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