Educator

Temporary lecturer from 1974, appointed lecturer from 1976, associate university professor from 1978, university professor from 1990 in the Department of Associated Sciences of History at the Faculty of Humanities of ELTE. His educational activity involves teaching (the history of historical science, historical source studies, modern age material culture and natural history), education organisation (modern age historical museology and the founding of a specialised programme for the history of European integration) and the edition of textbooks (a handbook series for teachers).

History of Historiography (Historical Science)

He presents the main colloquium compulsory for every student of history from 1974 as the successor of Emma Lederer, initially together with Ferenc Rottler, later (from 1976) alone. From 1976 the subject is entitled “The history of historical science” emphasising the fact that he regards the history of historiography as science history. This means that apart from studying historical works and personalities he also deals with institutions and above all methodological schools and procedures, as well as contemporary historian training, the teaching of history and historical public thinking. After studying the development of historical science in Germany, France, the Soviet Union and England, in his university lectures he reflected more and more thoroughly on the 19-20^th century history of the German, French and English historical science. He paid special attention to the development of the conditions of the scientific character of historiography (source criticism studies, associated sciences, trends of history philosophy, institutionalisation).

1989–90 at the time of his ministerial assignment he suspended teaching at the university – no historiography education was provided from 1990.

1990- he is responsible for the 4-semester training entitled “Man and nature in the 19-20^th century” in the framework of the Modern Age and Contemporary Historical Museology.

In 2007 heelaborates the BA and MA programmes of the history of historiography in the new Bologna system. In the framework of these programmes the lecture series “Introduction to the history of Hungarian historiography” was announced at BA level in September 2007. The introductory lectures were delivered by Ferenc Glatz (on the birth of historical thinking and historical science), which was followed by lectures of expert researchers taking account of the various historical concepts on individual periods of Hungarian history (István Fodor, Attila Zsoldos, István Tringli, Pál Fodor, István Soós, László Csorba, Zoltán Szász, József Kardos, Lajos Izsák). At the MA level a lecture series entitled “The history of Hungarian and European historical science in the 19-20^th century” is planned to be launched in 2009 with the participation of Ferenc Glatz and Attila Pók, titular associate university professor. The former elaborates the plan of a handbook (textbook) to the BA and MA programmes. The publication of the two volumes of the chrestomathy entitled “Történészek a magyar történettudomány egyes korszakairól” (Historians on Individual Periods of Hungarian Historical Science) and the two-volume reference book “A magyar történettudomány történetének adattára” (Reference Book on the History of Hungarian Historical Science) including biographies of historiographers and institutional data is due in 2009.

Modern age historical museology

In 1977 Ferenc Glatz was commissioned to elaborate the plan of the modern age historical museology training by the Ministry of Culture and Education on the basis of his lectures on historiography and modern age historical methodology. Ferenc Glatz formulated his six-semester training curriculum based on the following principles:

A new challenge arises for the historiography of our age by the emergence of new means of communication: broadcasting (“tune play”), film, television (“image play”) and the Internet. If historical science cannot get hold of these means of communication the historians of the 20^th -21^st century will be unable to mediate historical knowledge.
Historical science must learn the science of making images, oral and material remains “speak”.
Modern age museology is therefore the complex study of the history of culture, society and technology. It prepares us for the evaluation of the manufacturing and utilisation characteristics of remains and their denotational content.
Modern age museology is therefore a complex modern age source study, which is capable of critically managing the written and material remains left by the state, persons and private institutions.
Modern age museology emancipates the vocation of historical museologists. It defines a museologist as a collector of remains, a critic and utiliser of sources as well as a historian.
Modern age museology can be one of the workshops of „new historiography”.

The training of historical museologists is launched in 1979 and has been running till the present day at the Faculty of Humanities of ELTE according to this curriculum as a specialised programme and faculty group. Ferenc Glatz is lecturer of the subject “Az anyagi kultúra története a 19. században” (The history of material culture in the 19h century), as well as the seminar Általános és újkori forrástan (General and modern age source studies) in 4 classes through 4 semesters. From 1985 he leads a seminar entitled “Ember és természet az újkori Magyarországon” (Man and nature in modern age Hungary). Hundreds of historical museologists who were trained in the faculty group are working currently in the modern age departments of museum collections and research institutes as experts of modern age and contemporary social, cultural and educational history.

President of the committee for the subject history (1985-1989)

He was commissioned to be President of the committee for the subject history in 1985. (The former president, Iván Berend T. was elected President of the HAS in 1985.) He identifies three major tasks as President:

supervision of curricula,
maintaining a continuous dialogue between historical science and the teaching of history,
the re-evaluation of the teacher’s role

Responsible for the subject programme is the Institute of History of HAS (apart from the OPI, the institute administering the committee), of which Ferenc Glatz was deputy director in 1986-88 and later director.

He initiates the National Conference of History Teachers, which takes place every year between 1987-1992 and again in 1998. (On the basis of the venue of the conference it is entitled Békásmegyeri történelemtanári napok (History Teachers’ Days in Békásmegyer). The conference usually has topical issues of history education on its agenda.

As far as the supervision of curricula is concerned (1987) he urges the re-evaluation of so far prevalent dogmatic principles and emphasises the embedding of Hungarian history and historical events in a European and universal history context and promotes the education of themes related to social, cultural and natural history and the strengthening of factuality.

Handbook series for teachers

Ferenc Glatz edited a compendium of Hungarian history compiled for teachers of history entitled Magyarok Európában I–IV. (Hungarians in Europe Vol. 1-4) including writings of Pál Engel, Ferenc Szakály and Domokos Kosáry (1990–1991). He edits and partly writes the teachers’ handbook entitled Vezérfonal a magyar és az egyetemes történelem tanításához (Guidelines for Teaching Hungarian and Universal History) published in 10.000 copies, which gives a thematic outline of teaching Hungarian and universal history for secondary school teachers. The lecture series Előadások a történettudomány műhelyeiben (Lectures in the Ateliers of Historical Science), which have been published from 1986 up to the present day, is launched on his initiative. In the framework of this programme leading historians of universities and research institutes are invited by the Institute of Science of HAS, their lectures are followed by discussion, which is later published in edited version in a booklet series of 4-6000 copies for teachers. From 2005 the lectures are published in the periodicals História and Történelmi Szemle (Historical Review).
The História Könyvtár (História Library) is launched as the shared publication of the Institute of History of HAS and the História for teachers. (He elaborates the plan of the series, edits the individual volumes and directs the institute’s respective publisher together with his former students.)

Introduction to the history of European integration and its present institutional system

He elaborates and submits for accreditation the draft of the specialised training Bevezetés az európai integráció történetébe és mai intézményrendszerébe (Introduction to the history of European integration and its present institutional system) in 2007. This specialised training of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of ELTE is based on lectures and seminars delivered in English, German and Hungarian. The training begins in 2009 in line with the Bologna process. The guiding principle is that an intellectual layer, i.e. a circle of history teachers and researchers – is needed, whose erudition and education is partly compatible, partly based on being familiar with European history and the common European institutions. He elaborates the draft concerning the chrestomathy, which is to be used as a textbook – first in Hungarian later in English and German. (Lecturers of the University of ELTE, research fellows and young researchers of the Institute of History and the Working Group for the History of Europe of HAS participate in the project, i.e. in the teaching of the subject and the edition of the handbook.)