Dr. Iván Nyusztay

Biography:

I am an Assistant Professor at ELTE University of Budapest, Department of English Studies. Beside teaching different literary historical periods, I hold lectures and seminars on the theory and history of drama. I hold a PhD. from K.U. Leuven, Belgium (2000) and a habilitation from ELTE University of Budapest (2012). In the academic year of 2014/15 I was employed by UITM in Rzeszow, Poland, where I taught British and American Culture and Literature. I am the author of two books on drama theory (Myth, Telos, Identity: The Tragic Schema in Greek and Shakespearean Drama, Amsterdam–New York: Rodopi, 2002, and Configurations of Identity in Absurd Drama: Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Budapest: L’Harmattan, 2010), and of a number of articles including “Infinite Responsibility and the Third in Emmanuel Levinas and Harold Pinter” (Literature and Theology, OUP, 2014), and “The Merry Sufferer: Authentic Being in Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days” (Philosophy and Literature, Johns Hopkins UP, 2018). In my research I have been suported by several generous grants (Peregrinatio, Soros-K.U.Leuven, Bolyai, OTKA).    

Research:

In my research I focus on the history and theory of drama. My interest in Shakespeare dates from my university studies, and has never wavered since, even when I extended my research to absurd drama. With both of my books on the theory of drama I tried to fill in the gaps in the relevant scholarship. As can be seen from my list of publications, my approach to literature betrays an inclination towards philosophy and interdisciplinarity. I am convinced that the study of the relationship between drama and philosophy is exceptionally illuminating for both disciplines.

Selected publications:

Monographs:

• Az önazonosság konfigurációi az abszurd drámában: Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard. [Configurations of Identity in Absurd Drama: Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard.] Budapest: L’Harmattan, 2010. 
• Myth, Telos, Identity: The Tragic Schema in Greek and Shakespearean Drama. Amsterdam–New York: Rodopi, 2002. 

Papers: 

• "An Experiment in Rebelling in Samuel Beckett: The Impact of Camus and Havel.” Polish Journal of English Studies 4.2 (2018): 25-39.
• “The Merry Sufferer: Authentic Being in Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days.” Philosophy and Literature 42. 1 (2018): 112-124.
• “Infinite Responsibility and the Third in Emmanuel Levinas and Harold Pinter.” Literature and Theology 29.2 (2015): 153-165.

Selected conferences

Teaching

Supervision

Further information