Revival of Interest in the history of Hungarian Feminism – Stakes of Research and Academic Cooperation

Abstract

Before the [political] Transition in Hungary the history of feminism within the fields of history and social history was an almost completely neglected research topic. However, there existed a few publications on the antecedents of women’s movements, focusing mostly on the suffrage and labour movements.  In the years following 1990, a new feminist wave did emerge as the freedom of association became guaranteed and the free flow of ideas between the east and the west was no longer limited.  In Eastern Europe a new interest emerged in finding the feminist past of this region, in connection with finding identities in the new organizations –­ similarly to what was happening in women’s movements in other parts of the world.   The aim of this article is to direct attention towards understanding the motivations of feminists in writing the history if feminist movements, and the source of the new scientific interest in the subject. What could be the meaning, the purpose and the stake of writing feminist history in Eastern Europe? What kind of possibilities can be found for cooperation among the researchers of the field?