Department of Sociology - Corvinus University of Budapest

🎓 Introducing Our PhD Students | Meet Bori Marosán

In our Introducing Our PhD Students series, we highlight the researchers behind the work at the Doctoral School of Sociology and Communication Science.

Today, meet Borbála Marosán, a first-year PhD student whose research explores how children can meaningfully participate in decisions that affect their lives.👇

What is your research about?

My doctoral research focuses on children’s participation in decision-making, particularly in areas such as urban planning, education, and community initiatives. I examine how children’s right to participation works in practice, and how institutional structures, power relations, and governance cultures shape the possibilities for meaningful participation.

What broader issues does your work address?

My interest in this topic grew out of my work in practice-based design research projects, where I collaborate directly with children and communities. These experiences revealed both the potential of participatory methods and the structural barriers that often limit children’s real influence. This led me to explore children’s participation as a sociological issue connected to democracy, inequality, and institutional practices.

How has the doctoral program supported your research?

Research seminars and methodological courses have helped me develop my theoretical and methodological approach. Regular discussions with supervisors and feedback from faculty have been essential in navigating the growing body of literature and refining my research focus.

What do you value about the doctoral school community?

Having a shared PhD room makes the process much less isolating, and informal gatherings with professors help create an open and supportive atmosphere alongside academic discussions and research events.

📣 Thinking about applying to the Doctoral School of Sociology and Communication at Corvinus?
⏰ Only 2 days left to apply!

Learn more and apply here: https://www.uni-corvinus.hu/post/landing-page/phd/?lang=en

If you have any questions about the program, don’t hesitate to reach out.

📽️ Film Screening Invitation: The Day Iceland Stood Still

The Research Group for Gender and Culture warmly invites you to a special screening of the acclaimed documentary The Day Iceland Stood Still.
The film tells the powerful story of the historic 1975 women’s strike in Iceland, when 90% of Icelandic women stopped working—both in paid employment and unpaid domestic labor—bringing the country to a standstill. Through archival footage and personal testimonies, the documentary highlights how this collective action became a turning point in the struggle for gender equality. The film was also featured at the Budapest International Documentary Festival.

📅 Date: March 18, 2026
⏰ Time: 17:20–19:50
📍 Location: Corvinus University of Budapest, Building C, Ground Floor, Room X
🗣️ Language: Icelandic and English with Hungarian and English subtitles

The screening will be followed by a roundtable discussion (in Hungarian) with experts and students. The program is organized jointly with the Equalizer Foundation, and a special guest from the foundation will join us to share their perspectives and experiences.

We warmly welcome all interested participants to join this engaging and timely event.

Don't miss these two exciting upcoming events this March, on gender equality, labor, and social justice 🚀✨

🎬 Film Screening & Discussion – The Day Iceland Stood Still
Organized by the Research Group for Gender and Culture

On March 18, 2026, we will screen the acclaimed documentary telling the story of the historic 1975 Icelandic women’s strike, when 90% of Icelandic women stopped both paid work and unpaid domestic labor, bringing the entire country to a standstill. Through archival footage and personal testimonies, the film captures a pivotal moment in the global struggle for gender equality.

The screening will be followed by a roundtable discussion with experts and students, organized together with the Equalizer Foundation.

📍 Corvinus University, Building C, Room X
🕠 17:20–19:50
🌍 Icelandic & English with Hungarian and English subtitles

🎓 Public Lecture by Nancy Fraser
Organized by the Rajk College for Advanced Studies

In 2025, Rajk College awarded the Andorka Rudolf Medal to Nancy Fraser, one of the most influential contemporary social theorists. Her work examines justice and injustice across feminism, global inequality, racism, and climate change.
In her lecture “Three Faces of Labor: Uncovering the Hidden Ties between Gender, Race, and Class,” Fraser explores how capitalist societies rely on three interconnected forms of labor. By uncovering these hidden structural relations, the lecture sheds light on how gender, race, and class inequalities are reproduced within contemporary capitalism.

Register here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1237017531851908/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22home%22%7D%2C%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22attachment%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22newsfeed%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D

Thinking about starting a PhD? ☕📚

Join us at PhD Café 2026 – Science, Inspiration and Career over Coffee, an upcoming event at Corvinus University of Budapest where you can meet our doctoral community, learn about ongoing research, and have informal conversations with current PhD students and faculty members.

If you’re curious about academic life, exploring research ideas, or considering applying to our Doctoral School of Sociology and Communication Science, this is the perfect opportunity to ask your questions in a friendly, open setting.

Participation is free, but registration is required. We warmly invite prospective applicants and anyone interested in doctoral studies to join us and get inspired.

More about the event: https://lnkd.in/d77VdvzE
For details on application: https://lnkd.in/dK9--N3R

📚 Thank you to everyone who joined us for an inspiring start to the semester!

Last week we had the pleasure of welcoming Professor Rachel Brooks (University of Oxford), a world-leading expert on higher education and international student mobility.

On Monday, 16 February, Professor Brooks delivered a lecture on “What Is a Higher Education Student?”, which offered perspectives on student identities and experiences.

This lecture was followed on Tuesday, 17 February by her highly practical workshop on “How to Get Published: Insights from an Editor”, where participants gained valuable advice on academic publishing directly from an experienced editor and were able to ask any questions.

A big thank you to Professor Brooks for sharing her expertise, and to all students and colleagues who attended. We hope you found the sessions as enriching as we did! 🙌

______________________________________________________

What is a higher education student? Perspectives from across Europe



Assumptions are often made in both policy and academic debates that what it means to be a higher education (HE) student in Europe today is broadly similar across nation-states. These assumptions are typically linked to increased cross-border educational mobility (notably through the Erasmus programme), the development of a European Higher Education Area, and the widespread expansion and marketisation of higher education. Nevertheless, cross-national empirical evidence in support of such claims is rarely cited. To address this gap, Professor Brooks has conducted research in six European countries —Denmark, England, Germany, Ireland, Poland, and Spain—examining how the contemporary HE student is conceptualised. The study draws on perspectives from policy documents, media discourse, higher education staff, and students themselves.



The talk outlines the key constructions of higher education students that emerged from the project and examines the extent to which these constructions converge across and within nation-states, engaging with debates about the homogenisation of higher education in Europe and the extent to which nation-states can be considered coherent educational entities. It also highlights important axes of difference beyond national boundaries and types of social actors, notably those related to academic discipline, higher education institution, and students’ social backgrounds. Finally, the talk explores why these constructions matter, demonstrating that they are not merely of academic interest but have direct and material consequences.



Rachel Brooks is Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Education at the University of Oxford and served as the President of the British Sociological Association from 2024-25. She is also chair of the executive editors of the British Journal of Sociology of Education, a member of the editorial team of the journal Sociology, and co-editor of the ‘Research into Higher Education’ book series, published by Routledge and the Society for Research into Higher Education. Rachel’s research focuses primarily on the sociology of higher education. Particular areas of expertise include international student mobility (and processes of internationalisation and Europeanisation in higher education more generally); student politics and protest; and ensuring equity in access to and outcomes within higher education.



https://www.education.ox.ac.uk/person/rachel-brooks/

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=kPQPlLwAAAAJ&hl=hu&oi=ao

✨ Semester Wrap-Up & Applications for the New Academic Year

As we prepare to start the spring semester in mid-February, we would like to take a moment to reflect on some highlights from the past semester at our Doctoral School. The end of the term was marked by inspiring academic exchange, skills development, and moments of connection that strengthened our sense of community.

One of the semester’s highlights was welcoming Professor Louise Ryan (London Metropolitan University), whose lecture on longitudinal qualitative network analysis offered valuable methodological insights and sparked engaging discussions. In addition, she also held a publication writing workshop, providing doctoral students with practical guidance and support for developing publishable manuscripts.✍️

Our December Research Forum continued this spirit of exchange, bringing together doctoral students at different stages of their studies to share their research, reflect on common theoretical and methodological questions, and learn from one another in an open and supportive atmosphere.👩‍🏫

Alongside research, the Doctoral School also placed emphasis on skills and academic debates. A forum on the use of AI in doctoral research offered space to discuss the opportunities and challenges of emerging technologies.🤖

Beyond academic work, the Doctoral School also placed strong emphasis on the human side of the PhD journey. A stress-reduction workshop and our semester-closing Christmas gathering created space to slow down and connect, reminding us that well-being and collegiality are essential parts of doctoral life. 🌿🤍

📢 Applications are now open for the Sociology PhD Program at Corvinus University of Budapest.
If you are interested in pursuing high-quality sociological research in a supportive and intellectually vibrant environment, we warmly encourage you to apply.

👉 Find more information here:
https://lnkd.in/geqNGb8A

💬 Or feel free to reach out to us directly via DM here on LinkedIn.

We look forward to welcoming new doctoral students and to meeting prospective applicants at upcoming events in March.

📢 New publication out!

A new article by Noémi Katona and Dóra Gábriel explores caring communities in senior care, focusing on how municipal practices and civic initiatives interact in rural Hungary. The study offers fresh insights into local governance, care relations, and community-based responses to ageing societies. A must-read for those interested in social policy!

🔗

LinkedIn This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

📚Publication Spotlight: Power-Interactional Expertise: Negotiating Journalistic Autonomy during the Catalan Crisis at El País

We’re pleased to highlight a recent article by Zoltan Dujisin, Assistant Professor and member of our doctoral school community.

In this new publication, Zoltán examines how journalistic autonomy is negotiated under political pressure, drawing on in-depth interviews conducted at El País during the 2017 Catalan independence crisis. The article offers a timely contribution to media sociology by proposing the concept of power-interactional expertise to better understand professional autonomy as a dynamic and contested process.

Read more about it 👇

"Sharing what I consider my strongest article so far. Based on 22 in-depth interviews with journalists at El País, one of Europe’s leading legacy media, I explore how the Catalan independence crisis in 2017 affected newsroom dynamics. In the process, I develop a new theoretical framework for understanding journalistic autonomy.

I argue that journalistic autonomy is not an absolute value. Instead, it works as a distributed system of professional expertise: editors and journalists collectively manage dependencies on political and economic power while maintaining the ability to project a sense of autonomy. In other words, limitations to journalistic autonomy have always existed, with editors required to possess the expertise to carefully translate political and economic pressures into professional conventions. It is precisely this regime of expertise that collapsed at El País. The newsroom overwhelmingly perceived the editorial board as lacking the necessary expertise to protect journalists’ ability to project autonomy to the public, peers, and themselves.

While the study focuses on Spain, it would be tempting — but deeply unfair — to indict Madrid-based media. The patterns observed reflect broader global trends, as multiple credible academic and journalistic sources — as well as my own journalistic sources — attest. Ironically, in the name of protecting liberal democracy, one of its key professed values — journalistic autonomy — can be compromised, and increasingly explicitly so.

Happy to share the full article with anyone who doesn’t have access — just send me a message.

I also want to sincerely thank colleagues at Corvinus University, ORM at UCLouvain, the ECHO workshop at VUB (especially Benjamin De Cleen!), the SKAT workshop at Columbia Univesity, and colleagues at Erasmus Rotterdam University for their support, encouragement, patience, and feedback. Your input was decisive in moving this project forward."

Link to the article 👇

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📣 Call for Applications | Sociology PhD Program – Corvinus University of Budapest

Are you interested in understanding how social processes, institutions, and inequalities shape everyday life and global transformations? Do you want to conduct high-quality sociological research in an intellectually vibrant and friendly academic environment? The Sociology Doctoral Program at Corvinus University of Budapest invites applications from motivated candidates with strong research interests in sociology.

Our Program offers a stimulating research environment in which faculty members and doctoral students engage with pressing contemporary social issues of global relevance. Research areas at the department include, among others, political mobilization and protest cultures, social mobility and higher education, migration and inequality, gender and work, digitalization and social media, corruption, economic sociology, and the social and ethical implications of artificial intelligence.

Doctoral students receive strong, research-focused training. Continuous work on the doctoral project is supported through close supervision, regular progress reviews, doctoral research forums, and encouragement to publish and present at international conferences.
The Program also places strong emphasis on the quality of the doctoral experience. Beyond academic excellence, we foster a supportive, collegial, and inclusive community that values peer learning, intellectual exchange, and attention to the human side of doctoral work, including long-term motivation, focus, and well-being.

💰 Funding opportunities include the state doctoral scholarship, the Corvinus Doctoral Scholarship for Hungarian applicants, and additional competitive funding for conferences and research-related expenses.
📌 Applicants may propose a research topic aligned with those listed on doktori.hu or bring their own sociology-related research idea. The department has extensive supervisory expertise and a strong track record of securing external supervisors when needed.
📩 For further information, please contact Dr. Lilla Vicsek, Director of the Sociology PhD Program: [email protected]. If you’re considering applying and would like to hear a current doctoral student’s perspective, feel free to reach out to Vanda Pózner as well: [email protected].

There will be opportunities to meet doctoral students and the program director at events in March, such as the Ph.D. café event.

✨🎄 Sociology Doctoral Program Xmas Party🎄✨

Thank You for a Lovely Evening!

Last week, the Doctoral School of Sociology at Corvinus University of Budapest came together for a cozy and joyful Christmas gathering. The room was filled with festive decorations, snacks, board games, and n amazing company.

We enjoyed board and card games, informal chats, and simply unwinding together before the end of the year. Thank you to everyone who brought food, games, decorations, music, and, most importantly, yourself.

Wishing everyone a great start of the year looking forward to more moments like this in the new year! 🎁✨

📸 Photos from the evening below.

🌍 Take Your PhD Beyond Your Desk This Summer 🌍

📍 ESA PhD Summer School 2026
📆 22–24 August 2026, Warsaw, Poland

Organised by the European Sociological Association, this intensive Summer School offers a unique opportunity to present your work, receive expert feedback, and deepen your theoretical & methodological skills - all while building lasting academic networks.

With accommodation and meals covered and travel support available, this is a rare opportunity to fully focus on your research while expanding your academic horizons.

📝 Apply by 30 January 2026 via ESA ConfTool.

More info: https://lnkd.in/dyxpCYEH

!!!!The application period for the Sociology Doctoral Program at Corvinus University of Budapest is fast approaching! If you would like to learn more about the program, visit the university's website or join us at the Ph.D. Café on March 6th.

Alongside other program heads, Lilla Vicsek will be there to answer any questions, and current sociology doctoral students will also be available to share their experiences. Feel free to reach out to her via email if you have any inquiries about the application process. !!!

About the Ph.D. café:

PhD Café 2025 - Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem 3MT Competition and Informal Discussion