Kiss Csaba György
Membership in Academy:
- corresponding member – Department of Literature (5/16/2024 – …)
Curriculum Vitae
Csaba György Kiss was born in Budapest on April 2, 1945. Academic background: Eötvös Loránd University (Budapest), Faculty of Humanities (Hungarian and German language and literature, 1963-1968). In 1964 he visited Poland as a hitchhiker; his personal experiences served as the beginnings of his interest in Central Europe. Having passed his university studies he worked as a journalist, from the 1970s he published several articles on the Polish literature. In the years 1974-1977 he passed doctoral studies. In 1975-1980 he was the editor of a review of world literature (Nagyvilág), charged with Western Slavic literatures. In 1980-1986 he was a research fellow of the Institute of Literary Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. In 1983 he participated at the Summer University of foreign Slavists in Yugoslavia (Seminar za strane slaviste). 1986 he obtained the PhD degree in Hungarian-Polish comparative studies.
In 1987 he was one of the seven founders of the oppositional political movement Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), the next years he served as the spokesman and the vice president of the party. From 1988 he was the member of the editorial board of the first independent review (Hitel). In December 1990 he terminated his political activities.
He turned his attention to the scientific research of Central European nationalisms and national myths. In 1992-1995 he was the director of the Central European Institute in Budapest. In those years he made educational series for the Hungarian Television about the different countries of Central Europe. In 1995 he continued his academic activity as an associate professor of the Department of Cultural History at the Eötvös Loránd University. In 2008 he habilitated, in 2010 he obtained the degree of the DSc. of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and honorary professor of the University.
His activities as visiting professor: Humboldt University of Berlin (1990), University of Zagreb (1999-2004), Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra (2005-2007), Charles University, Prague (2007-2010), University of Warsaw (2011-2018). In 2008-2016 he was the Chairman of the Academic Council of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity (Warsaw). In 2013-2023 he was the member of the Programme Council of the International Cultural Centre in Cracow.
He published 17 volumes of studies and essays, edited or co-edited 23 volumes of publications. He published 3 books in English, 3 books in Polish and 2 books in Croation language.
In 2018 he obtained the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland and the order Red tri pletera of Croatia. In 2020 he obtained the hungarian Széchenyi Prize.