Letter concerning the gender studies in Hungary

Dear Minister of Human Capacities,

We write to protest the Hungarian government’s proposed law which would cancel an accredited, well-performing MA program, with consistently high enrollments. Never before has the government sought to legislate the curriculum of universities without consultation with appropriate university institutions. According to The Hungarian Journal, “the part of the amendment which concerns gender studies provides no explanation whatsoever. Two universities are concerned: Hungary’s biggest state-funded university ELTE, and the Central European University. If the amendment becomes official, it will mean that nobody can attend gender studies courses in Hungary and get a degree in the subject.” It also sets a dangerous precedent for state intervention in all other university courses. By denying to faculty and administrators the academic freedom that is the guarantee of the autonomy of higher education, the Hungarian government puts itself outside the community of democratic nations. We call upon the Minister of Education to refuse this amendment. We also call upon the European Union, of which Hungary is a member nation, to condemn this action as a violation of its principles. And we call upon academic institutions in our own countries to join our protest.

On behalf of the Polish Sociological Association,

Wiceprzewodzniczący ZG PTS

dr Mikołaj Pawlak