Central Eurasian Studies

Email:

jestorey@indiana.edu

Education History

Doctoral Candidate in Central Eurasian/Hungarian Studies, Indiana University
M.A. in Central Eurasian/Hungarian Studies, Indiana University (2015)
B.A. in Anthropology (magna cum laude), University of Colorado at Boulder (2007)

PhD Dissertation Title (in progress)

“Sovereign Voices: Negotiating National Identity, the State, and Meaning-Making in Contemporary Hungary”
Chairs: Gardner Bovingdon and Kathryn Graber

MA Thesis Title

“Contemporary Hungarian Politics and the Voice that Moves the Nation”
Chair: Lynn Hooker

Honors and Awards

2016 György Ránki Prize for Extraordinary Commitment in Hungarian Programs
2014 György Ránki Prize for Extraordinary Commitment in Hungarian Programs

Grants and Fellowships

2019-20 Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship: Budapest
2017-18 Balassi Institute Fellowship
2016-17 Balassi Institute Fellowship
2015-16 Balassi Institute Fellowship
2014-15 Balassi Institute Fellowship

Languages

• English (native)
• Hungarian (advanced)
• Estonian (low-intermediate)
• French (reading)
• German (reading)

Conference Participation (selected)

"Looks Like Socialism: Materialities of an Old Socialist Regime in Contemporary Hungary"
Indiana University 27th Annual Central Eurasian Studies Conference (2021)

“‘Budapest is not a circus!’: The Linguistic Landscape of Budapest’s 2019 Municipal Elections”
ASEEES Virtual Convention (2020)

Closing Remarks: Tearing Down the Wall”
Fulbright Hungary “Breaking Down Walls Building the Future” Conference (2019)

“Institutional Nationalism in Modern-Day Hungary”
Indiana University Romanian and Hungarian Studies Junior Scholar Conference (2019)

“Panel 5: Minorities in Modern Romania,” Panel Chair
Indiana University Romanian and Hungarian Studies Junior Scholars Conference (2019)

“Hungary’s Soros-terv: The Growing Indexicality of a Text in Circulation”  
Indiana University 25th Annual Central Eurasian Studies Conference (2019)

“Manifestations of Neoshamanism in Contemporary Hungary”
Indiana University 23rd Annual Central Eurasian Studies Conference (2016)

“The Face of Contemporary Hungarian Politics and the Voice that
Moves the Nation”
Indiana University 22nd Annual Central Eurasian Studies Conference (2015)

“István, a király: Hungarian Symbols and Identity”
Indiana University Inaugural Conference of the Hungarian Cultural Association (2014)

Teaching and Relevant Work Experience

Lead Instructor, Collins Living-Learning Center, IU Bloomington
CLLC-L120 Nation and Governance in Hungary (Fall 2021)

Associate Instructor, Department of International Studies, IU Bloomington
INTL-I206 Peace and Conflict, Lead Instructor Clemence Pinaud (Spring 2021)
INTL-I100 Introduction to International Studies, Lead Instructor Gardner Bovingdon (Fall 2020)

Graduate Assistant, Russian and East European Institute, IU Bloomington (Spring and Summer 2020)
Graduate Assistant for Outreach, Russian and East European Institute, IU Bloomington (Academic Year 2018-2019)

Research Interests

I am a political and linguistic anthropologist who studies contemporary Hungarian rhetoric as texts ebb and flow from elite mouths to those of Hungarians in their kitchens. I am also interested in the European Union and sovereignty as perceived by the Hungarian state and its citizens; and in meaning-making in Hungarian political discourse and the role state institutions play in this process. More broadly, I am concerned with nationhood and identity.