Hungarian Studies Newsletter, 1985 (13. évfolyam, 43-46. szám)

1985 / 46. szám

ARTICLES & PAPERS (Continued) terms as folk culture in East Central Europe. That tradition is being formed in the center of the society spreading to the peripheral areas as seen in the case of Hungarian immigrants in North America, who claim to transform “peasants into Hungarians” while continuing the maintenance of their romantic ideas. The author is head of the cultural anthropology work group at the HAS. a

Horvath, Janos. “Economic Reform in Hungary: Role of Plan and Market." The Cato Journal 4:4 (Fall 1984) 511-520.

Hungary has evolved as the most interesting experimental laboratory in terms of managing the nation’s economy. “The road from Stalinist central-plan enforcement to market socialism has been longer than any country traveled in the domain of economic” change. Its deviation from the Soviet bloc economic blueprint “draws its driving momentum from theoretical explorations and empirical testings.” Hungarian economists and policymakers are fully aware of the strenghths and weaknesses of the centrally planned system as well as the theorems of market failures. Further studies could shed more light on this topic, but the lesson for America from the Hungarian economic reform is clear: “The Hungarian experience serves as a reminder that the inherent planning failures far outweigh the inherent market failures.” The author is prof, of economics at Butler U. Q

“20 Years after the Partial Agreement between the Vatican and the Hungarian Government” H.I.S. Press Service (Wien), no. 28 (February 1985).

The unsigned 12-page article presents a historical sketch of the situation before the partial agreement, then analyzes the positive and negative effects of the agreement, emphasizing unresolved matters and the problem of the “ordered conditions." The study concludes with a statement of difficulties in church leadership. In a broader perspective, “The Vatican’s Ostpolitik could not bring about independence for the Hungarian Church, but at least it can create more possibilities of a more intensive engagement in pastoral care.” D

RUMANIAN STUDIES, an International Annual of the Humanities and the Social Sciences. Vol. 1 (1970); Vol. 2 (1971- 1972); Vol. 3 (1973-1975) Vol. 4 (1976-1979). Ed. Keith Hitchins (Dept, of History, U. of Illinois); Assoc, eds.: Philip Eidelberg, U. of South Africa, Pretoria; Michael H. Impey, U. of Kentucky; Richard Todd, Wichita St. U.; Glenn E. Torrey, Emporia St. U.; Corresponding ed.: Paul Simionescu, Inst, of Ethnology and Dialectology, Bucharest. Published by E.J. Brill, P.O. Box 9000, 2300 PA Leiden, The Netherlands. Subscription: Dutch Guilders 64.00 cloth.

The interested student may find on the pages of this scholarly journal numerous articles related to Hungarian society and culture, such asG .E. Torrey’s Rumania’s decision to Intervene: Bratianuand the Entente, June-July 1916, vol. 2, pp. 3-29; Barbara Jelavich’s The Ottoman Empire, the Great Powers and the Legislative and Administrative Union of the Principalities, vol. 2, pp. 48-83, and ibid. The Russian Intervention in Wallachia and Transylvania, September 1848 to March 1849; Paul Schroeder’s Rumaniaandthe Great Powers before 1914, vol. 3, pp. 3-19; K. Hitchins Austria-Hungary, Rumania and the Memorandum 1894, vol. 4, pp. 108-148. The majority of articles are in English, but documents are reprinted in their original French or German. The editor is prof, of history, U. of Illinois, and author of Studies in East European Social History, E.J. Brill, 1977; Orthodoxy and

NO. 46. WINTER, 1985-1986, HUNGARIAN STUDIES NEWSLETTER

Nationality:Andreiu Saguna and the Rumanians of Transylvania, 1846-1873, Harvard U.P., 1977; as well as numerous articles. a

Szendrey, Thomas “Hungarian-American Theatre,” in Ethnic Theatre in the United States, ed. by Maxine Schwartz Seller, Greenwood Press, 1983, pages 191-220.

The author gives an overview of dramatic activity, both professional and amateur in the Hungarian settlements from the mid-19th century to the present. A brief introduction on immigration characteristics is followed by essays on the development of theatrical activity: between 1914 and 1945; since 1945; and brief but useful sections on Hungarian- American dramatic writing and the relationship of Hungarian and American theater. Given the ephemeral nature of most of the theatrical activity, and the almost complete lack of not only the bibliographical control of what might exist (or might have existed at one time), Szendrey has made a major contribution in identifying major trends, specific names and titles. References to newspapers and to oral recollections also enrich the essay. Amateur performances served two major purposes: entertainment and language maintenance. The early plays, reflecting the taste of the audience, were chiefly popular pieces of no great literary merit: in fact, the better plays probably exceeded the talents of the amateur performers themselves. Professional companies, whether touring or permanent as in Detroit, Cleveland, New York, presented more polished productions and sometimes better quality plays. The repertory was generally that of the popular Hungarian stage, taken from Színházi Élet; those written in the U.S. were in the same mold and seldom dealt with the immigrant experience. Once exception cited in several places is The Greenhorn, but its script has been lost. Attempts were made to raise the literary quality of the plays, but these never commanded an audience, and by the 1950 the ethnic theater was in decline. School and scout groups continued to use the medium for language maintenance, but demographic changes and the advent of mass media have generally spelled the end of these productions also. The extensive notes and an annotated bibliography (59 items) add to the value of the work. (E. Molnár- Basa) n

Varsányi, Julius. “Regionalism in Practice; The Ethnoprotective Role of the Semi-Autonomous County System of Historic Hungary.” The International Law Review (Geneva) 63:1 (January-March 1985) 57-91.

The study describes the historical evolution of the Hungarian county system with special emphasis on the northern (Slovak) region of the Carpathian Basin, as well as Slovak- Hungarian relations throughout the centuries. It asserts that the settlement of the Hungarians in the ninth century was twofold in character: the conquered land became eithertribal or regal territory. “The former was the land taken up by one or other of the seven conquering tribes composing the tribal federation and had the character of land community with tribal customary law as the traditional source of justice and tribal rule. The regal territory, on the other hand, was composed of the possessions of the leading Megyer tribe from which the Árpa'd dynasty originated.” This was the larger part of the area, about 2/3 of the total territory. It became the substratum on which the Hungarian county system grew up. The author further discusses the county

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