Challenges for Hungarian Geography: Perspectives of ‘Disability Studies’ in Hungary

Abstract

In Hungary people with disabilities are one of the most oppressed and marginalized social groups. During the last two decades they have become more and more ’visible’ for social sciences too, but unfortunately disability is still neglected in human geography. However, it always appears in media, public discourses and political debates and good examples for disability research from ‘Western’ geography are known and available. The main aim of this paper is to demonstrate that disability, as a research topic could be well adopted into Hungarian geography. Keeping the eyes on this goal, the paper is divided into three major parts. First, it gives a summary on the ‘geographical research’ of the mostly examined marginalized social groups in the Hungarian society and on some important research areas and results reached by scholars of various science areas. Second, it reveals some practicable approaches, research topics and methods of ‘disability geography’, a sub-discipline of Anglo-American geography. Finally, it explores how disability geography could be used in Hungary and gives an example based on own research.