Photo: Valter Berecz / 24.hu
The internationally renowned sociologist Iván Szelényi, one of the leading scholars of Eastern European societies, has died. The social sciences have lost a thinker whose work, over several decades, shaped the study of inequality, the sociology of intellectuals, and the frameworks through which the post-socialist transformation has been understood.
His career spanned continents, taking him from Budapest to New York, but his ties to Hungary remained strong throughout his life. Alongside his academic work, he consistently defended the country’s traditions of critical thought. When the Hungarian Academy of Sciences closed down the Lukács Archive, Szelényi helped establish LANA – the Lukács Archive International Foundation – and provided it with generous support. In doing so, he not only helped preserve Lukács’s legacy but also took a stand in defence of Hungary’s progressive intellectual heritage.
Szelényi’s legacy lives on in the social sciences, in his students’ work and in the sense of intellectual responsibility that characterised his career. The academic community in Hungary and around the world honours his memory.