Studies
Balatoni, Monika
Kuno Klebelsberg and the cradle of cultural diplomacy
One often comes across the name of Kuno Klebelsberg these days, in newly published studies, analyses and biographies, but his quotations appear the most. He is often cited as a cultural politician, a great thinker and a European statesman. A number of institutions have been named after him in the past decade. At the same time, many are the articles that treat the topic superficially, as well as the misquotations made to fit the moment, all evidence that it has become “fashionable” to refer to Klebelsberg’s work. Indeed, there is perhaps a manner of thinking, a vision or a plan that was seeded by Klebelsberg and that some figures in the contemporary cultural or academic sphere wish to bring to fruition or expand. We could say today that he was the first reformer in a number of areas, and the impact of his legacy even today is undeniable. Hungarian institutions abroad remain the cultural ambassadors of Hungary to this day. The historian Gábor Ujváry, a renowned researcher of Klebelsberg’s work, called the talented 20th century politician the Hungarian education and religion minister “with the greatest vision”. And justifiably so, as Klebelsberg was outstanding as both a politician and a man. A genuine, larger-than-life statesman, whose stature in the shaping and restructuring of both cultural and academic life, in the affairs of religion and public education, must be acknowledged.
Katona, András
“The Hungarian dolphin”
Our first Olympic champion, Alfréd Hajós – A multifaceted career
It is a common understanding that we are a sporting nation. This is most clearly demonstrated by the international success of our top sport, especially the remarkable results achieved at the modern Olympic games. Among these is a date in sport history that establishes and shapes our later role: April 11, 1896. On this day, the first swimming competition in Olympic history was organized at the modern games in Athens, a contest won by Alfréd Hajós, triumphing in the classic 100-meter freestyle. Not much later, he won the 1,200-meter race, too, and launched Hungarian aquatic sport on its path of world domination. Let us recall some lesser known facts of interest about him and his impressive career that indicate a life fully lived at 77 years of age. At 18, he was a freestyle champion, but also participated in athletics (running, javelin, pentathlon), then became a player on the national football team, a referee, a team captain, a coach and a journalist, but first he was an outstanding architect. He planned important public facilities, such as swimming pools, stadiums, hospitals and schools. It’s well known that he planned the National Aquatics Complex on Margaret Island that bears his name. This paper seeks to contribute to fostering the memory of Alfréd Hajós, while also paying tribute to the 307 winners of our 181 Olympic medals, with the unashamed intention of advocating a bigger role for sport history in our history teaching.
Latest issues
References from the recent past of our history teaching III.
Pál Engel – Ferenc Szakály – Domokos Kosáry – Ferenc Glatz
Guideline for teaching Hungarian and universal history, part 1
The National History Teachers Conferences, organized in Békásmegyer between 1988 and 1992 marked a change of system for our history teaching. The main organizer and leader was Ferenc Glatz, then director of the Institute of History. The four authors of the present document – Pál Engel, Ferenc Szakály, Domokos Kosáry and Ferenc Glatz – made a commitment in 1989 to put together a review of European and Hungarian history, and include all of the subject matter that would be desirable for a Hungarian citizen with a secondary school education to know. From this endeavor was born the Hungarians in Europe series of books. In 1992, the four authors – acting on their earlier commitment – produced an outline, a teaching aid in which those concepts, facts and basic connections were condensed into a single notebook that teachers could use as a “Guideline” in the course of teaching and that could be effectively used for students taking school-leaving and university admissions exams in history. Among the participants at the 5th National History Teachers Conference, in 1992, many presented their comments with regard to the material, and the authors took those into consideration when writing the revision, although they did not make substantial changes to the original text. We present this revised text, published in 1993, to our fellow teachers again, as a great deal of time has passed and printed copies are hard to come by, even though it can be extremely useful and instructive today, too. In this issue, we publish the curriculum recommendations, up to the year 1867, of Pál Engel, Ferenc Szakály and Domokos Kosáry.
Workshop
Tölgyessy, Zsuzsanna
Issues of history teaching to be addressed – factors to consider for an examination of documents related to history instruction in grades 5-6
Pedagogical research must meet the same requirements as every other scientific research, but there is one significant particularity: pedagogical research always starts with practice and returns there, too. This paper takes into account the factors for examining documents, textbooks and teaching aids, and offers a sample analysis of a chapter from a 5th grade textbook. The practical utility of this is that confronting dilemmas of history teaching can contribute to the more precise work of history teachers.
Kasza, Nikoletta
Out-of-the-ordinary remembrance of 1956 (Appendix: Teaching aid)
Pedagogical concept for the modernisation of school commemorations
How can one drum up interest in school commemorations among students? What opportunities are there to establish personal connections between students and historical events that happened long ago? How can one move beyond the current political position and discourse over remembrance through a personal narrative? How can schools contribute to promoting the undertaking of processing the past? – These questions are the focus of my study and I will address them through a pedagogical concept prepared to process the 1956 Revolution and Freedom Fight, after a review of theoretical and practical basics. The theoretical foundation of the concept is a processing of the past that is at the intersection of several areas of research, among which I relied mainly on elements of memory of the kind described by Aleida and Jan Assmann, trauma memory, and performance and drama analysis approaches when developing the idea. The choice of topic was motivated in part by the significant and changing position of the 1956 Revolution in the collective memory as well as the problematic assessment from the point of view of politics of memory.
