History of science in Hungary: Stewardship and audience in periods of institutional and political change

Abstract

The paper introduces the development of history of science in Hungary, focusing on the status of the field in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, universities, and scientific societies, and the “local” output in Hungarian. The genres associated with the field became popular in the early 20th century, and the institutional framework was created in the 1970s. After 1990, constructivist methodologies for studying localizable patterns of science-related activities spread, somewhat more pronounced in histories of the human sciences. A PhD school was established, and the discipline thrived until the early 2000s. Attempts were made to develop an historically informed integrated science curriculum, and to start a Masters program in History of Science. In recent years some of the key institutions of the discipline were closed down, and the visibility and relevance of the field decreased. Although the field has a relatively stable position in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS), with dwindling institutional resources "History of science" in Hungary will most likely become—yet again—an accessory of the special sciences.