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The Danger Is Everywhere!

The Insecurity of Transition in Postsocialist Hungary

Barbara A. West

In this highly original ethnography about the people of postsocialist Szeged, a marginalized border city in Hungary, West provides valuable historical background to help illustrate and understand the impact of freedom from state paternalism. She embraces and includes voices, opinions, and experiences of community members to discover that their main concern is lack of security. In a new era of political and economic freedom, they no longer know what each day will bring; the system no longer provides employment, health care, education, housing, and loopholes for living more comfortably. The intricate effects of change on kinship, holidays, agriculture, the perception Hungarians have of themselves, and gendered representations of the nation and its members are unraveled to reveal a community in the midst of reconstructing its identity.

$14.50 list, 155 pages

10-digit ISBN: 1-57766-198-2

13-digit ISBN: 978-1-57766-198-6

© 2002

Self-contained study guide

“A fine-grained portrait of a town’s life during turbulent times.”  — Krista Harper, University of Massachusetts

“This work expands the very limited selection of ethnographic works dealing with Hungary and post-Marxist societies available to undergraduate students. It could be very useful in the hands of an instructor familiar with Eastern Europe.”  — Andrei Simic, University of Southern California

“A vivid and readable account of everyday life in post-Socialist Hungary.”  — Marysia Galbraith, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

“I was very impressed by the interweaving of analysis and personal experience in this book. It is very useful for introductory students.”  — Mary H. Moran, Colgate University
 

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. The Idea of the Hungarian Nation over Time

3. Local Networks, National Identities

4. Hungary as a Nation of Gardeners

5. Hungarian Identity in the Context of Otherness

6. The Danger Is Everywhere!

7. Security and the Gendered Nation

8. Conclusion