The aim of this course is to give you an opportunity to explore certain aspects of Hungarian attitudes, thinking and cultural traditions. The notion and scope of "culture" being nearly all-encompassing and to a large extent also very individual, what this course can claim is to trace basic trends and themes, as well as to highlight the figures and works of some of the most outstanding representatives of Hungarian history and politics, literature, music, film and fine art. With the twentieth century in our focus, an essential context for the works discussed will be the historical one, serving more as a background and starting point in class discussions. You will also be encouraged to take advantage of learning about Hungarian culture "live", and, depending on interest, our program will include visits to the Opera, the National Gallery or the National Theatre/ Palace of Arts.
Classes will be run basically in a seminar form, with lectures reduced to a necessary minimum. Besides, you will also be invited to contribute with short presentations that are related and relevant to the actual topic of the class. In the syllabus, you will find the possible themes for these presentations marked with an asterisk *.
During the term, you will be required toCourse evaluation will be based on the following criteria:
Preparation - participation 30 %
Midterm paper 20%
Art project 20 %
Final project 30 %
Response papers will not be graded but taken note of
Mini-presentations will be acknowledged in "Participation"
Attendance is mandatory - more than 3 absences will result in failing the class.
HUC - Planned program:
Will be distributed in class!