Books published by Central European University Press

Stimulated by the development of childhood studies and the social history of medicine, this book lays out the historical circumstances that led to the medicalization of childhood in Greece from the end of the nineteenth century until World War Two. For this span of fifty years, the authors explore how the national question was bound up with concerns raised about the health of children. They also investigate the various connotations of child health and maternity care in the context of liberal and authoritarian governments, as well as the wider social and cultural changes that took place in this period. Drawing on a wide array of primary and secondary sources, the authors look into the role of doctors, social thinkers and civil servants in the shaping of health policy; the impact of the medical paradigm from Western Europe; and the gradual professionalization of health care in Greece. Theodorou and Karakatsani describe an increasing intervention of the state in the medical supervision of childhood, the relationship between the philanthropic organizations and the state, as well as the impact of the national rivalries and wars on efforts to improve child health.

Winner of the 2019 National Jewish Book Award in the category of Food Writing & Cookbooks. The author refuses to accept that the world of pre-Shoah Hungarian Jewry and its cuisine should disappear almost without a trace and feels compelled to reconstruct its culinary culture. His bookwith a preface by Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblettpresents eating habits not as isolated acts, divorced from their social and religious contexts, but as an organic part of a way of life. According to Kirshenblatt-Gimblett: "e;While cookbooks abound, there is no other study that can compare with this book. It is simply the most comprehensive account of a Jewish food culture to date."e; Indeed, no comparable study exists about the Jewish cuisine of any country, orfor that matterabout Hungarian cuisine. It describes the extraordinary diversity that characterized the world of Hungarian Jews, in which what could or could not be eaten was determined not only by absolute rules, but also by dietary traditions of particular religious movements or particular communities. Ten chapters cover the culinary culture and eating habits of Hungarian Jewry up to the 1940s, ranging from kashrut (the system of keeping the kitchen kosher) through the history of cookbooks, the food traditions of weekdays and holidays, the diversity of households, and descriptions of food and hospitality industries to the history of some typical dishes. Although this book is primarily a cultural history and not a cookbook, it includes 83 recipes, as well as nearly 200 fascinating pictures of daily life and documents.

The Illuminated Chronicle was composed in 1358 in the international artistic style at the royal court of Louis I of Hungary. Its text, presented here in a new edition and translation, is the most complete record of Hungary's medieval historical tradition, going back to the eleventh century and including the mythical past of its people.

This book provides a historical narrative about Romania's modernization. It focuses on one group of the country's elites in the late nineteenth century, health professionals, and on the vision of a modern Romania that they constructed as they interacted with peasants and rural life.

The editor of this book has brought together contributions designed to capture the essence of post-communist politics in East-Central Europe and Eurasia. Rather than on the surface structures of nominal democracies, the nineteen essays focus on the informal, often intentionally hidden, disguised and illicit understandings and arrangements that penetrate formal institutions. These phenomena often escape even the best-trained outside observers, familiar with the concepts of established democracies. Contributors to this book share the view that understanding post-communist politics is best served by a framework that builds from the ground up, proceeding from a fundamental social context. The book aims at facilitating a lexical convergence; in the absence of a robust vocabulary for describing and discussing these often highly complex informal phenomena, the authors wish to advance a new terminology of post-communist regimes. Instead of a finite dictionary, a kind of conceptual cornucopia is offered. The resulting variety reflects a larger harmony of purpose that can significantly expand the understanding the "e;real politics"e; of post-communist regimes. Countries analyzed from a variety of aspects, comparatively or as single case studies, include Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.

This bilingual volume (Latin text with English translation) is the second in the series presenting hagiographical narratives from medieval Central Europe. It contains the most important hagiographical corpus of medieval Hungarian history: that of Saint Margaret (1242-1270), daughter of King Bela IV, who lived her life as a Dominican nun.

This volume focuses on the years since 1989, looking at the clash between civic values (the rule of law, individual rights, tolerance, respect for the harm principle, equality, and neutrality of the state in matters of religion) and uncivic values.

This volume discusses the social and cultural history of public health and its influence on state and nation building in East and Southeast Europe, throughout the 19th century and 20th century, including the Cold War period.

This book covers the full story of the Ustasha, a fascist movement in Croatia, from its historic roots to its downfall.

This collection of essays considers the Soviet-era gulag in the Baltic States within the broader international research on displacement and cultural memory.

This book offers a detailed analysis of the construction, reception, and eventual decline of the cult of the Hungarian Communist Party Secretary, Mátyás Rákosi, one of the most striking examples of orchestrated adulation in the Soviet bloc. While his cult never approached the magnitude of that of Stalin, Rákosi’s ambition to outshine the other “best disciples” and become the best of the best was manifest in his diligence in promoting a Soviet-type ritual system in Hungary. The main argument of The Invisible Shining is that the cult of personality is not just a curious aspect of communist dictatorship, it is an essential element of it.The monograph is primarily concerned with techniques and methods of cult construction, as well as the role various institutions played in the creation of mythical representations of political figures. While engaging with a wider international literature on Stalinist cults, the author uses the case of Rákosi to explore how personality cults are created, how such cults are perceived, and how they are eventually unmade. The book addresses the success—generally questionable—of such projects, as well as their uncomfortable legacies.

Based on new archival evidence, this volume examines Soviet Empire-building in Hungary and the American response to it. The first chapter examines why wartime diplomacy relegated Eastern Europe into the Soviet sphere. The final chapter discusses US policies to undermine Soviet power in Eastern Europe.

This work discusses one of the major currents leading to the fall of communism. It examines the intellectual dissident movements in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary from the late 1960s through to 1989.

This work aims to examine the history of forced and semi-voluntary population movements within or organized by the Soviet Union. Contents range from the early 1920s to the rehabilitation of repressed nationalities in the 1990s.

This study analyzes the main requirements placed on Central and Eastern Europe's financial systems during their transition to a market economy. It assesses the financial reforms already carried out in the countries of Central Europe and their adaptations of Western institutional models.

People face serious difficulties in making sense of each other's feelings, behaviour, and discourse in everyday life and after traumatic experiences. Acknowledging and working through these difficulties is the subject of this book.

The war on terror has generated more support for area studies at the cost of reviving the kinds of dangerous generalizations that area studies have rightly been accused of. This text provides a perspective on area studies that is attentive to manifestations of "traditional culture" and the global relationships in which they are being played out.

'The Moulding of Ukraine' offers a systematic examination of competing ideological visions of statehood and discusses them against the backdrop of historical traditions in Ukraine. This well-documented book is an account of the process of constitutional reform, offering an insight into post-Soviet Ukrainian politics.

A study on the regulations and practices relating to environmental assessment in countries in transition through Europe. The report presents recommendations for strengthening environmental assessment practice in each of the countries covered.

Gender has been an issue thus far neglected in transition economies. Drawing on official statistics, an international multidisciplinary team examines how women have been affected by the labor market reforms in Poland, in the transition period of the 1990s.

These essays and articles have been compiled to pay tribute to Professor Janos Bak on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Contributions are made not only from scholars of medieval history but of modern history, philosophy, linguistics, art history and political science on a wide range of subjects.

This text provides a perspective on the continuing debate about how liberalism should be defined and what it means in countries with an established parliamentary system, particularly in the new democracies of Central and Eastern Europe.

This text traces the historical background of Hungary. The first part deals with the method and sources which can be used for elucidating the ancient history of the Hungarians, the second part traces how Hungarians came to be in the Carpathian Basin and how they conquered the land.

Documenting the latest statistical data on current problems related to reproductive health issues in Central and Eastern Europe, this text explores the reasons for these problems and recommends action based on the scientific evidence for improving reproductive health.

The Danube region has a history of ethnic conflicts and a revolutionary tradition against expansionism. Germany and Russia have both tried to develop versions of confederations and politicians have proposed initiatives for various formations. This text examines why these initiatives have failed.

Through interviews with Romanian literary figures and their writings, Lidia Vianu asks how, under Communism, did Romanian writers cope with ideological shifts and respond to the censorship that accompanied such changes? Now that Romania has emerged from 50 years of Communist rule, what is the status of censorship?

The rebirth of competition and the "exit" that has resulted are among the most important developments in former Communist countries. This text examines why, how, and to what extent enterprises have reduced in size or left the market during the first years of the transition to capitalism.

Presenting an integrated view of transition based on a unified analytical framework, this text evaluates the experience of several transition economies.