“Past-dependence” as Mentality Distinction of National Minority Members

Abstract

The article juxtaposes the terms of the analysis of collective memory (“illness for the past,” “obligation to remember”) with conclusions drawn from qualitative research on the social worlds of Hungarian minorities. The respondents indicated orientation to the past noticeable in their community (its cultural projects, strategies for cooperation with “strangers”), which continues to reproduce and affect the next generations. The following features were typical for members of minorities. It has been pointed out that their specific attention to the past is justified. It is worth asking whether the “modernization” of a minority and opening it to cultural diversity will accelerate intensive assimilation even more.