James Carrabino, Thomas Paul Moran, Meg Hansen and John Wesley Reid, 2023/24 Budapest Fellows
A new generation of American researchers has come to Hungary to spend ten months in the Budapest Fellowship Program (BFP), conducting research, teaching, and participating in cultural and professional events. The Hungary Foundation and Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) kicked off the fourth year of the Fellowship Program at the iconic Gerbeaud House in Budapest this September. The four selected fellows, Meg Hansen, John Wesley Reid, James Carrabino, and Thomas Paul Moran are starting their ten-month-long journey to immerse themselves in Central and Eastern European, specifically, Hungarian history and culture.
The four chosen American professionals were eager to dive into the program. The first day of Orientation Week reviewed the program’s goals, performance benchmarks, and unique features. During the next ten months, the fellows will be conducting their own individual research at four Hungarian host institutions: the Danube Institute, the MCC School of Law, the Committee of National Remembrance, and the MCC Youth Research Institute while taking intense Hungarian language classes, attending Hungarian film screenings, book discussions, working lunches, and site visits, and participating in seminars on Hungarian history, legal development, foreign policy, and political thought.
The Budapest Fellows will also visit significant sites and cities around the country and get connected with the Hungarian-speaking communities in the Carpathian Basin. Later on, the participants will be integrated into the entire educational and think tank portfolio of Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), will be teaching workshops, and classes, and will have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of public events.
Following the opening orientation day, the fellows took a deep dive into their Foundations Program straight away.
The first few days included day-long seminars on Hungarian history and culture from the Hungarian Settlement to the two World Wars. Meg, John, James, and Paul had a chance to spend a day and a half in the Hungarian Parliament where they learned about the history of the Hungarian parliamentary system, visited the Parliament’s public research library, as well as viewed memorials of significant importance around Kossuth Square.
One of the week’s highlights was the breath-taking boat cruise along the Danube coupled with a traditional dinner, where family members of the fellows all had a chance to get to know the Program’s mission and the Budapest Fellowship Program and MCC staff and to enjoy excellent Hungarian cuisine.
As these four exceptional individuals embark on their journey in Hungary, we’ll keep you updated on their progress, publications, and events they will host.
Thank you to our partners who helped kick off this year’s program: Noémi Pálfalvi at Mathias Corvinus Collegium and to the set of excellent mentors for the fellows: István Kiss at Danube Institute, Szabolcs Nagypál of the MCC School of Law, Áron Máthé at the Committee of National Remembrance, and Levente Székely at the MCC Youth Research Institute.
Thank you to Stephen Sholl for spotlighting Budapest’s classical architectural heritage with a wonderful historical tour of the inner city.
