Cultural Studies paper by Vámos, Eszter
Roaring Twenties After the Treaty of Trianon? Jazz and the New Dances in 1920s Hungary (Accepted)
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
After the Treaty of Trianon the main goal of Hungarian cultural policy was to gain cultural hegemony and to naturalize national identities. However this national cultural policy coincided with the spread of jazz and new dances which affected not only the American and Western European public but also the Hungarian one. The new popular music and dances violated the conventions in most countries, but in Hungary they also threatened the constructed national identity. They were foreign to traditional Hungarian culture, furthermore, they crossed racial and gender boundaries as jazz music rooted in Afro-American culture and the new dances redefined the way people looked at the female body. Therefore Hungary’s authoritarian government – as it couldn’t eliminate it – attempted to monitor and control this new form of leisure. This paper aims to show how jazz and the new dances spread all over the country as well as to examine the controversial regulations which were made by the national and local authorities.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Eszter Vámos is PhD student at the University of Pécs. Her research focuses on the leisure and entertainment of interwar Pécs. She has a bachelor's degree in History and a master's degree in Modern European and Hungarian History.