Materials for a history of Hungarian academic orientalism: The case of Gyula Germanus

Journal Article (Review;Journal)

This article provides materials for an institutional history of academic Hungarian Orientalism through the life of Gyula Germanus (1884-1979). Using hitherto unexploited archives, this text explores his education, integration into academia, and career up to 1939. I argue that Germanus was an assimilated Hungarian of Jewish origin with a strong loyalty to the state. His two conversions - to Calvinism in 1909 and to Islam in 1930 - also transformed him from a minor Turkologist into a popularly acclaimed Arabist. This study demonstrates that academic Orientalism as a national science was a contested vehicle of social mobility in the Hungarian transition from an imperial to a nation-state setting.© 2014 koninklijke brill nv, leiden.

Full Text

Duke Authors

Cited Authors

  • Mestyan, A

Published Date

  • January 1, 2014

Published In

Volume / Issue

  • 54 / 1

Start / End Page

  • 4 - 33

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0043-2539

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1163/15700607-00541p02

Citation Source

  • Scopus