Research area and keywords of research:
Historical geographic regions of the Carpathian Basin
(Keywords: landscape analysis, landscape change, landscape use, anthropogeography, cultural landscape)
Name of the researcher(s) and research group:
Geography research group
- Dr. Sándor Kókai CsC
- Dr. Andrea Bányászné Kristóf
- Gulyás László Szabolcs
Name of the Institute:
University of Nyíregyháza, Institute of Tourism and Geography
Research objectives:
Current research topics include the study of the historical geographic regions of the Carpathian Basin (e.g. the Highlands, Bánság, Hungarian Great Plain, etc.), as well as the study of the effects of individual forms of management on landscape use and changes in the cultural landscape.
Did the some kind of form of the regional specialisation take shape landscape usage of the Carpathian-Basin?
What kind of context can be manifested between the demographic peculiarities and the economic development?
What are the favourable effects of the high number of towns and the high density of settlements on local residents and their general living conditions?
Description and results of research:
The cultural landscape is created due to the unique interactions between nature and society. In other words, neither landscape is defined by nature nor by society, but we must interpret these two together. Specific lifestyles and forms of life are created in every natural landscape. The relationship between nature and society takes shape over a long period of time (that is, a historical perspective is indispensable for our research). Human cultural creations appear in the image of the landscape, they are reflected there. The image of settlements is also an element of the cultural landscape. The landscape use is different, the appearance of the settlements is different. Culture and society are connected. These cultural landscapes are also created through a long process. Previous states must be analyzed with information that is contemporaneous and thus relevant. The analysis must be carried out for as many time cross-sections as possible (i.e. so-called "cross-sectional broach" - cross-sectional analyzes are necessary) in order to be able to perform an effective process analysis.
The research aims to explore the complex economic and social resources of Carpathian-Basin, in order to create the scientific basis of long-lasting and sustainable development. In the course of the research the physical and historical geographical determinants of the region’s land use and the anthropogenic surface changes are explored.
The members of the research group publish their scientific results in refereed domestic and foreign journals and independent books.
Research partners from other institutions:
- Dr. Sándor Frisnyák, professor emeritus, University of Nyíregyháza
- Dr. Gábor Csüllög, Associate professor, (ELTE)
- Dr. János Szulovszky, Senior Research Fellow, MTA BTK
- Dr. Gábor Demeter, Senior Research Fellow, MTA BTK
- Dr. Rácz Lajos Rácz, Associate professor, University of Szeged
- Dr. László Gulyás, Associate professor
Other information:
The research area and topic provide a versatile opportunity for the geography students of University to get involved in the sub-fields of the research independently or in groups, developing their independent research skills
Publications (max. 5):
- Kókai S. (2010): A Bánság történeti földrajza, 1718–1918. A Bánság helye és szerepe a Kárpát-medence földrajzi munkamegosztásában. Nyíregyházi Főiskola Turizmus és Földrajztudományi Intézet, Nyíregyháza. 421 p.
- Kókai S. (2015): Bánság, Erdély vagy Partium: a Szörénység. Történeti Földrajzi Közlemények 3:2 pp. 25-40.
- Frisnyák S.-Kókai S. (2019): Adalékok a Delibláti-homokpuszta és környéke tájtörténetéhez (környezetgazdálkodás, 18. század - 20. század eleje). Történeti Földrajzi Közlemények 7:3-4 pp. 37-69.
- Kókai S. (2020): How the Trianon Peace Treaty impeded social and spatial structure progress in the Bánság (1918–2010). Regional Statistics 10:1 pp. 133-155.
- Kókai S. (2021): A Marosszög történeti földrajza (1718-1918): a táj- és erőforrás használat változása a 18. század elejétől a 20. század elejéig. Nyíregyháza-Kiszombor, MTA Társadalomföldrajzi Tudományos Bizottság Történeti Földrajzi Albizottsága. 297. p.