IU Bloomington: Russian and East European Institute

Indiana University is deeply committed to the study of the language, history, politics, and culture of Hungary and the Hungarian diaspora. The Hungarian studies program at IU, unique in the nation, offers: Budapest

The György Ránki Chair in Hungarian Studies

The György Ránki Chair in Hungarian Studies at Indiana University was established in 1979 (as the Hungarian Chair) and is funded jointly by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and Indiana University. The chair is named for the first visiting Hungarian Chair professor, the late György Ránki, a leading authority on the Hungarian economy and history. The György Ránki Chair in Hungarian Studies supports visiting professors from Hungary and the organization of an annual conference or symposium, lectures, and other events. Past Hungarian Chair professors have included László Borhi, László Csorba, Pál Hatos, János Mazsu, Csaba Pléh, Ignác Romsics, and Mihály Szegedy-Maszák.

Faculty

Mihály Szegedy-Maszák, professor of comparative literature and Central Eurasian studies (Ph.D., Eötvös Loránd University), was appointed in 1988. His courses include Modern Hungarian Literature, History of the Hungarian Language, Nationalism in Central Europe, and Romanticism. He has published extensively on Hungarian and European literature and culture. His most recent publications include Literary Canons: National and International (Budapest: Akademia, 2001) and National Heritage– National Canon (Budapest: Collegium, 2001). In 2002 he received a $300,000 grant from the Hungarian Ministry of Education to write a new history of Hungarian literature.

Lynn Hooker, assistant professor of Central Eurasian studies (Ph.D., University of Chicago), joined Indiana University’s Hungarian studies faculty in the fall of 2003. She teaches courses on Hungarian music and culture and is currently writing a book, provisionally titled From Liszt to Bartók: Redefining Hungarian Music. Her publications appear in The Cambridge Companion to Bartók and Notes and European Meetings on Ethnomusicology (among other places). Areas of scholarly interest include music and modernism; national, transnational, and global identities; Eastern European minority issues, particularly those related to the Roma (Gypsies) and the minorities of Transylvania.

Academic Program

Indiana University’s interdisciplinary programs offer students several options for the study of Hungary, including programs leading to a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree. Students can enroll in up to three years of language instruction during the academic year; summer intensive language instruction is available for the first year of study. Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships are available on a competitive basis for graduate students pursuing Hungarian language study during either the academic year or the summer session.

Indiana University entered into an agreement with the Department of Education of the Republic of Hungary in fall 2001 to provide funding for one or more students to pursue doctoral training at Indiana University in the Department of Central Eurasian Studies.

Graduate Course Work

The following area studies courses are the typical choices for students pursuing a master’s degree in Hungarian studies at Indiana University through the Russian and East European Institute or the Department of Central Eurasian Studies.

Central Eurasian Studies (formerly Uralic and Altaic Studies)
U321-U322 Introductory Hungarian I–II
(The first-year language course is also offered as an intensive summer program.)
U421-U422 Intermediate Hungarian I–II
U521-U522 Advanced Hungarian I–II
U523 Hungarian Readings
U423 Hungary between 1890 and 1945
U424 Hungarian Literature: Beginnings to 1900
U426 Modern Hungarian Literature
U427 Hungary from 1945 to the Present
U520 Topics in Hungarian Studies (recent topics below)
Social History of Hungarian Intelligentsia 1825–1914
Hungarian Politicians 1848–1945
Hungarian Foreign Policy 1918–1965
Religion, State, and Society in Hungary of 1945–1990

History
R500 Path to Emancipation: Nationalism in the Balkans 1804–1923
R500 The People vs. the Emperor: Nation-Making and Imperial Decline in East Central Europe 1780–1918
R500 The Search for European Integration: East Europe in the Twentieth Century
H645 Problems in East European Historiography: Survival and Opposition under Communism

Alumni

Nearly 60 Indiana University students have completed master’s, doctoral, or professional school programs with advanced competency in Hungarian studies. These include 20 Ph.D. holders in such fields as business, comparative literature, economics, history, linguistics, political science, and Uralic and Altaic studies. The 40 master’s degree graduates have focused largely on interdisciplinary study of Hungary and Eastern Europe, though seven in the last decade have worked on Hungarian studies along with a professional school degree such as a master of business administration, master of public affairs, master of library science, master of information science, or a law school degree. Here is just a sample of how these IU graduates have put their knowledge of Hungarian language and culture to work in a variety of interesting careers:

Charles Bankart, (M.A./M.P.A., Central Eurasian Studies and Public and Environmental Affairs, 1999), Assistant Director for Scholar Services at Indiana University Office of International Services

András Árpád Boros-Kazai (Ph.D., Uralic and Altaic Studies, 1982), Professor at Beloit College

Thomas Cooper (Ph.D., Comparative Literature and Central Eurasian Studies, 2003), Visiting Lecturer in Hungarian Language and Culture at University of North Carolina

Charles Gati (Ph.D., Political Science, 1965), Senior Vice President, Interinvest, and Senior Adjunct Professor of European Studies and Fellow at Johns Hopkins University Foreign Policy Institute

Allison E. Mindel (M.A., Russian and East European Institute, 1997), Special Assistant to the President of the Institute for Sustainable Communities

James P. Niessen (Ph.D., History, 1989), Librarian at Rutgers— The State University of New Jersey

Thomas L. Sakmyster (Ph.D., History, 1971), Professor at University of Cincinnati

Indiana University has a special summer language program open to students from other universities, upper-level high school students, nondegree students, and members of the community, as well as IU students. The Summer Workshop in Slavic and East European Languages (SWSEEL) offers a full year of beginning Hungarian language training in a single eight-week, total immersion summer session, mid-June to mid-August each year. By special agreement with the Indiana state legislature, all summer intensive language students pay tuition at the in-state rate ($241.30 per credit hour in 2007). (Graduate students receive six credits for Hungarian and undergraduates receive eight credits.) Fellowship awards for tuition and a stipend are available on a competitive basis.

Exchanges

Library

Indiana University’s Hungarian collection is among the top three at university libraries in the United States. The Indiana University Main Library has more than 30,000 volumes in the Hungarian language, nearly 4,000 volumes in Western languages about Hungarian topics, and subscriptions to 150 Hungarian serials.

Materials in the Main Library include several donated research collections from Hungarian statesmen and scholars: the Aladár Szegedy-Maszák Collection, the Lajos Vincze Collection, the Louis Szathmáry Collection, the Paul Marer Collection, and 3,500 volumes donated by IU’s former György Ránki Hungarian Chair professors.

Indiana University provides graduate students and faculty as speakers and lends videos and curriculum materials to K–12 teachers, community organizations, and colleges. These services are offered free of charge. To view a list of Outreach materials click here. For a complete list of films click here.

Distinguished Visitors

Guest lectures and special events are an important component of Indiana University’s Hungarian studies offerings. IU has hosted many visits by Hungarian international scholars and government officials as well as American specialists. Visitors have included:

Csanád Bálint, Director of the Archaeological Institute of the Hungarian Academy
Iván Berend, University of California, Los Angeles
Eniko Bollobás, Eötvös Loránd University, American Studies
József Hámori, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Hungary
Miklós Haraszti, Writer and former member of the Hungarian Parliament
Géza Jeszenszky, Former Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary to the United States
Zoltán Kocsis, Pianist
Domokos Kosáry, Former President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences
László Kósa, Eötvös Loránd University, Chair, Cultural History
John Lukacs, Historian
Tamás Mihálydeak, University of Debrecen, Vice-Rector for International Affairs
Tamás Gáspár Miklós, Philosopher
G. B. Nemeth, Director of the University Library, Budapest
Zoltán Pokorni, Minister of Education of the Republic of Hungary
András Simonyi, Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary to the United States
Pál Tar, Former Ambassador of the Republic of Hungary to the United States
Ede (Edward) Teller, Physicist
E. Sz. Vizi, President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Cultural Activities

The Hungarian Cultural Association, an organization composed of students in Hungarian studies, professors, Hungarian visitors, and community members, plans and hosts Hungarian cultural activities, guest speakers, special events, and film screenings. Every year the group organizes the 1956 Revolution Commemoration in October and the Hungarian Independence Day Celebration in March. In addition, a Hungarian Coffee Hour convenes once a week, at least two Hungarian films are shown each semester, two Hungarian potluck picnics are held each year, and guest speakers are invited regularly to address IU students, faculty, and community members. The Életfa folk music ensemble and the New Brunswick Hungarian Dance Troupe have performed at Indiana University, and the well-known folk music group Muzsikás has also visited Bloomington several times. IU’s world-renowned School of Music, with leading performing artists on its faculty (including Hungarian-born cellist János Starker and conductor Imre Palló), offers regular operas, concerts, and recitals.

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Contact Information

Russian and East European Institute
Indiana University
Ballantine Hall 565
1020 E. Kirkwood Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47405-7103
Phone: (812) 855-7309
Fax: (812) 855-6411
E-mail: reei@indiana.edu
REEI website

Department of Central Eurasian Studies
Indiana University
Goodbody Hall 157
1011 E. Third Street
Bloomington, IN 47405-7005
Phone: (812) 855-2233
Fax: (812) 855-7500
E-mail: ceus@indiana.edu
CEUS website

Indiana University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity institution. Indiana University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students who may be eligible for an accommodation should contact Disability Services for Students, (812) 855-7578. TDD, 1-800-855-1155.

“Through my involvement with Hungarian studies, I have had access to intellectual and financial resources that have positively influenced my career. These include an outstanding library, IU-sponsored conferences where I can present and discuss my work, and financial support for field research in Hungary. Tangible results of my involvement with the IU program have included several publications as well as teaching positions in Budapest, Warsaw, and Sarajevo.”
— Wade Danis, Ph.D., Business, 2000, professor at Marquette University

“The Hungarian language instructors at IU are always first-rate, and taking Hungarian here finally allowed me to pin down many of the more difficult aspects of the language that I didn’t have time to learn when I was in Hungary. When I went back to Hungary after a year of studying the language at IU, my friends said, “most értesz mindent!”—“now you understand everything!”
—Lesley E. Davis, M.A., Central Eurasian Studies, 1998, Director of International Programs, Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington

“The skills and knowledge I developed at IU have stood me in good stead at PlanEcon. They enabled me to write a key analysis of Hungarian electric power and gas distribution companies just as the companies were sold on the Hungarian stock market. I have had the pleasure of contributing to decisions by automotive companies to invest in Hungary. We assisted an Italian company in its acquisition of GANZ, a producer of generators and electric power equipment.”
—Keith W. Crane, Ph.D., Economics, 1983, CEO, PlanEcon Research, Inc.