Department of Research on Knowledge, Values, and Culture

The founders of the institute firstly conducted research on art and on way of life that consisted study on culture and values, inquiry of the behaviour of audience during the process of reception of works of art and everyday culture, the characteristics of the driving and motivating values of the members of society, the creative process, the influence of artist on his/her environment and the role of culture in decision making. Later, the scope of research has widened with the recognition of the distinctiveness of mass and high culture, the problems of culture sponsoring, research on the role of the state and the civil society in cultural mediation, the changing values and their changing roles.

Researches were conducted in two workshops as theoretical and empirical inquiries. Research on values and on the state of cultural institutions has become longitudinal and nationwide; related to this, studies on sociology of arts and thoughts on cultural philosophy and theory of values were published in essays.

A new field of study consists the revealing of digital literacy/illiteracy, the attitudes of the reception of everyday culture, the cultural–economical aspects of the creation and mediation of cultural products, and the new forms of creativity.

Our colleges enjoy a key role in the realization of the concepts of the innovation of knowledge, knowledge transfer and lifelong learning. This manifests itself in numerous assignments and projects, both domestically and internationally, and contributes to a more expertly decision making and to the escalation of the idea of sustainability.

Our colleges express their views in individual publications, in joint research summaries and in volumes in Hungarian and in foreign languages as well. They also review the latest literature on the research of culture and values. The department, as well as the Institute, have edited the journal of cultural theory called Kultúra és Közösség (Culture and Community), a referred periodical of national and international study of culture for 35 years.