Elemér Hankiss
Elemér Hankiss, born 1928 in Debrecen, Hungary, received his bachelor's degree from Budapest University, followed by a Ph.D. He has been Director of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Sociology since 1996. Dr. Hankiss is also Senior Scientist at The Gallup Organization (Princeton). His research fields include social values and belief systems, contemporary Western civilization, contemporary mythologies, and the sociology of the consumer civilization. His recent books include Humans and Antelopes: Conversations about Some Ultimate Concerns, 2001 [in Hungarian]; Fears and Symbols: An Introduction in the Study of Western Civilization, 2000; and Proletarian Renaissance: An Essay in Contemporary Civilization, 1999 [in Hungarian]. He is currently Visiting Professor at the European University Institute, Florence, and the Central European University.
His most recent publication in English is The Toothpaste of Immortality. Self-Construction in the Consumer Age, Baltimore - Washington DC: The Johns Hopkins University Press -- Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2006.