Values in American Society [antikvár]

Preface The papers in this volume were first read at the international conference on "Everyday Values in American Culture" on April 28-29,1994. Organized by the Department of American Studies of Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest and the Hungarian Association of American Studies, this was one of the annual meetings of Hungarian Americanists who gather together every Spring to present and discuss their current research. Generously sponsored by the United States Information Service, the conference was devoted to the study of American values that were approached in the multidisciplinary spirit and tradition of American Studies scholars from all over Hungary and several other countries. It was particularly encouraging to see so many of our young Hungarian scholars among the conference participants along with some well-known international experts from the United States, Austria, and Germany. The papers reveal the rich variety of American values as they appear in individual thought and community products, in private and in public, in secular and religious context, in history, art, language, and literature. The distinct qualities of American values appear to be of lasting concern for the foreign scholar for whom they reveal the very fabric of American life. The students of American values hope that their present contribution will be appreciated and their efforts to pursue their research continue to be encouraged. —Tibor Frank