Below the fold is a letter Elizabeth Lee sent along about a possible closure of a philosophy department in Budapest, along with “a petition to sign protesting the closure”:http://www.petitiononline.com/hpselte/. I haven’t been able to independently verify everything in the letter, but everything I have looked at has checked out.
bq.. Dear All:
I have recently learned that the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest faces dissolution in the near future. In addition, all members of the HPS Department are expecting dismissal from the university. The Faculty of Science, to which the HPS Department belongs, are voting about the issue March 16, 2005. I would like to invite you to join an online petition to protest against the dissolution of the Department. Your support is much needed.
You can find the petition at “http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?hpselte”:http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?hpselte.
The Faculty of Science claims that financial considerations are the only reason behind this decision. It is seriously contended that the Department’s dissolution will not improve the university’s financial standing.
Members of the HPS Department are internationally renowned and do important research in various field of the history and philosophy of science. The HPS Department is one of the very few departments where history and philosophy of science are taught in Hungary. The Department’s dissolution would have a tragical effect on Hungarian history and philosophy of science.
Further information about the department can be found at “http://hps.elte.hu”:http://hps.elte.hu. Department Chair Gyorgy Kampis can be reached at gk at hps-dot-elte-dot-hu . If you have any comments or questions, please contact Daniel Margocsy (Harvard University, margocsy at fas-dot-harvard-dot-edu ) or Balazs Gyenis (University of Pittsburgh, gyepi at pitt-dot-edu).
Please forward this message to anyone who might be concerned.
Thank you for consideration.
Sincerely,
Daniel Margocsy
PhD Student
Department of History of Science
Harvard University
Science Center 371
1 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138