The project aims to add new insights to our knowledge of Hungarians living in the Carpathian Basin. One of the theoretical problems at the heart of Bourdieu’s oeuvre concerns a fundamental question of sociology; namely, how structural constraints condition human actions? As a disciple of Bourdieu, I consider the habitus theory of his constructivist structuralism to be one of the most promising conceptual basis on which the structure/agency problem can be operationalized. I argue, however, that Bourdieu’s habitus theory can be further developed if we follow a path that constitutes a prolongation proper of the one he had taken towards the end of his life. Building on the notion of the translational reproduction of social structure – the idea that while social classes move in the same direction, dominant groups are able to preserve their relative power position – I suggest that as social structures change, habitus change correspondingly and thus become plural.
I would like to investigate the changing dispositional patterns of Hungarian minorities living in Romania and Slovakia – taking into account whether they (1) exist in their native cultural milieu, (2) interact with members and institutions of the majority nation, or (3) co-operate with people or institutions of the “motherland”. My research will be a qualitative exploratory study; I plan to conduct around sixty anonymised in-depth life history interviews. Sampling criteria: (1) 50% male, 50% female; (2) 50% of the interviewees are Slovakian, 50% Romanian citizen; (3) 50% are from homogeneous ethnic environment, 50% from a mixed-nationality environment (but were socialized in Hungarian families); (4) roughly 33% are under 35 years, 33% between 35-60 years, 33% over 60 years; (5) about 33% lives in Hungary.
Leader of the research project: Miklós Hadas
Duration of the project: 01.11.2022 – 30.09.2025