Indiana University Folklore Institute Hungarian-American Project records, 1915-1987, bulk
1982-1984
A Guide to the Records at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Chad Edward
Buterbaugh
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Indiana University, Bloomington.
Folklore Institute.
TitleIndiana University Folklore Institute
Hungarian-American Project records, 1915-1987, bulk
1982-1984
Collection No.
C585
Extent
3 cubic feet (6 boxes)
Language
Most materials are in English; some are in Hungarian.
Abstract
The Hungarian-American project was an
international undertaking of the Indiana University Folklore Institute between 1981
and 1984. Headed by IU folklorists Linda Dégh and Inta Carpenter, scholars from the
United States and Hungary conducted ethnographic fieldwork to identify the uses of
ethnicity among Hungarians in Hungary, Hungarian-Americans in the Calumet region of
Indiana, and Hungarian-Americans in Chicago. The project led to the conference
"Culture, Tradition, Ethnicity," hosted at Indiana University from March 26-28, 1984
and inspired a 1987 conference in Budapest. A special double issue of the
Journal of Folklore Research printed many materials from
the conference and was published later the same year. Collection consists of records
relating to project personnel, fieldwork, and conferences.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.
Administrative History
The Hungarian-American project was an international undertaking of the Indiana
University Folklore Institute between 1981
and 1984. Headed by IU folklorists Linda Dégh and
Inta Carpenter, scholars from the United States and Hungary
conducted ethnographic fieldwork to identify the uses of ethnicity among Hungarians
in Hungary, Hungarian-Americans in the Calumet region of Indiana, and
Hungarian-Americans in Chicago. The project led to the conference "Culture,
Tradition, Ethnicity," hosted at Indiana University from March 26-28, 1984 and
inspired a 1987 conference in Budapest. A special double
issue of the
Journal of Folklore Research printed
many materials from the conference and was published later the same year.
Linda Dégh was a prominent folklorist who spent most of her
professional life at the Folklore Institute. Born in Hungary, she came to
Bloomington with the aid of Richard Dorson, founder of the
Institute. According to her obituary on the American Folklore Society's website, her
research specialty was "personal and communal identity projections of traditional
rural and modern urban communities in Europe and North America. Through personal
observation of creative processes in communicating folklore, traditional prose
narratives in particular, taking into account historical and situational contexts of
performance, she focused not on the text prototype, but on the unique, personal
formulations of individuals generated by unpredictable given conditions."
Her work on the Hungarian-American project was mainly administrative. Bringing
together professional contacts from both the United States and Europe, she laid the
groundwork for this ambitious, multi-year project. With the help of Inta Carpenter,
who at the time was the Folklore Institute's research associate, this project
produced a number of notable presentations and publications. Of particular
importance is the article "The Seven Strands of Tradition" by
folklorist Dan Ben-Amos, a seminal monograph appearing in the
1984 issue of the
Journal of
Folklore Research
that grew from this project.
At issue in the project were senses of communal character among Hungarians and
Hungarian-Americans. Applying the notion of ethnicity as differential identity,
researchers worked with informants to uncover the everyday folkloric forms that were
imported from Hungary and framed in the U.S. as specialized articulations of
cultural inheritance. This activity produced rich fieldwork materials, many of which
are included in this collection, as well as a series of broader discussions in the
field of folklore studies, such as the publication by Ben-Amos, mentioned above, and
others.
The research interest in these materials lies in the recounting of Hungarian-American
ethnic identity in the latter decades of the twentieth century, especially as this
is articulated by members of that group. A number of ethnographic ephemera,
including church yearbooks and pamphlets, are very useful in this regard. These
materials recount the successes and trials of Hungarian-Americans--often pertaining
to their social life, as it was framed by shared religious practice--in their own
words. Some of these materials, such as the death of a beloved minister, communal
concerns about the dwindling importance of ethnic heritage among generations
descended from immigrants, or the efforts of a church group to beautify its worship
space--are less likely to be found in broader historical surveys. Yet they add to
(or perhaps center) such broader works by providing clear articulations of the
memories, activities, and aspirations of the small group.
Arrangement
This collection is organized into four series: Project personnel, Project proposal
and correspondence, Conferences and publications, and Fieldwork materials.
Scope and Content Note
This collection is organized into four series: Project personnel, Project proposal
and correspondence, Conferences and publications, and Fieldwork materials. A number
of the materials in this collection pre-date the research period. These are
publications collected by ethnographers during the research phase of the
project.
Arranged alphabetically by surname, the Project personnel files span 1980-1986 and document the scholars
who worked on the Hungarian-American project. The Project proposal and
correspondence files, spanning 1980-1986, trace the scholars' efforts in crafting an
ultimately-successful proposal to undertake the research. Research design, budgets,
workflows, and the proposal itself detail this process. These files are arranged to
reflect the process of proposal formation, from brainstorming to final submission.
The Conferences and publications series, 1982-1987, include programs, budgets, and a number of conference papers
and abstracts. They also contain consent to publish forms for the issue of the
Journal of Folklore Research that resulted from
the conference. These are arranged to reflect conference and publication planning
processes. The Fieldwork materials files, which were published between 1915 and 1984 but most likely all
collected during the period of fieldwork for this project--roughly 1982-1984--contain some of the data
collected by the ethnographers. This includes approximately 703 annotated photos
pasted to index cards, film negatives logs of visual and audio materials,
biographical notes on informants, and a variety of print ephemera produced by
Hungarian-American groups. These files are arranged in alphabetical order by first
letter of the folder title. Most files are in English; some are in Hungarian.
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Indexing Terms
-
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
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Photographs Pulled
Approximately 703 fieldwork photos pasted on index cards and annotated with
contextual information and photographer's name; 17 strips of film negatives encased
in three 8.5" x 11" plastic sheets (folder "Film negatives"); all located in Box
6
Related Material
Additional records such as newsletters, annual reports, bulletins, and publications
may be accessed in the
Archives of Institutional Memory.
Related photographs may be available in the
University Archives
Photographs Database
.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accession 2003/055, 2010/065
Usage RestrictionsCopyrights for records originating with Indiana University administrative units, departments, and other offices are held by
the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for
non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility
for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials.
Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these
materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational
and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its
inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Indiana University Folklore Institute Hungarian-American Project records, Collection C585, Indiana University Archives,
Bloomington.
Provenance
Transferred from the Indiana University Folklore Institute, May 8, 2003 and July
12, 2010.
Appraisal
A number files have been recycled. These were either duplicate materials, listed
travel arrangements, or described minor expenses incurred during the project.
They did not include any information about the methods, content, or results of
the research project.
Processing InformationProcessed by Chad Edward Buterbaugh.
Completed in 2015
Folder List
Series:
Box 1
Project personnel, 1980-1987
Erdely, Steven, 1983-1986
Fejos, Zoltan, 1984-1987
Hoppal, Mihaly, 1984-1985
Huseby, Eva, 1983-1985
Niedermuller, Peter, 1984-1986
Sozan, Michael, 1984-1986
Fieldworkers' vita, etc., 1980-1982
Series:
Box 1
Project proposal and correspondence, 1981-1983
Conference - 1981, 1981
Hungary Trip ('81), 1981
Ethnographic Museum, 1983
Skaggs, 1982
Project rewrite, 1981-1983
Box 2
Proposal,
Workplans, 1982-1986
Rough drafts, 1980-1986
Final draft - 6/4/82, 1982
Hungarian-American proposal notes, 1980-1982
Meeting, May 21, 1984
NEH proposal, 1984-1985
Proposal correspondence, 1981-1983
Hungarian-American revision - Feb. 1, 1983, 1981-1983,
undated
Protocol, 1983-1984,
undated
Project agreement copies, 1984
Misc. papers, 1981-1986
Round Robin, 1984-1985
Progress reports 5.21.84, 1984
Proposal for Continuation, undated
1983 Commission Meeting at Princeton, 1983
American Conference of Learned Societies/Hungarian Academy of
Sciences Meeting - Princeton, NJ, 1983
Related articles, 1982,
undated
Proposal - Degh - "Kakasd Revisited", undated
Hungary paper/trip, 1981-1983,
undated
Institute for Culture (Budapest) Newsletter, 1984
Series:
Box 3
Conferences and publications, 1983-1987
Conference participants, 3/25 - 3/28, 1983-1984,
undated
Conference Bureau Banquet Lists, 1983-1984,
undated
Luncheons, 3/26, 3/27, 1984,
undated
Tomas Hofer, 1984-1986
Carol Silverman, 1983-1984
Mihaly Sarkony, 1983-1984
Domotor, 1984,
undated
Voight (PAP), 1984
Tape Transcript of Conference, undated
Richard Vidutis - photo logs, slide logs, 1984
JFR, consent to publish forms, 1982-1985
Budapest conference 1987, 1986-1987,
undated
Series:
Box 3
Fieldwork materials, 1915-1984
Autobiography Of Jozsef Plajer, S. Bend, IN, undated
Chicago Church Anniv. Bks., 1934-1982
Box 4
Dr. Magyar Jozsef - A Chicagoi Szent Istvan Templam Elefebol,
1930-1982
Fieldworkers' inventory, 1984
Film negatives, undated
(Housed in Box 6)
ITT-OTT (Here and There; Hungarian Communion of
Friends),
1967-1973
1967-1977
1978-1979,
undated
1982-1983
Box 5
Misc. files, 1984,
undated
More church, anniversary publications, 1968-1982
Photo logs - Z Fejos; slide logs - Zoltan Fejos, 1984
Rerfy Geya, uj Magyar Ferfikarak Zsebkonyve, 1915
South Bend - Ethnic Heritage Studies Program, 1975,
undated
William Penn Association, other anniv. bks., 1961-1984
Zoltan Fejos,
cassette log + ATL Sheets, 1984
key contributor sheets, 1984
Box 6
Photographs - Folklore Institute Special Projects '84
Hungarian-American Project,
SPHA-84-006, 1982-1983
SPHA-84-007, 1982-1983