g a z e t t e THE CHRONICLE OF CENTRAL EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY Spring 2003 Vol. 12, No. 3 CEU Welcomes Paul Ricoeur Paul Ricoeur delivers keynote address and receives honorary doctorate On Saturday, March 8, the distinguished philosopher Pau l tion. The book started with a phenomenology of memory, Ricoeur delivered a lecture on "History, Memory, and moved on to an epistemology of historical knowledge, and Forgetting," in the framework of the interna- ended with a hermeneutics of the historical tional conference entitled "Haunting Memo- condition, complete with a study of forget- ries? History in Europe After Au t h o r i t a - ting. The epilogue raised the difficult prob- rianism." (See page 5.) Ricoeur was intro- lem of forgiveness. The book's approach duced by Sorin Antohi, CEU University and linear organization were challenged in Pr o f e s s o r , Director of CEU's Pasts, Inc. the lecture, and the 'enigma of memory' Center for Historical Studies. Paul Ricoeur is was further explored from new angles, such the Honorary Chairman of the Center's as that of the reader/receiver of history, and, Advisory Board. This is how Antohi summed in a circular way. up the evening: Introducing the theoretical substance of "This was an extraordinary intellectual Paul Ricoeur's current work on memory, his- event. As Ricoeur himself has made it clear, to r y , and forgetting, the lecture also tackled his lecture at CEU was not an abstract of their moral, ethical, social, juridical, and his major book on the topic (La memoire, political dimensions, pleading for the 'duty l'histoire, l'oubli, Paris: Seuil, 2000), but a Paul Ricoeur to remember,' for the memory of minorities ne w , complementary perspective, based on and of all those who have suffered, against a shift of standpoint. Whereas the book concentrated on amnesty and its closest category and practice, amnesia. the writing of history, the lecture focused on the way his- The idea that (some) crimes can and should be prescribed tory is received, outlining a hermeneutics of this recep- was deemed unacceptable." CEU Awards Its First Honorary Doctorate On Sunday, March 9, an important event in the academic life of the university took place, with the Senate of CEU awarding its first honorary doctorate, to Paul Ricoeur. The opening of the ceremony by CEU Academic Pro-Rector Stefan Messmann, was followed by the laudatio, given by CEU President and Rector Yehuda Elkana. After Ricoeur’s response came presentations by Jörn Rüsen (President, Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut, Essen), Aziz Al - A z m e h (CEU Distinguished Visiting Professor), Chris Lorenz (Professor of Philosophy of History, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam) and Sorin Antohi (CEU University Professor). Paul Ricoeur is Professor Emeritus of the University of Paris X–Nanterre, and of the University of Chicago. He obtained his degree in Philosophy in 1933 in Rennes, and his doctorate in 1935 from the Sorbonne. He taught from 1948 to 1957 as a Professor of the History of Philosophy at the University of Strasbourg, and from 1957 to 1967 as a Professor of General Philosophy at the University of Paris Sorbonne. From 1967 to 1987, he taught at the Fac u l t y of Letters at the University of Paris X–Nanterre, of which he was the Dean for 1969-1970. Paul Ricoeur’s seminal books cover, and have a great impact on, fields as diverse as phenomenology, hermeneutics, philosophy of language and narrative, moral philosophy, religion and theology, history and memory. CEU faculty, students, and members of the Budapest diplomatic community as well as rectors of several Hungarian universities were present at the ceremony, held in the CEU auditorium. Summary of Recent APPOINTMENTS Developments, CEU Planning Károly Bárd has been and Budget Committee appointed Head of the Department of Legal Studies, effective January 1, 2003. MARCH 13, 2003 Judit Bodnár has been appoint- Ne w Academic Pro-Rector ed Assistant Professor in the De- On March 7, 2003 the Senate elected László Mátyás to serve as CEU Academic Pro- partments of History, and So- Rector for a two-year term, effective August 1, 2003. The CV of László Mátyás may be ciology and Social An t h r o p o l o g y , found on the website of the CEU Department of Economics. effective January 1, 2003. Ho n o r a r y CEU representative for China Anna Svenson has been ap- The Senate appointed Stefan Messmann, whose term as Academic Pro-Rector expires on pointed as Chief Archivist for July 31, 2003, as honorary CEU representative for China. the Open Society Archives, ef- fe c t ive March 1, 2003. Ne w degree programs approved by the Senate ❖ In December 2002, the Senate conditionally approved the launching of a Master’s pro- gram in Public Policy (MPP). The program is organized by the Center for Policy Studies. From a financial perspective, the MPP will rely completely on outside resources. The O b i t u a r y first students are expected to be enrolled beginning with the 2004 winter semester. ❖ In March 2003, the Senate approved the starting of a Master’s program in IT It is with great sadness that we in- Management. The program will be organized by the CEU Graduate School of form you of the death of Eszter Business on a fee-paying basis. Andorka, an alumna of CEU. Improving writing standards for CEU theses Eszter was a student in the Program on Continuing with the efforts aiming at improving English language standards at CEU, Gender and Culture in the 2000/2001 the Senate adopted a set of explicit standards for thesis writing. The standards academic year, receiving her MA in (accessible on the university’s website, http://www.c e u . h u / s t u d e n t _ p o l i c i e s . h t m l ) Gender Studies. An ordained Lutheran apply to all CEU academic units. pa s t o r , she was very active in church and charity work in Budapest, and Mobilizing outside support for CEU was also planning on continuing her During the previous few months CEU has received several generous donations: studies. She was a kind and generous ❖ The first installment of $300,000, out of the total pledge of $900,000, was received person, and had a wonderful spirit. from Branco Weiss for a project on New Ideas in Economics and Social Issues. ❖ Sally Humphreys, a non-resident CEU University Professor, provided financial She died tragically support for an innovative interdisciplinary lecture series to be organized jointly by Sunday, February 23, in Budapest. CEU junior faculty and graduate students. ❖ Peter I. Rose book donation (See article right column, this page.) We extend our deepest condolences ❖ CEU received a donation of $50,000 from the Yad Hamadiv Foundation for the Jewish to her family and friends and join Studies Project. In addition, the project received donations from the American Jewish them in mourning this sad loss. Committee and the East-Central European Jewish Communities. Ac c r e d i t a t i o n ❖ Peter I. Rose Donation to Judith Rodin, President of the University of Pennsylvania, and Chair of the Middle CEU Library States accreditation team for the university, will be in Budapest between April 26 and April 30, 2003 for the so-called "readiness appraisal visit." The date for the visit of the Peter I. Rose, Sophia Smith Professor of full accreditation team (the last step in the accreditation process) was postponed for Sociology and Anthropology and Senior the next academic year to give CEU more time to complete the self-study report. Fellow of the Kahn Liberal Arts Institute ❖A Senate ad-hoc committee has been working during the last several months on a plan at Smith College, has recently made a for CEU to apply for "accreditation of doctoral schools" in Hungary. The Senate donation of 300 books to the CEU approved the proposal of the committee to start the accreditation procedure for the doc- li b r a r y . His gift included books in the toral programs of several CEU departments. Successful completion of this procedure fields of sociology, anthropology, and his- would mean that the respective CEU diplomas would be accredited both in the US and to r y , and is meant to help the establish- in Hungary. The accrediting agencies of CEU in the US (the Board of Regents of the ment of the new CEU Department of New York State Education Department, and the Middle States Association of Colleges Sociology and Social An t h r o p o l o g y . and Schools) indicated that they have no objections to this double accreditation. Some kind of Hungarian accreditation for CEU would help to substantially enhance the European profile of the university (while maintaining its legal status as an American uni- Founder: Central European University 1051 Budapest, Nádor u. 9-11. versity). Included among the positive consequences would be easier nostrification of Ed i t o r -in-Chief: Brandon Krueger CEU diplomas in Europe, and full eligibility for EU funding. Editorial office: 1051 Budapest, Nádor u. 9-11. Publisher: Central European University 1051 Budapest, Nádor u. 9-11. Registration number: 2.2.4/438/2002 2 Engaging Presentations Mark Pro-Rector’s Lecture Series Two presentations recently took place within the format of the Pro- ulty, students and local media, as well as representatives from Re c t o r ’ s lecture series. The first took place on February 10, when several embassies.