International Interregional Research Centre for Social History and Ethnology | Doctoral School of History and Ethnology

International Interregional Research Centre for Social History and Ethnology
 

Welcome Message

In 2014, the Rector’s Council of the University of Debrecen approved the establishment of the International Interregional Research Centre for Social History and Ethnology. In addition to historians and ethnographers from Debrecen, the Centre’s members include researchers from Berehove, Cluj-Napoca, and Prešov, based on cooperation agreements. Some of these colleagues were founding members, while others have joined in recent years. Researchers from institutions in Berettyóújfalu, and interested students from the Doctoral School of History and Ethnology also joined our research community.

The Research Centre was created to organise thematic and regional conferences, to contribute to book publishing, to participate in joint research projects, and, to play an active role in fostering inter-institutional relations together with the Doctoral School. We present the profiles of our current members on our website, offering information on their research interests and major publications. Their professional CVs and complete lists of publications can facilitate the establishment of further scholarly collaborations. In recent years, we have conducted intensive research within the framework of two OTKA (Hungarian Scientific Research Fund) projects, the most significant publications and results of which are also made available here.

Our virtual exhibition, entitled “Speaking Sources on the Aristocracy”, is recommended both to researchers and to all those interested in the topic.

Mission Statement

The University Research Centre established under this document is committed to bringing together university lecturers, academic researchers, and practicing professionals engaged in international social history and ethnographic studies, primarily in the regions represented by the founding members and institutions, building on the decades-long international and interregional cooperation of the Institute of History at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Debrecen. Its mission is to unite the intellectual resources present in the related academic disciplines on the basis of interdisciplinarity, in order to enhance the quality and effectiveness of teaching and research activities. In accordance with the science policy strategy adopted by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) in 2005, the Centre also aims to operate as a regional research network hub. It is dedicated to integrating into the international academic sphere of social history and ethnographic research the University of Debrecen and its Faculty of Humanities, the Department of History and Social Sciences and the Tivadar Lehoczky Institute of the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College in Berehove, the Institute of Hungarian History at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, the Transylvanian Museum Society, and the Institute of History at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Prešov.

Objectives

In accordance with the Mission Statement, the members of the Centre define the following objectives:

• To coordinate research in the fields of social history and ethnography.
• To identify, collect, and digitise primary sources, create databases, and make them accessible in multiple languages.
• To provide a regular forum for sharing research results through annual conferences held at alternating locations and scholarly workshops.
• To integrate research findings into the Faculty’s Hungarian and foreign-language educational programmes.
• To write reviews of publications and scholarly achievements related to the research areas for the journal Klió.
• To provide and promote opportunities for publication.
• To establish and maintain further domestic and international partnerships.
• To participate in national and international grant applications.