Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1981 (9. évfolyam, 27-30. szám)

1981 / 27-28. szám

MEETINGS (Continued)

cosponsored bytheCzechsoslovak History Conference, was on The Eve of Reform: The Czech and Hungarian Lands in the Year of Joseph ll's Accession to the Throne. Chaired by George Bárány (U. of Denver), it contained papers by Bela K. Király (Brooklyn Coll.), George Svopoda (U. of California, Berkley), Herman Freudenberger (Tulane U.), and William Wright (U. of Minnesota). In addition to these two panels, Hungarian topics and presentations were many. On a panel of the performing arts in Eastern Europe, Ivan Sanders (Suffolk County Community Coll.) spoke on the Hungarian Grotesque — The Plays of István Örkény. Stanko Guldescu (FayettsvilleSt.CoM.) presented a paper on Croatian- Magyar Relations During the 1830s and 1840s on a panel on the Illyrian movement in Croatia. In the framework of a panel concerned with the teaching of East European languages, Martha Pereszlényi Printer spoke of the strategies and materials for the teaching of Hungarian. On a panel on policy making and technology, Ivan Volgyes (U. of Nebraska) presented the Hungarian case. On a panel of economic and political dimensions of Habsburg policy, Scott Eddie (U. of Toronto) spoke on Austro-Hungarian Foreign Policy and the Structure of Foreign Trade, 1878-1914, and John Komlos (Aurora Coll.) on The Export of Human Capital from the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy 1867-1913. Andrew Ludanyi’s (Ohio Northern U.) topic was on The Magyars in Transylvania in a session concerned with national minorities in contempary Europe. n

The Fifth International Finno-Ugrian Congress took place at Turku, Finland in August 1980. Elemer Bako, Finno-Ugrian area specialist of the Library Congress described the holdings and services in the Finno-Ugrian area. The participants constituted themselves an International Committee for Finno- Ugrian Librarianship and appointed Esko Hakli, chief librarian of the Helsinki U. Library, as head of the executive group. The objectives of the new organization are the development of international programs for cooperation among libraries, other institutions and individuals interested in ethnolinguistics in the Finno-Ugrian area. Elemer Bako was elected representative for the English-speaking countires. Following the congress, Bako visited libraries and other institutions in Finland and Sweden. E

The Hungarian Discussion Group of the Modern Language Association held its meeting in Houston, Texas on December 28, 1980. The topic, HUNGARIAN LITERATURE IN TRANSLATION, was approached through three works representing prose, poetry, and drama. Juliette Victor-Rood (U. of Colorado, Boulder) gave a perceptive reading of the meaning under the surface of Tibor Déry’s Niki, the Story of a Dog, emphasizing the author’s plea for humanism in an era of terror. Steven C. Scheer (St. Meinard Coll.) discussed some of the concerns of contemporary Hungarian poetry as seen through the selection in Modern Hungarian Poetry, an anthology edited by Miklós Vajda and published jointly by Corvina and Columbia U.P. Scheer also evaluated the translation, finding it to be among the most successful in an area where even acceptable translations have been few. Thomas R. Mark (Colorado St. U.) spoke on The Tragedy of A Man as a challenge to translators, giving not only an interpretation of the Tragedy with full reference to the best scholarship on this subject, but also his own theory of translation. His comments on the shortcomings of earlier translations, and his sample of passages were illustrative and presented a basis for dis-12

MISCELLANEOUS

HUNGARIAN STUDIES, SUMMER 1981. An intensive (full immersion) Hungarian studies program will be held in Ada, Ohio from June 15 to July 25. Courses offered will include language, composition, conversation, history, politics, and culture of Hungarian society. Participants can obtain 12 to 15 college credits from Portland State University for the six weeks and 2 additional credits for the week of July 26 to August 2, to be spent in field research at Toledo, Ohio. Tuition is $325 for the six weeks and $25 for the field trip. Housing will be availableat Ohio Northern University. Interested persons may write to Prof. Andrew Ludanyi, Dept, of History and Pol. Sc., Ohio Northern University, Ada, OH 45810. □

LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE AND LANGUAGE SHIFT: The Case of Spanish (and other minority languages) in the U.S. in general sociolinguistic perspective, is the topic of an NEH seminar, to be directed by Joshua A. Fishman, Yeshiva U. Participants are teachers in humanities departments that do not offer doctoral work. Twelve participants will receive $2,500 stipends for the eight-week period between June 22 and August 14, 1981. Though the selection process was closed on April 15, those wanting more information may write to Joshua A. Fishman, Yeshiva U., Ferkauf Graduate School, 55 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10003. □

IREX-KKI renewed agreement. Rudolf Rónai, president, and Gábor Drexler, deputy head of a dept, in the Inst, for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (KKI) visited New York in October 1979 and signed a new two-year agreement for 1979-1981 between IREX and the KKI. The latter was abolished in the fall of 1980, and at the time of this writing it was not clear who or what government office assumed its responsibilities. □

The CARPATHIAN OBSERVER is a semi-annual publication devoted to reporting on nationality problems in the Carpathian Basin, caused by the complex ethnic matrices and post-World War I partitioning of the region. Founded (1973) and edited by Louis L. Lote (P.O. Box 3869, Rochester, NY 14610), and published by the Committee of Transylvania, Inc. (1542 Belle Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44107), the Carpathian Observer researches, gathers, and disseminates information mainly on the struggle for cultural survival of the Hungarian minority in Transylvania. It also reports on other minorities, their rights or curtailment of same, on human rights issues in general, on political, economic, and social matters in the broader area of the Carpathian-Middle Danubian Basin. The Carpathian Observer occasionally publishes topical special issues, one of which is reviewed in the book section of this issue, on page 5. (Continued on Page 13) □

cussion. In the business part of the meeting Steven C. Scheer was elected to the Board, Anna Katona moved into the chairman position, and Juliette Victor-Rood remained secretary. The 1981 meeting (in New York) will discuss “Satire in Hungarian Literature;” the 1982 meeting (in Los Angeles) will discuss Hungarian immigrant (ethnic) literature, including sociological aspects of the work produced by immigrants; and the 1983 meeting (New York) will take up the topic of books publihsed on Hungarian literature in the Twayne series. Any person interested in these programs should contact Anna Katona (Coll, of Charleston, S.C.) or Juliette Victor-Rood (U. of Colorado, Boulder). □

NO. 27-28, SPRING, 1981 HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER