Az Eszterházy Károly Tanárképző Főiskola Tudományos Közleményei. 1994. [Vol. 2.] Eger Journal of American Studies. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 22)

STUDIES - Lehel Vadon: László Országh, the Founder of American Studies in Hungary.

of the literary events and the concise logic of his treatment of the topic as well.'

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0 The complementary volume to the The History of American Literature, titled An Introduction to American Studies,

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1 is a "philological first-aid"

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2 to college students, university teachers, and researchers interested in this increasingly popular discipline. Having outlined his objective and defined the scope of American Studies, Országh devoted separate chapters to American history, literature, elements of American civilization (including education, library science, cultural foundations, entertainment and public-opinion shaping factors, fine arts, music, philosophy, and religion), American English, and folklore. The two longest chapters of the Introduction deal with the literature of the United States and the question of American English. The book concentrates on bibliographic data providing comprehensively instructive and abundant yet critically selective information complemented by written text While the bibliographies contain mostly works written in English, where needed the author includes the most important German, French, Italian, and Russian achievements along with the notable efforts of Hungarian scholars as well. "László Országh's Introduction is not only an important and welcome scholarly reference book but one of the landmarks in the history of American Studies in Hungary contributing to more systematic, profound, and thorough study of this discipline."

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3 The History of American Literature and An Introduction to American Studies are significant contributions to a program announced by Országh in 1965 in the Hungarian Studies in English. In his pamphlet-like study, A 1

0 Péter Egri, "Országh László irodalomtörténeti munkásságáról," [= On László Országh's Life-work in the History of Literature.l Filológiai Tanulmányoki—3 (1984): 314. 1

1 László Országh, Bevezetés az amerikanisztikába [= An Introduction to American Studies.] (Budapest Tankönyvkiadó, 1972) 192 pp. 1

2 Péter Egri, "Országh László irodalomtörténeti munkásságáról," f= On László Országh's Life-work in the History of Literature.] Filológiai Tanulmányok 2—3 (1984): 315. — Péter Egri, "Országh László 1907—1984," Irodalomtörténet 3 (1984): 793. László Kéry, rev. of Bevezetés az amerikanisztikába, [= An Introduction to American Studies.] by László Országh, Magyar Tudomány 7—8 (1973): 549. 147