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I have been teaching the history of psychology for many years at the Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Szeged, in Hungary. I have always strived for my students to become familiar with this subject embedded in a broad social-cultural-historical context. I have considered it particularly important to introduce the history of Hungarian psychology in the discussion, since, in my view, this is an important part of our local understanding of ourselves. During my years of teaching, I have come across some examples of digital museums in the history of psychology. I have come to the idea to create a digital museum dedicated to the history of Hungarian psychology. This website aims to introduce and popularize the history of Hungarian psychology at home and abroad. It aims at providing a comprehensive, socially and politically contextualized framework of this history, from its beginnings until the fall of state socialism, in 1989. The site wants to spread the awareness that the history of Hungarian psychology is a significant part of understanding the development of psychology at large, and also, that it is a highly important and engaging topic. For newer generations of psychologists, a more thorough knowledge of the history of psychology can be a factor that strengthens their professional identity and contextual understanding. Hungarian psychology emanated in the emerging modernity of Central Europe, in the second half of the 19th Century, in the framework of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Academic psychology and the psychology profession in Hungary developed in attunement with the German-speaking world and produced remarkable development. However, political events drastically and repeatedly intervened throughout the 20th century. Many talented psychologists and scientists left the country for good in three waves of emigration: 1. In the 1920s, after the fall of the Hungarian Soviet Republic; 2. In the late 1930s, in the wake of the renewed rise of antisemitism in the Horthy regime; and, 3. In the late 1940s, in the wake of communist rule. Several of them became outstanding, famous members of the psychology profession in their new home countries. Reconstructing the history of Hungarian psychology is also reclaiming our past, since continuity with, and remembrance of many aspects and actors of pre-Second World War history was forcefully obstructed by the communist regime.

This website supports learning through multi-level, self-directed discovery. The development of the website is an ongoing, continuous, and collective activity, involving students and colleagues.

Dr. Agnes Szokolszky
Founder-editor
2021.06.01.