The term "research topic" means that  we'd like to introduce the theme of our course as a field of ongoing academic research. The histories of animated films in our region is not a closed set of texts, nor is it a closed canon. We'd like to invite our students to participate in understanding and evaluating these films with us, researchers and lecturers. Through the questions and comments of our students new aspects can enhance the horizon of research.

Special themes for the spring semester:

Gender issues and women artists in animated films from the region in the past 50 years.

Social sensitivity, stereotypes, representation of exclusion.

Art and tech in animated films of the region.

General themes:

Host lecturer’s topic: A general introduction to the wider context of animation film industry in the region. Particular attention is given to historical comparisons over time, and to the impact of regional interdependence on geopolitics, economic affairs, cultural diffusion, social change. We'd like to encourage our students to prepare for the course with some readings on the V4 countries, and also on their cultural fund called International Visegrad Fund (IVF) as well as on the 20th century history of each V4 country: Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
 
Host lecturer’s topic: Hungarian animation history: roots of the industry, impacts of different art genres and art/design movements from the beginning to present, artistic strategies - life strategies, case studies to support the general statements: the lifework of György Kovásznai, Sándor Reisenbüchler, Gyula Macskássy, József Nepp and Marcell Jankovics. Hungarian contemporary animation: new approaches and the legacy. It is obligatory to read some articles on the famous Hungarian Pannonia Filmstudio in advance.

Guest lecturers: each guest lecturer makes a series of 4 lectures. The first is a general introduction to their country’s animation industry from a wider perspective of social, political and cultural point of view. From the second lecture the speaker starts to elaborate the chosen period or genre in a chronological order by showing the films subject to analysis,  and showing images to support the different connections of the films and other genres, other filmmakers, other movements etc. By the end of the 4th course the students gain a thorough understanding of the given country’s given period’s animation industry from some interesting new approaches and would be aware of at least 5-10 authors. New approaches to the study of animation films in the Cold war era, such as gender issues, unveiling of underlying political messages, political propaganda etc are much supported by the course.

 It is also important that the guest lecturer makes the selection of films and images available for the students on the website of the course a month before the lecture starts. The lecturer is also responsible for bringing books and DVDs on his/her topic, which would become part of MOME’s dedicated library. Guest lecturers would remain available for student’s questions via email until the end of semester.