Hungarian Literature, Cinema and Art

Course summary

This course is designed to offer a comprehensive introduction to Hungarian culture through some representative literary and art works. Students will be acquainted with some of the most fascinating manifestations of Hungarian art and will be invited to look into the social and historical circumstances under which they were created. Participants of the course will read short stories and poems by renowned Hungarian authors in English translation and will watch and discuss the most influential and captivating movies of the past few decades. Representative works of Hungarian painting, photography, and music will also be integrated in the investigation, and some of the emblematic sites of Hungarian culture in Budapest will be visited to give a wide range of perspectives. While the course is designed to reveal art against the backdrop of historical and social processes, the discussions will also explore the internal world of art and the ways in which works are constructed and linked. Ethical and aesthetic questions raised by the works will be highlighted as well. Besides, placing the literary texts and films into relevant regional and European contexts will contribute to their deeper understanding. The joint examination of the autonomous yet interconnected art forms – literature, cinema, the fine arts, and music – and the combination of theory and practice will enable students to immerse in aspects of Hungarian culture and explore the culture of a Central European nation.

Course period

21 July- 03 August

Credits

Our course recommends 5 ECTS points, which may be accepted for credit transfer by the participants' home universities. Those who wish to obtain these credits should inquire about the possible transfer at their home institution prior to their enrollment. The International Strategy Office will send a transcript to those who have fulfilled all the necessary course requirements and request one.

Application deadline

30 May 2025 (max. 15- 20 participants)

Course fee

590 EUR; includes: tuition fee, course materials, meals (coffee break and lunch), local transport, opening ceremony and the cost of the leisure time programs, excursions

Course requirements

At least level B2 (CEFR) English proficiency

Application

Application form: https://www.elte.hu/en/content/.f.679

Meet the lecturers

János Kenyeres is Director and Associate Professor at the School of English and American Studies (SEAS) of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE), Budapest. From 2005 to 2008, he was a visiting professor at the University of Toronto, where he taught Hungarian literature, cinema and cultural studies. He held this position again in March-April 2015 and in 2018-2019. His research explores the comparative aspects of Hungarian literature and film, focusing on twentieth-century and contemporary works, with an emphasis on the impact of multiculturalism on the arts.

Katalin Szlukovényi is a senior lecturer at the Department of English Studies at Eötvös Loránd University. She received her MAs in English and Hungarian, and her PhD in English and American Literature. The Hungarian book version of her dissertation in English on irony, self-irony, and humour in 20th century Jewish American fiction was published under the title Kétkedők (2018). Currently, she is doing research on the Hungarian-born English poet and translator George Szirtes read in a transcultural framework. Apart from her academic career, she also works as an award-winning poet, editor, and literary translator.

Course Syllabus

Highlights of Hungarian Literature, Cinema and Art

22 July – 1 August 2025

Tuesday 22 July, János Kenyeres

An Introduction to Hungarian History and Culture

9:00-10:30 Introduction and discussion of themes, assignments and assessment
11:00-12:30 An overview of Hungarian history and culture 1: literature and cinema
13:30-15:00 An overview of Hungarian history and culture 2: graphic art and music

Thursday 24 July, János Kenyeres

History and the Individual

9:00-10:30 The 20th century as family history on film
11:00-12:30 Home and abroad: short stories between the two World Wars
13:30-15:00 Classics and modernists: individual resistance in poetry and short fiction between the two World Wars

Friday 25 July, János Kenyeres

History and Ethics

9:00-10:30 “The Happiest Barrack”: the Socialist period in film
11:00-12:30 Tyranny versus love: post-World War II short fiction and poetry
13:30-15:00 Urban history: walking around Szabadság tér, a space filled with diverse Hungarian cultural memories

Tuesday 29 July, Katalin Szlukovényi

Musical Motifs from Hungarian Folk Tradition to Contemporary Culture

· 9:00-10:30 The beginnings of the national cultural canon
· 11:00-12:30 The genre of the ballad in music and literature
· 13:30-15:00 Folk tradition in contemporary education

Thursday 31 July, Katalin Szlukovényi

Communities and Conflicts in Mid-20th Century Hungary

· 9:00-10:30 Jewish culture in Hungary
· 11:00-12:30 Representations of World War II in poetry, fiction, and film
· 13:30-15:00 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and its aftermath

Friday 1 August, Katalin Szlukovényi

Male and Female Points of View After the Change of the Regime in 1989

· 9:00-10:30 Social challenges after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc
· 11:00-12:30 Minority issues in Central-Eastern Europe
· 13:30-15:00 The female body and feminist voices