Linguist, Cultural Anthropologist

Education and Background

Dr. Dezső Benedek was born in Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár).
He attended the Báthory István Theoretical High School
(then known as the No. 3 Theoretical High School) until 1967,
when he was expelled for encouraging fellow students to protest
against the forced integration of Romanian-language classes.

He graduated in 1972 from the
Babeș–Bolyai University,
majoring in English and German.

In 1978, he emigrated to the
United States,
where he pursued studies in
cultural anthropology
and comparative literature.
He earned his doctoral degree at the
University of Pennsylvania
with a dissertation entitled
“The Song of the Ancestors.”

Fieldwork and Research

As part of his ethnographic research,
Dr. Benedek spent four years living among an Austronesian tribe.
He conducted extensive work in
cultural revitalization
both within this community and in
East Timor and the
Philippines.

Academic Career

Dr. Benedek is fluent in 18 languages
and has working knowledge of six regional dialects.

He currently serves as an
Associate Professor
at Georgia State University,
where he teaches
cultural anthropology,
East Asian languages,
and comparative literature.

Publications and Professional Activities

He is the author or co-author of numerous
scholarly articles and book chapters.

Dr. Benedek is the
Director of Culture
at the Humanitad Foundation,
based in London, where he oversees
research projects in
general and comparative linguistics.