Universität Wien
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240524 SE MM3 Care, Poverty and Humanitarian Aid in Hungary (2026W)

5.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 24 - Kultur- und Sozialanthropologie
Continuous assessment of course work

Participation at first session is obligatory!

The lecturer can invite students to a grade-relevant discussion about partial achievements. Partial achievements that are obtained by fraud or plagiarized result in the non-evaluation of the course (entry 'X' in certificate). The plagiarism software 'Turnitin' will be used.
The use of AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT) for the attainment of partial achievements is only allowed if explicitly requested by the course instructor.
Moodle
Fr 16.10. 13:15-14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
Register/Deregister for this course

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Thursday 19.11. 13:15 - 16:30 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock
  • Friday 20.11. 13:15 - 16:30 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock
  • Friday 27.11. 13:15 - 16:30 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock
  • Thursday 17.12. 13:15 - 16:30 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock
  • Friday 18.12. 13:15 - 16:30 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Friday 29.01. 13:15 - 14:45 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

The main aim of the course is to provide students with background knowledge and an overview on topics in preparation for the fieldwork course in Hungary in the summer term 2027. Participants will start to develop their ideas for research grounded in discussions of compulsory readings in class. Reading ethnographies from both, the wider region but also elsewhere will provide the students with a solid basis to develop their topics of research for either the next term’s fieldwork class and/or their MA thesis. Linguistic competencies in Hungarian or a Romani language would count as an asset.
In the fieldwork course in the summer semester 2027, the students will carry out individual fieldwork in cooperation with the Hungarian Charity Service of the Order of Málta. This will include social services like the so-called “Catching-up Settlement Programme” (Felzárkózó települések), which aims to improve living conditions in around 300 designated settlements and neighbourhoods, including many segregated Romani communities. Thus, the main focus of this course and our stay will be on practices and ideologies of care in poverty alleviation.

Assessment and permitted materials

Regular attendance is a requirement. Two sessions may be missed. With three absences, a compensation must be discussed with the teacher.The assessment is based on four 4 parts, which each account for 25 points maximum:
1) Active reading and oral participation in the class
2) Short presentation of one of the texts (10 minutes) and preparing the discussion
3) Five four response papers for assigned readings and one preliminary plan for the final paper (1-2 pages)
4) Final research proposal for a possible research project of about ca. 5–7 pages to be submitted until February 9th 2027 (noon)

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

All four oral and written requirements are marked independently with maximal 25 points (see above) and must be completed positively (minimum 13 points). In order to complete the course successfully, participants need to obtain at least 61 points.
Grades:
91-100 points: 1 (excellent)
81-90 points: 2 (good)
71-80 points: 3 (satisfactory)
61-70 points: 4 (sufficient)
The use of AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT) for the attainment of partial achievements is only allowed if explicitly requested by the course instructor.

Examination topics

Obligatory reading and oral participation (see above).

Reading list

Luca Sára Bródy (2026), When Care Becomes Governance: What Social Services Do Beyond Helping. https://krtk.elte.hu/en/2026/03/when-care-becomes-governance-what-social-services-do-beyond-helping-by-luca-sara-brody/
Thelen, Tatjana. 2015. “Care as Social Organisation: Creating, Maintaining and Dissolving Significant Relations.” Anthropological Theory 15(4): 497–515. doi:10.1177/1463499615600893.
Bródy, L. S., & Velkey, G. D. (2026). Governing through care: faith-based social service provision in rural Hungary. Territory, Politics, Governance, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2026.2618168
Fassin, Didier, Humanitarian Reason: A Moral History of the Present (Oakland, CA, 2011; online edn, California Scholarship Online, 24 May 2012), https://doi.org/10.1525/california/9780520271166.001.0001, accessed 9 June 2026.
Ciaschi, P. (2018). Around and Around. Intersections, 4(2). https://doi.org/10.17356/ieejsp.v4i2.391
Katz, Michael B., 2013. "The Undeserving Poor: America's Enduring Confrontation with Poverty: Fully Updated and Revised," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199933952.
Kóczé, A. (2019). Illusionary Inclusion of Roma Through Intercultural Mediation. In (pp. 183-206). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77035-2_9
Szombati, K. (2021). The Consolidation of Authoritarian Rule in Rural Hungary: Workfare and the Shift from Punitive Populist to Illiberal Paternalist Poverty Governance. Europe-Asia Studies, 73(9), 1703-1725. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668136.2021.1990861
Social innovations in authoritarian polities: Two contrasting cases in Hungary 2025 Molnár, Keller, Virág
Dromi, Shai M. 2016. For good and country: Nationalism and the diffusion of humanitarianism in the late nineteenth century. The Sociological Review Monographs, 64(2), 79–97.
Zakariás, Ildikó/ Feischmidt, Margit. 2020. Producing the nation through philanthropy: Legitimising coethnic and prorefugee civic action in Hungary. Nations and Nationalism, 26(4), 1015-1032.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 24.08.2026 11:27