FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS

— Central European Studies MA program —

University of Miskolc Faculty of Arts

 

 

1. Cultural History of Central Europe

Questions and topics: Romanticism: The Beginning of a New Paradigm. (For classical tradition the aim of art is beauty. Winckelmann developed a theory of imitating ancient, classical art. For the romantic generation art is an organic product of the activity of the soul, especially of imagination, see Kölcsey. Art should preferably represent nature wild or humanised, we are familiar with, see Mickiewicz.) György Dragomán: The White King (A personal interpretation of the novel is required). Milan Kundera: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (A personal interpretation of the novel is required).

 

Literature:

–         Winckelmann, Johann Joachim: Reflections on the Painting and Sculpture of the Greeks. London, 1765. pp. 1–22.

–         European Romanticism. A Reader. Ed.: Prickett, Stephen. London – New York, Continuum, 2010. Needed articles:

o   Kölcsey, Ferenc: National Traditions. (fragment) In: – pp. 176–196.

o   Mickiewicz, Adam: From Pan Tadeusz, ‘Discussion on Art’. In: – pp. 212–219.

–         Abrams, M. H.: The Mirror and the Lamp. Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition. first published: 1953. pp. 3–29.

–         Gyapay, László: National Tradition as a Code of Poetry in Nineteenth-Century Hungarian Culture. Literature and Cultural Memory. Eds.: Irimia, Mihaela – Manea, Dragoş – Paris, Andreea. Leiden – Boston, Brill–Rodopi, 2017. (Internationale Forschungen zur Allgemeinen und Vergleichenden Literaturwissenschaft, 194.) pp. 250–264. (pdf available)

–         Some of the reviews on The White King (The New York Times, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Tennessean, The Entertainment Weekly, The New York Sun, and: The Guardian)

–         Bányai, Éva: An East-Central European Success Story György Dragomán’s The White King. In: Acta Universitatis Sapientiae, Philologica, 2009. 1. pp. 78–89.

–         Milan Kundera. Ed.: Bloom, Herold. Chelsea House Publishers, 2003. (10. 12. 2017.).

 

2. History and Historical Concept of Central Europe

Questions and topics: Central Europe as a political vision and agenda from the age of nationalism. Central Europe? Central and Eastern Europe? Eastern and Central Europe? Historical debates concerning the meaning and territory of the region. Nations and ethnic minorities in Central Europe: the role and variations of nationalism within the empires in the 18th and 19th centuries. The peculiarities of social historical transition in the region: the process and results of ’embourgeoisement’ in Central Europe. The role of the emerging intelligentsia in the countries of Central Europe from the period of Enlightenment. The undervalued dimension: social and political conflicts based on belonging to different religious denominations in Early Modern and Modern Central Europe (Catholics, Protestants, Greek Orthodoxes, Jews).

 

Literature:

–         Wandrycz, Piotr S.: The Price of Freedom. A History of East Central Europe from the Middle Ages to the present. (2nd Edition.) London, Routledge, 2001.

–         Berend, T. Iván: History Derailed. Central and Eastern Europe in the Long Nineteenth Century. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 2003.

–         Regions in Central Europe. The Legacy of History. Ed.: Tägil, Sven. London, Hurst and Company, 1999.

 

 

 

3. Social Theory and Social Psychology in Central Europe

Questions and topics: Discuss the theory of the three historical regions of Europe.  How these regions have emerged? What are the sociological and social psychological characteristics of the Central European region compared to the Western and the Eastern regions? What are the institutions, values and processes of modernity? What are the ideal types of the European national development? Which ideal type does fit best to the pattern of national development of the small Central European nations? How would you explain the resistance to social entropy? Give examples of social entropy resistant minority groups within the Central European nations!

 

Literature:

–         Szűcs, J. Parti J. 1983. The Three Historical Regions of Europe. An Outline. Acta Historica Academiae Scientiarum Hungariae. 29.2-4. 131-84

 

 

4. Nations, National Identities and Cultures in Central Europe

Questions and topics: How do we define Central Europe? Please point out the differences between Central Europe defined in geographical and in cultural terms! What does European and Central European identity mean? How is European and/or Central European identity expressed through forms of art and everyday processes? Please choose one topic discussed during the courses and show how identity is represented through it! (e.g. national anthems, ethnic jokes, films, food, drinks, architecture, literature, art, etc.)

 

Literature:

–        Haller, Max – Ressler, Regina: National and European Identity. A study of their meanings and interrelationships. In: Revue française de sociologie. Vol. 47, No. 4, Sociologie des valeurs: Théories et mesures appliquées au cas européen (Oct. - Dec., 2006) pp. 817-850.

–        Wilson, Thomas M.: Food, Drink and Identity in Europe. Consumption and the Construction of Local, National and Cosmopolitan Culture. In: Eurpean Studies. 22. 2006. Food, Drink and Identity in Europe. pp. 11–31.

–        Boskin, Joseph – Dorinson, Joseph: Ethnic Humor. Subversion and Survival. In: American Quarterly, Vol. 37. No. 1. Special Issue: American Humor. (Spring, 1985) pp. 81–97.

–        Honko, Lauri: Epic and Identity. National, Regional, Communal, Individual. In: Oral Tradition, 11/1 (1996) pp. 18–36.

–        McDonald, Maryon: European Identity. An Anthropoligical Approach. In: Reflections on European Identity. Ed.: Jansen, Thomas. European Commission, 1999. (European Commission. Forward Studies Unit.) pp. 77-81.

 

 

 

5. Roma Society in Central Europe

Questions and topics: Roma: the problem of definition. Roma groups in Central Europe. Roma identity. The issues of ethnic identity. Roma in Hungary. Situation, key issues and problems. Roma integration: how to measure social integration and the level of integration in some countries (dimensions, indicators, the way of measuring, some examples from researches).

 

Literature:

–         Roma population on the peripheries of the Visegrad countries. Eds.: Pénzes, János – Radics. Zsolt. Debrecen, University of Debrecen, 2012. (it is available in the office of the Institute of Applied Social Sciences, Éva Graholy.)

–         Szabó-Tóth, Kinga: The Construction of Ethnic Identity of Successful Gypsies/Travellers in England. In: Central European Political Science Review, 2012. Vol. 13. Nr. 48.

–         Between Past and Future. The Roma of Central and Eastern Europe. Ed.: Guy, Will. Hatfield, University of Hertfordshire Press, 2001.

–         The Roma. A Minority in Europe. Historical, Political and Social perspectives. Eds.: Stauber, Roni – Vago, Raphael. Budapest – New York, Central European University Press, 2007.

–         Multidisciplinary Approaches to Romany Studies. Selected papers from the participants of Central European University’s Summer Course, 2007–2009. Eds.: Stewart, Michael – Márton, Rövid. Budapest – New York, Central European University Press, 2011.

–         Szelényi, Iván – Ladányi, János: Patterns of Exclusion. Constructing Gypsy Ethnicity and the Making of an Underclass in Transitional Societies of Europe. New York, Columbia University Press, 2006.

 

 

6. Religions and Churches in Central Europe

Questions and topics: What kind of religions and churches determined the Central European region from the 18th century to present days? How can you show on a map the connections between Central European nations and religions? How can you review the Church-State relations in Central Europe in the following periods: the end of 19th century (Austro-Hungarian Monarchy), the interwar period, after the World War II. Choose a country and show the Church policy of it in details!

 

Literature:

–         Fazekas, Csaba: The Super-Ego of the Empire: Church and State. In: The Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy (1867-1918). Ed.: Gáspár, Zsuzsa – Gerő, András. London – Cape Town – Sydney, New Holland, 2008. 152–175. p.

–         Christianity and Modernity in Eastern Europe. Ed.: Berglund, Bruce R. – Porter-Szűcs, Brian. Budapest – New York, CEU Press, 2010. Needed articles:

o   Porter-Szűcs, Brian: Introduction: Christianity, Christians, and the Story of Modernity in Eastern Europe. – pp. 1–35.

o   Hanebrink, Paul: Christianity, Nation, State. The Case of Christian Hungary. – pp. 61–84.

o   Choose a further case: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Serbia.

–         Religion and Politics in the Post-Socialist Central and Southwest Europe. Challenges since 1989. Ed.: Ramet, Sabrina P. New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014. Needed articles:

o   Ramet, Sabrina P.: Religious Organizations in Post-Communist Central and Southeastern Europe. An Introduction. – pp. 1–24.

o   Ungváry, Krisztián: The Kádár Regime and the Subduing of the Roman Catholic Church Hierarchy. – pp. 86–114. p.

o   Choose a further case: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia.

–         Ančić, Branko – Zrinščak, Siniša: Religion in Central European Societies. Its Social Role and People’s Expectations. In: Religion and Society in Central and Eastern Europe, 2012. 5 (1) 21–38. p.

 

 

 

7. Philosophy in Central Europe

Questions and topics: Interpret the 19th century social-political context of Central European philosophy! How can you characterize Central Europe in the history of philosophy? What do you know about Brentano and his school? What does Jan Patočka’s philosophy of history say about the idea and history of Europe?

 

Literature:

–         Structure and Gestalt: Philosophy and Literature in Austria-Hungary and her successor States. Amsterdam, Benjamin, 1981. Needed articles:

o   Smith, B.: Kafka and Brentano. A Study in Descriptive Psychology. – pp. 113-160.

o   Heaton, J. M.: Brentano and Freud. ‒ pp. 161-195.

o   Smith, B.: The Production of Ideas. Notes on Austrian Intellectual History from Bolzano to Wittgenstein. – pp. 211-234.

o   Nyíri, J. C.: Philosophy and National Consciousness in Austria and Hungary: A Comparative Socio-Psychological Sketch. – pp. 235-262.

–         Simons, P.: Philosophy and Logic in Central Europe from Bolzano to Tarski. Dordrecht – Boston – London, Kluwer, 1992. Needed articles:

o   Simons, P.: Central Europe in the history of philosophy. – pp. 1-11.

o   Simons, P.: The Anglo-Austrian Analytic Axis. – pp. 143-158.

–         Findlay, E.: A Philosophy of History and a Theory of Politics. In: Findlay, E.: Caring for the Soul in a Postmodern Era: Politics and Phenomenology in Thought of Jan Patocka. New York, State University of New York Press, 2002. pp. 83-120.

–         Tava, F.: Lifeworld, Civilisation, System. Patočka and Habermas on Europe and its Crisis. In: Horizon 5 (1) 2016. I. Research. pp. 70–89.

 

 

 

8. Economic History of Central Europe

Questions and topics: What are the common characteristics of non-market planned Central-European economies? What has happened in a chosen Central-European country since 1989? Show the most important economic indices and significant phenomena!

 

Literature:

–Berend T., Iván – Ránki, György: East Central Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1977. pp. 9-62., 77-102.

–East Central Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. – Powerpoint presentation.

–Economic history of CEU after the WW2. – Powerpoint presentation.

 

 

9. Ethnic and Religious Minorities in Central Europe

Questions and topics: According to R. Brubaker what are the main actors of national minorities in Central Europe. Please describe the role and function of each actors, the multilevel relationships between them. What are the main characteristics of international law on minority protection, and what are most important legal acts of minority protection in Europe? Barriers of definition of national minorities in international law. Please describe the basic principles and elements and goals of European Charter of Regional or Minority Languages and of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Please describe the main characteristics of the relationship between Hungary as a kin-state and the Hungarian communities abroad after 1989, the role and impact of dual citizenship.

 

Literature:

–         Brubaker, Rogers: Nationalism Reframed: Nationhood and the National Question in the New Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

–         Practice of Minority Protection in Central Europe. Eds.: Lantschner, E. – Constantin, S. – Marko, J. Baden, Nomos, 2012.

–         International Protection of Human Rights. Eds.: Vizi, B. – Lattmann, T. Budapest, Nemzeti Közszolgálati Egyetem, 2014.

–         Minority Issues in Europe. Rights, Concepts, Policy. Ed.: Malloy, Tove H. Frank & Timme, 2013.

–         Bárdi, Nándor: Different Images of the Future of the Hungarian Communities in Neighbouring Countries, 1989–2012. In: European Review, 2013. 21(4) pp. 530–552.

–         Papp Z., Attila: Trickster Logics in the Hungarian Dual-Citizenship Offer. In: Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, 2017. 23(1) pp. 18-32.

–         Hungary and the Hungarian minorities. Trends in the past and in our time. Ed.: Szarka, László. Boulder: Social Science Monographs – Atlantic Research and Publications, Inc., 2004. (Atlantic Studies in Society on Change / East European monographs, 122, 657.)

 

 

 

10. Political Culture in Central Europe

Questions and topics: Analyze the specifics of fascist/national socialist politics of inter-war East-Central Europe! Compare how and in what ways the 1956 Hungarian revolution, the 1968 Prague Spring and the Polish Solidarity movement differed from one another? How would you characterize post-communist democracies in Central Europe? (As a case-study you may single out one country, or compare two countries – Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary.)

 

Literature:

–         Kelly, David: The would‐be Führer: General Radola Gajda of Czechoslovakia. In: The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, 1999. 12:3. pp. 163-177.

–         Soddu, Marco: Anti-Semitism in Inter-war Europe: the Cases of Poland & Hungary. In: Foreign Policy Journal, November 26, 2012.

–         Massacres in the last days of the siege of Budapest, 1945.

–         Kürti, László: Cold War happiness. In: De-centering Cold War, 2013.

–         Brown, Scott: Prelude to a Divorce? The Prague Spring as Dress Rehearsal for Czechoslovakia's ‘Velvet Divorce’. In: Europe-Asia Studies, 60:10, 1783-1804.

–         Granville, Johanna: In the Line of Fire: The Soviet Crackdown on Hungary, 1956–1958. In: The Carl Beck Papers, 1998, No. 1307.

–         Kubow, Magdalena: The Solidarity Movement in Poland Its History and Meaning in Collective Memory. In: The Polish Review, Vol. 58. No. 2. 2013.

–         Ekiert, Grzegorz – Kubik, Jan – Vachudova, Milada Anna: Democracy in the Post-Communist World. An Unending Quest? In: East European Politics and Societies, 2007.