José Filho na CEU v Budapešti

31.01.2019

CEU is a place for you to be creative, expand your horizons, and put your ideas to the test. The teaching at the Sociology and Social Anthropology Department is rigorous and challenging. CEU's comprehensive course offer, with courses ranging from "Visual anthropology and ethnographic filmmaking" to more standard courses on contemporary debates about religion, globalisation, labor relations; will make your first weeks there a bit overwhelming.

So my first advice is this: try to communicate with the staff so that you can access the course registration system as early as possible. There is a tremendous "fight for places" at courses there. If you can, try to get some help in applying for the courses with senior students. You might face seemingly never-ending waitlists until you secure the place you want. Don't worry too much though. You most probably will obtain it, and I am just telling you this so that you don't feel stressed in the beginning.There is a small possibility of negotiation to apply for courses at other departments. So try to see what's the Gender, and the Romani studies departments are offering too. These departments, especially the Romani studies one, capture the best of CEU's mission.CEU's outstanding facilities (the fantastic library staff will get you anything, literally anything, you want and need), will make your learning experience demanding and smooth, at the same time.You will find CEU the most international environment that you've ever seen. And you'll learn to appreciate people's diverse standpoints on even the most "conventional topics."

During my Erasmus period, I could follow CEU's last attempts to negotiate with the Hungarian government and secure its basis in Budapest. Recent decisions from the Hungarian government to close ELTE's (Eötvös Loránd University) Gender Studies department pushed CEU and ELTE students to resist and protest extensively against contemporary educational policies in Hungary. CEU is now moving to Vienna. As far as I can tell, a multi-campus CEU sounds even better, in academic terms. CEU will develop entirely new undergraduate courses, rethink its master's degrees and prepare for the expansion of its activities.

I wholeheartedly recommend students at Charles University to experience CEU for at least one semester.