Rhetorics Education in Hungary in the 21st century

Type of Abstract (select): Paper presentation

Abstract (max. 250 words):
Participation in international science is an increasingly widespread expectation at universities in Hungary. The programs and faculties that are specifically based on native language are more difficult to meet this expectation: partly because of the language skills of instructors and partly the nature of the curriculum. The internationalization efforts launched at ELTE also aim to establish mostly English-language programs that are more likely to participate in university students from other countries. The paper presents such a plan: there are rhetoric curriculums in Western Europe and America, but there is no example in Hungary. Rhetoric is part of university education in Hungary, but often only optional. However it is not always clarified what science means by rhetoric, although the development of the duality of thinking and language usage is one of the key competences, both in the mother tongue and in a foreign language. The presentation covers the teaching of the theoretical foundations of rhetoric, as well as the necessity and methodology of developing oral and written skills in language usage, and developing possibilities of thinking in argumentation. In addition, it presents the regular theoretical foundation of papers and presentations for rhetoric researchers at international conferences. The aim of the paper is to present the philosophy, possible structure and market needs of the establishment of a master degree in Rhetoric that holds its own among international curriculums as well.


Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Ádám Pölcz studied at the ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, and received his PhD in applied rhetoric. Since 2014 he has been working at the Faculty of Primary and Pre-School Education, and currently he works as an associate professor and the head of The Department of Hungarian Language and Literature. Most of his papers are about rhetoric, language cultivation and semiotics. Ádám Pölcz worked for years as a radio announcer and his secondary job connects to his main research fields: as a program director at the Petőfi Cultural Agency he has responsibility for the operation of the Hungarian language strategy.