on the estate of the world-wide known feminist and peace activist, Rosika Schwimmer (1877, Budapest–1948, New York)? Why has her figure been neglected by the Hungarian historiography and what kind of sources are there in the collection? In the presentation, I will seek answers to these questions relying on the latest researches on the Rosika Schwimmer Papers (592 boxes, 160 linear feet, almost 50 linear meter), preserved in the Manuscripts and Archives Division of the New York Public Library. Apart from discussing the genesis, importance, and complex structure of the collection – on which Hungarian historians have not implemented a systematic investigation prior to my work – I will also delineate the possibilities of writing a scientific biography on Schwimmer. Furthermore, I aim to address the challenges, which historians, who intend to study the life and career of Schwimmer, have to face while conducting a research in this field.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Dóra Czeferner: During my university years, I majored in history with a bachelor degree in English language. For a decade now, I have been dealing with bourgeois feminist movements in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which provided the topic for my PhD dissertation. I had conducted researches on certain aspects of the phenomenon for a longer period in Vienna, Leipzig and New York. Since 2019, I have been a junior research fellow at the (former) Institute of History of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.