Diversität ist ein zentrales Stichwort unserer Zeit, das Einzug in die wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzung mit (historischen) Migrationsphänomenen und deren Folgen gehalten hat. Dies gilt auch für die Geschichte der Zwangsmigration der deutschsprachigen Bevölkerung aus dem östlichen Europa infolge des Zweiten Weltkriegs, welche die sog. Heimatvertriebenen und die „Aufnahmegesellschaften“ vor große, u.a. die „Integration“ betreffende Herausforderungen stellte. Ausgehend von einer kritischen Lektüre eines geschichtswissenschaftlich fundierten Debattenbeitrags zur Bewertung der Integrationsgeschichte der deutschen Vertriebenen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland reflektiert der Artikel die Frage, inwiefern sich aus dieser Geschichte Orientierungspunkte für aktuelle Debatten über ein gesellschaftliches Selbstverständnis im Zeichen von Diversität ableiten lassen.

Montenegro is a country with a valuable and long tradition of everything related to life, especially death. Posthumous culture is remarkably detailed and significant for the people, most importantly in the earlier period when it represented the only foundation that held society together in difficult historical moments. This type of partially morbid way of self-expression of people has its roots in the deep and troubled past, often difficult and cruel to the inhabitants of Montenegro. The attention was pointed at the many traditional aspects, unwritten rules, and customs different from place to place, but in general, preserving the same function. From the type of clothes for the deceased, the eulogies uttered at the gravesite, to the male and female roles at the commemorations – the article handles the typical funeral processes. The aim of this paper is to acquaint the reader with the manner of behaviour of the Montenegrins towards the phenomenon that occurs when a person in the community dies and how a typical family handles the situation. For the sake of the research, interviews with two subjects providing their own perspectives were conducted. The significance of the study is personified by the sometimes contradictory stances of the people on death and the inevitable merging of secular and religious life.

Die Minderheitengruppen hinterlassen ihre Spuren im Kulturleben der Städte und eine wichtige Aufgabe der Wissenschaft ist es, diese Spuren aufzuspüren und zu dokumentieren. Die Bildung ethnischer Gemeinschaften aus Eigeninitiative wird intensiv erforscht und die ethnischen Gruppen spielen eine immer größere Rolle in der Repräsentation der Städte. Die vorliegende Studie gibt einen kurzen Einblick in eine Forschungsarbeit, die ein Beispiel der ethnischen Gemeinschaftsorganisation im urbanen Raum einer Großstadt zeigt und dokumentiert. Im Mittelpunkt dieser Forschungsarbeit steht eine informelle Gruppe der Ungarn in Berlin, der Berliner Szalon, der schon auf eine 50jährige Geschichte zurückblickt. Nach einem kurzen Exkurs über die Geschichte der Salonkultur in Berlin werden die historischen Wurzeln des Berliner Szalons beschrieben. Im zweiten Teil dieser Studie werden einige Ergebnisse einer Online-Befragung im Publikum des Berliner Szalons dargestellt. Wichtige Zielsetzung der Datenerhebung war, die Motivationsfaktoren und Attitüde der Salongäste beim Besuch der Salonabende zu ermitteln und die Meinung des Publikums über die Salonveranstaltungen herauszufinden.

My work focuses on the different patterns of experiencing strangeness. Based on my ethnographic fieldwork in Beregdéda, Transcarpathia, Ukraine, I try to reflect on why the articulation of strangeness becomes necessary, and how does the appearance of the stranger modify, erode, rebuild or create symbolic boundaries between the Hungarian-Ukrainian-Gypsy ethnic groups living together. At the time of the fieldwork, in spring 2015, the Ukrainian-Russian war conflict provided a breeding ground for stereotypical perceptions of ethnicity, while the appearance of the stranger tourist also led to the strengthening of the relationship between Ukrainians, Hungarians and Gypsies in the local society, and to the formation of a united front. The understanding of the stranger is constantly changing in line with the various regional and global cultural and economic processes and is formulated with individual interests in mind.

There are numerous obstacles to the advancement of Roma young people coming from disadvantaged social environments. Among these, the phenomenon that can be described by the expression köztes kitettség [verbatim: intermediate exposure] stands out. Social integration is an integration/assimilation practice complying with majority norms, which also means moving away from the values of one’s own local environment.

According to the experience gained from research conducted on this topic, there are a lot of Roma young people who are trapped between two “societies” – their own sociocultural environment and the majority environment – and, consequently, find themselves in a special situation. The aim of this study is to shed light on the general context and the social significance of the phenomenon described above through recording field experiences and applying case analyses.

Der Artikel konstatiert zunächst, dass der historische Habsburgerstaat des endenden 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhunderts, der in seiner Staatsauffassung die ethnische Diversität ausdrücklich befürwortet und gepflegt hatte, in wichtigen geschichtswissenschaftlichen Darstellungen der Gegenwart nun wieder eine wohlwollende Deutung erfährt. Dies ist deshalb bemerkenswert, weil die späte Habsburgermonarchie nach 1919 bis um 2000 wie ein failed state beurteilt worden war. Er untersucht dann anhand der berühmten und populär adressierten Landeskunde „Die österreichisch-ungarische Monarchie in Wort und Bild“ (des so genannten „Kronprinzenwerks“, 1891-1902), wie diese Befürwortung der ethnischen Diversität historisch formuliert wurde. Insbesondere geht es um die Herausarbeitung der Argumente, mit denen die Stärke des pluriethnischen und plurikulturellen Habsburgerreiches generell begründet werden sollte. Außerdemwerden drei konkrete Beschreibungsbeispiele aus der Landeskunde ausgewählt, in denen bestimmte Ethnien und Regionen erkennbar positiv dargestellt wurden: die Ruthenen in Galizien, die Serben sowie die Deutschen („Schwaben“) in Südungarn. Es wird gezeigt, dass in Teilen der gegenwärtigen Europäischen Union eine frappant ähnliche Argumentation der Befürwortung ethnischer Diversität in einem gemeinsamen sozialökonomischen Verbund vorgetragen wird. Herausragendes Beispiel ist hier die Rede des französischen Präsidenten Emmanuel Macron 2017 an der Sorbonne-Universität.

Der vorliegende Artikel befasst sich mit der kritischen Ananlyse der ausgewählten Grimms Märchen im Zusammenhang mit Sozialdarwinismus. Zunächst wird einen kurzen Überblick über den Begriff und seinen historischen Hintergrund zur Verfügung gestellt. Des Weiteren beschäftigt sich dieser Artikel mit verschiedenen Ideen, die die DenkerInnen des Sozialdarwinismus im Laufe der Zeit verwendet und präsentiert haben. Danach wird der Artikel den Zusammenhang zwischen Sozialdarwinismus und Grimms Märchen darstellen. Des Weiteren werde wir die ausgewählten Märchen ein nach dem anderen im Kontext von Sozialdarwinismus betrachten. Die zur Analyse herangezogenen Märchen der Gebrüder Grimm umfassen: Der Fuchs und die Katze, Der Wolf und der Fuchs, Der Zaunkönig und der Bär. Die ausgewählten Märchen werden in diesem Artikel durch die Linse der theriozentrisch-animalistischen Perspektive betrachtet, da die anthropozentrische Leseart Märchentiere nur im Bezug auf den ‘Charaktermasken menschlicher Eigenschaften‘ zur Verfügung stellt, werden daher die Märchentiere zum ‚Verschwinden‘ gezwungen.  Dieser Artikel argumentiert, dass Grimms Märchen Antithese zu Überleben des Stärkeren sind.

My study will discuss the Hungarian public education system, more specifically, the knowledge about and the measurement of the concept of geographical areas as they appear in the subject Hon- és népismeret [approximately: Our Homeland and Its People(s)] in the Hungarian primary education system. The cultural landscape formed by human activity is an important part of Hon- és népismeret education, which also includes knowledge of spatiality, ethnographic geographical areas and maps.

In my research, I was interested what students taking Hon- és népismeret courses think and know about geographical areas; moreover, if they can use maps and place major Hungarian and ethnographic geographical areas (provinces) on blind maps. In my search, I have conducted a survey among students learning Hon- és népismeret in primary schools in Debrecen with the aim of measuring their knowledge of geographical areas and ethnographic geographical areas, especially related to the use of maps. So, in my study, I present all the tasks of the survey and the students’ answers. Furthermore, I describe the method used during the survey and the data processing.

The Ecsed Swamp was formed in the New Holocene Era in the lowest areas of Nyírség and Szatmár Plains. Besides the protective nature of the swamp, it was a significant source of livelihood for the local population – loach fish collecting (csikász), bird hunting and egg collecting (pákász) were the main occupations of the “swamp people”. The Ecsed Swamp, which once covered almost 432 km2 was drained at the end of the 19th century that caused significant changes in everyday life and farming. The inhabitants of the so-called “Loach land” (Csíkország) tried to dig up and cultivate marshy areas even before the drainage. Burning, cutting and cleaning were already known among the swamp people, since this was the only way to carry out farming activities in this area. In their frustration the swamp people effected by the drainage tried to obtain land for cultivation. They worked on the lands purchased by the Károlyi noble family. More prosperous ones also built farms on the border of the neighbouring villages, thus the process of homesteading began. In the 21st century, the cultivation of agricultural land in the area of former swamps is causing significant problems since water shortage is now characteristic towhole Europe. Reedfires in the former swamp areais a phenomenon that exists to this day. With the transformation of landscape and ways of farming and living, the need to apply different economic strategies arose, which I will discuss t in my research study with case studies from the 19th and 21st centuries.

Our memory is largely shaped by the way we look at the peoples currently living within the Carpathian Basin. Once a well-known tobacco-growing village in Historic Hungary, Torda (also known as Torontáltorda in Hungarian) is now a dispersed settlement with a Hungarian ethnic majority located in the Banat region of Vojvodina, Serbia.

The shifting of national borders, the two World Wars, the events of the Yugoslav Wars and migratory movements have collectively changed and decimated the lives of Hungarians who had found themselves outside their motherland’s borders after the 1920s.

In spite of the decline in population, the emigration of young people, and the everyday struggles resulting from hard living conditions, this village in the Central Banat district could attract further socio-ethnographic interest. In the micro-communities of rural settlements, education and religion play a key role in creating social value, maintaining Hungarian culture in the area and forming a national, local sense of identity within the community. Commemorative rituals, local traditions and national holidays often cross each others’ paths and blend together through education and religion, highlighting the reality and cultural values of the community, as well as the array of connections between community life and ethnic culture. This study discusses Torda’s present in the light of social change and the process of cultural mapping, touching on the importance of the local cultural association in the community’s life. This study also explores the events of the past few decades that have left a deep imprint on the micro-community’s life in a cultural, social and ethnic sense.

Although the main goal of language revitalization is keeping a language alive, the expression of ethnic identity and belonging is not exclusively limited to the linguistic phenomenon. In the case of Vilamovians – a small ethnic group living in the town of Wilamowice on the border of Upper Silesia and Lesser Poland, language revitalization has been supported by a group of people wearing the Vilamovian folk dress. This was accompanied by greater engagement of young people learning the Wymysorys language as well to other elements of Vilamovian culture, including the folk dress. In this case revitalization does not mean copying old patterns, but reviving its importance for local community. The Vilamovian folk dress is not limited to the costume of local dance ensemble, it is crucial for ethnic belonging of Vilamovians. The patterns, styles or words (in the case of the language) were less important for them. The reconstructed elements or even whole sets of dress, e.g. the mourning dress, different types of wedding dress and the whole male dress do differ from the historical ones. The ethnographers should not criticize this situation, as it used to be in the past, but focus on their choices and motivations connected to their ethnic belonging. In this text, I have tried to show that the reconstruction/revitalization of a folk dress could proceed in a specific way if combined with language revitalization.

This paper work is a very brief presentation that brings the reader into the front of the most important open-air museums from Romania and tries to emphasize the value of their identity. This work is, in fact, a presentation of an extensive doctoral program, after which we will publish a book, and we hope that we will be able to develop certain topics right in the pages of the journal Ethnographica et Folkloristica Carpathica. The quick development of museums has generated a veritable Romanian school of museography, recognized both nationally and internationally. The source of this development is represented by the speech of museum; that is how the museum manages to revaluate its available potential and to get imposed in areas of interest from most various: scientific, educational, cultural, touristic, ensuring the representation of as many ethnographical areas as possible. Although the concept of ethnographical museum allows multiple approaches and definitions, this essay highlights the role of the identity of museums and their way of representing the traditional village, given the dynamics and the abandonment of traditions.