Oldal 12 [12]
ARCHERS, HUMANISTS AND STORKS:
THREADING ARGENTINE IDENTITY ISSUES
(SPEECH AT THE CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL IDENTITY AND MODERNITY
1870-1945, KÁROLI GÁSPÁR UNIVERSITY, BUDAPEST, 67 OF APRIL, 2017)
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MAXIMILIANO GREGORIO-CERNADAS
ABSTRACT
Intrinsically complex, identity is one of the most defining issues of our time.
Among many possible approaches here is chosen a poetical-philosophical
perspective. The Borges poem “To the first poet of Hungary” threads Argentine
and Hungarian identity experiences and concerns, trespassing in time and
space, linking local and universal aspects of the question, in a circular
procedure between the construction processes of historical identities and
actual deconstruction endeavors. Since, due to their history of vast migrations,
both Argentina and Hungary are constitutively conceived under the sign of
diversity, developing mixed identities and identity uncertainties, they could
have a substantial role in contributing globally to this theme. Argentina
constitutes a unique experience of cultural pluralism and has also created
successful intercultural dialogue platforms. This paper proposes the creation
of a platform to articulate interdisciplinary academic and society dialogues
between both countries around identity issues which define tensions on the
world stage between local identities and global demands in order to provide
tools for intercultural dialogues, and hence contribute to world peace and
understanding.
The identity question runs through human existence, right in its widest
middle, from its most prosaic and sociological aspects to its most ethereal
and philosophical ones. That means that we are dealing with one of the most
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