Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1979 (7. évfolyam, 19-22. szám)
1979 / 19-20. szám
MEETINGS Marta Fekete (Hungarian School, Chicago). Papers were presented by Adam Makkai (U. of Illinois at Chicago Circle) on "Bilingualism, Language, Society, and the Brain;” Giselle Friedrichs (Baton Rouge) on “Hungarian Language Instruction in the Public Schools; an Experiemnt in Albany, Louisiana;” Lajos Jokay (Chicago) on “Bilingualism: The Parent’s Viewpoint;” and Zsuzsanna Tomory (Wilmette, Illinois) on “Bilingualism: The Teacher’s Viewpoint.” ‘5’ LITERATURE, chaired by Karoly Nagy (Middlesex Coll, and Rutgers U.). Three Hungarian poets presented papers on issues of contemporary literature: Sándor András (Howard U.), József Bakucz (Mount Vernon, New York) and Elemer Horvath (Mahopac, New York). There was a WORKSHOP FOR HUNGARIAN WEEKEND SCHOOL TEACHERS chaired by Marta Fekete (Hungarian School, Chicago); a WORKSHOP ON MODERN METHODS IN THE HUMANITIES, chaired by Peter Basa (National Institutes of Health); a business meeting of the Association; an evening of Hungarian folkdance and music, and a closing banquet for which Bela C. Maday was the guest speaker on “The Disinterested Search for Truth.” □ A special session on Shakespeare in Hungary was held at the annual meeting of the Modern Language Association in New York City on December 28, 1978. Enikő" Molnár Basa (Library of Congress) opened the session with remarks on Shakespearean translations and criticism in Hungary since the 18th century. Anna Katona (Coll, of Charleston) then spoke on self-censorship and Shakespearean criticism, pointing out that such censorship poses special dilemmas and leads to contradictions and distortions. To conform to Marxist standards, great literature must be realistic and concerned with issues in a social context. In the case of Shakespearean criticism, such restrictions can distort the interpretation of the plays to the point of denying universal values in the dramas. Far too much of Shakespeare defies compression into the socialist-realist mold, and thus while Hungarian Marxist critics have achieved remarkable results in Shakespearean criticism, they often seem to be caught in this trap. / Steven C. Scheer (St. Meinrad Coll.) analyzed two of Agnes Heller’s essays. One of these, dealing with the problem of knowing human nature in Shakespeare’s world and based on the dialectic between the passing of the medieval world order and the coming of the Renaissance, is an interesting source of new insights; the other, an attack on the possibility of a religious interpretation of Shakespeare, demonstrates the limitations of pre-judqements in literary criticism. Dalma H. Brunauer (Clarkson Coll.) spoke of Dezső' Kosztolányid appraisal of Shakespeare in a series of essays written during the critic’s lifetime. She gave extensive and informative quotations from the work of the Hungarian poet and translator of Shakespeare, touching on many aspects of the collection, but emphasizing in particular Kosztola'nyi’s ability to popularize the English dramatist. Several recent experimental performances of Shakespeare in Hungary were described by Kent Bales (U. of Minnesota, Twin Cities), who pointed out that performances of the work of a naturalized classic writer such as Shakespeare in Hungary allows for innovation which neither a native classic nor a new play would be able to support. The texts of the papers are on deposit at the Folger Shakespeare Library and the Library of Congress. Plans were made for the 1979 Special Session to be devoted NO. 19-20, 1979, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER to modem (20th Century) Hungarian literature and chaired by Anna Katona and Ivan Sanders. The petition for the establishing of a discussion group on Hungarian literature was presented to the discussants and audience, and in due course has been submitted to the MLA Program Committee. □ A Symposium on Transylvania, sponsored by the American Hungarian Educators’ Assoc., the American Hungarian Foundation, and the Conference Bureau of Kent State U. was held on May 18-19, 1979. Issues related to the past and present of Transylvania and its people, were discussed in four panels. PANEL I concentrated on Transylvanian history during the 19th century. Chaired by James B. Gldney (Kent St. U.) it included papers by Paul Body (Steubenville, Ohio) on “The Hungarian Revival and the Rumanian-Hungarian Issue, 1840-1870;” István Deák (Columbia U.) on “The Revolution of 1848-1849 in Transylvania and Polarization of National Destinies;” Joseph Held (Rutgers U.) on “The Intersection of Class and Nationality Conflicts in Transylvania: The Horia-Klosca Revolt.” Papers were commented on by Steven B. Vardy (Duquesne U.) Edsel W. Stroup (U. of Akron), and Gerald J. Bobango (Romanian-American Heritage Center). PANEL II discussed the literary heritage of Transylvania. Papers were presented under the chairmanship of Larry R. Andrews (Kent St. U.): Louis J. Eiteto (Portland St. U.) on "Reformation Literature and Its Impact on the National Consciousness of Transylvanian Hungarians, Saxons, and Rumanians;” George Bisztray (U. of Toronto) on “ ‘Leave if You Can:’ Major Dilemmas of the Inter-War Period;" and Karoly Nagy (Middlesex County Coil.) on “Social Commentary in Transylvanian Hungarian Literature After World War II.” Commentary were by Adam Makkai (U. of Illinois) and Agnes Huszar (Robert Morris Coll.). PANEL III dealt with international relations and the future of Transylvania. Chaired by Lawrence S. Kaplan (Kent St. U.) it included papers from Peter Pastor (Montclair St. Coll.) on “The Transylvanian Question in War and Revolution.” Stephen Fischer-Galati (U. of Colorado) on “The Great Powers and the Fate of Transylvania Between the Two Wars;” and Stephen Kertész (U. of Notre Dame) on "From the Second Vienna Award to Paris: Transylvania and Hungarian- Rumanian Relations During World War II.“ Commenting were István Szent-MIklosy (Queens Coll. CUNY) and James F. Clarke (U. of Pittsburgh). PANEL IV concentrated on contemporary Transylvania. Chaired by Robert W. Clawson (Kent St. U.) the papers included Andrew Ludanyi’s (Ohio Northern U.) “Ideology and Political Culture in Rumania: National Self-Definition and the ‘Place’ of Minorities;” Paul Jonas’s (U. of New Mexico) “Economic Development in Rumania and the Fate of the National Minorities in Transylvania;" Elemer lllyes’s (Munich) "Education and National Minorities in Contemporary Rumania;” and Bulcsu Veress’s (Columbia U.) "The Status of Minority rights in Transylvania: International Legal Expectations and Rumanian Realities.” Comments were offered by Janos Horvath (Butler U.) and Paul S. Underwood (Ohio St. U.). Dinner speaker was BelaK. Király (Brooklyn Coll., CUNY) on “Transylvania: Concept of Liberty and the Reality of Oppression.” □ Paul R. Magocsi’s The Shaping of a National Identity; Subcarpathian Rus’, 1848-1948 (Harvard U. Press, 1978; to be reviewed in the next issue of the HSN), was the subject of a (Continued on page 12) 11
