CEERES

Hungary and the Postcommunist World

Two Decades After 1989

Saturday-Sunday April 2-3, 2011

Kelley School of Business Graduate and Executive Education Center

Room 1008; 1275 E. 10th St., Indiana University, Bloomington

Over two decades have passed since the democratic transition and the self-liberation of Eastern Europe. Since then democratic institutions and values have stabilized, central command economies have been dismantled, the former members of the Comecon and of the Warsaw Pact are now fully integrated into NATO and the European Union. There are no longer hindrances on artistic and cultural self-expression, borders were opened for goods and ideas, for human traffic. However, success was accompanied by great social dislocation, political and economic difficulties, crisis of values, the rise of political extremism. This conference is meant to take a snapshot where Hungary and the broader region stands after twenty years of democracy. Has the age old dream of catching up with the West politically, socially and economically succeeded? How were these last twenty years reflected in the arts and culture? What was the human experience of the transition? How did societies change? What was the experience of minorities? These are some of the issues we shall be dealing with along with the question: what are the prospects of Hungary and Eastern Europe?

SATURDAY, April 2, 2011

Morning Panel I: The International and Historical Context

National Self-Determination versus Stability and Security: Eastern Europe in the Power Arena, 1918-1990

László Borhi, Indiana University

Mission Accomplished? The Questions of Hungary`s Integration into the Euro-

Atlantic Community

Tamás Magyarics, Hungarian Institute of Foreign Affairs

Panel II: Economic Challenge

Eastern Europe in the World Economy: Past and Prospects

Iván T. Berend, University of California, Los Angeles

The First Will Be the Last? Two Decades of Transition in Hungary

László Csaba, Central European University

Income Distribution and Social Policy in the Former Soviet Bloc

Mark Kramer, Harvard University

Afternoon Panel III: The Legacy of History

Farewell to Postcommunism

Padraic Kenney, Indiana University

The Past is Not Another Country: Romania Confronts Its Communist Past

Vladimir Tismaneanu, University of Maryland

Political Uses of the Finno-Ugric Idea in Hungary and Estonia

Matthew Caples, Indiana University

SUNDAY, April 3, 2011

Panel IV: The Post-Communist Experience in Comparative Perspective

The Challenges of Renewed Independence: The Baltic States since 1991

Toivo Raun, Indiana University

The Political Ambiguities of Solidarity: Value Contestations in Post-1989 Poland

Jack Bielasiak, Indiana University

The Decline of Soviet Space and the Return of History: The Perspective From Asia

Chris Atwood, Indiana University

Panel V: Culture and Society

Aesthetics of Middle-Class Family House Building and Social Change in Hungary

Krisztina Fehervary, University of Michigan

Literature of Transition: Hungarian Literature since 1989

Thomas Cooper, University of Eger

Dancing on the Edge of a Volcano: East European Roma Performers Responding to

Social Transformation

Lynn Hooker, Indiana University

The symposium is free and open to the public. The courtesy of advance registration is requested (for seat/lunch counts) but not required. Contact: Indiana University Department of Central Eurasian Studies, Goodbody Hall 157, 1011 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-7005; phone 812-855-2233; fax 812-855-7500; e-mail kniggle@indiana.edu using subject line HUNGARIAN. Abstracts, bios and the final program will be posted at www.indiana.edu/~ceus.

Free parking is available on weekends in the Indiana University Fee Lane Parking Garage. The Kelley School of Business Graduate and Executive Education Center is connected to that parking garage at the northwest corner of 10th Street and Fee Lane. For a campus map, see www.iub.edu/~iubmap.

If you have a disability and need assistance, special arrangements can be made to accommodate most needs. Contact Karen Niggle at kniggle@indiana.edu.