Reconnecting with Hungary

As busy May comes to an end, it’s time to recap my recent two-week research visit to the Center for Contemporary Challenges at the University of Pécs in Hungary, hosted by Dr. Judit Farkas. This visit was generously supported by a mobility grant from the Frontiers of Arctic and Global Resilience (FRONT) research program at the University of Oulu.

I had not been to Hungary since my PhD defense at Central European University, so I saw this visit as an opportunity to reconnect with the Hungarian research environment. The history of higher education in Pécs dates back to 1367, and, as you can see, the main university building looks quite a bit like Hogwarts (and feels like a labyrinth at times, too).

I was based at the Department of Ethnography and Cultural Anthropology. Although my colleagues there mostly work in regions very different from Northern Russia and Finland, there were also some intersections: for instance, I met with Prof. Zoltán Nagy, a researcher with extensive fieldwork experience among the Khanty in South Siberia — and realized how much I miss my own Siberian fieldwork.

Outside the Department, I also spent time working with the rich collections of the Regional Library and Knowledge Center in Pécs. It is a modern and spacious building with a bookstore and a cafeteria, and at the time of my visit it was buzzing with students preparing for the exams, reminding me of my own Master’s studies.

During the visit, I attended a lecture in the Key Contemporary Challenges course and, at the end of my stay, delivered an open lecture within the same course. It was quite a challenge to speak about the energy transition in the Arctic to students from diverse regions (most of whom have never been up north), but I do hope they left the classroom with a deeper understanding of this diverse, fragile, harsh, and beautiful region.

As an added highlight, I explored the historical town of Pécs, feeling as connected to large-scale historical processes as perhaps never before as I stood next to the IV-century burial chambers of Cella Septichora.

Finally – some photos of this welcoming city in its best May weather.