Между уюта на традицията и изкушенията на модерността - младежки жизнени светове в едно изолирано мюсюлманско село
Between the Comfort of Tradition and the Temptations of Modernity: Youngsters’ Life Worlds in an Isolated Muslim Village

Summary/Abstract: The research is a part of an educational project supported by Phare Lien Program of the European Union. The autobiographical essays written by secondary school pupils from two West Rhodope villages inhabited by Muslim Bulgarians (Pomaks) have been analysed in the article. The life prospects of the pupils from Ribnovo village evolve along three basic trajectories: (1) family: becoming a respectable parent (getting married, bringing up two children, building a comfortable house); (2) religion (being modest and hard working, compassionate to poor people, loyal to the native place, kin and community); (3) profession (being a good student, getting higher education and a good profession). The analysis reveals the tensions between different sources of influence: the mosque; the school, the local tradition, and the media (TV, video, newspapers). The essays of Ribnovo pupils are compared to the similar essays of Christian pupils living in the town of Gotse Delchev.

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