Inscribing a New Space

Author(s): Giustina Selvelli / Language(s): English Issue: 39/2016

In this paper I consider examples of urban public inscriptions which appeared during the Gezi Park protests of Istanbul in 2013. I consider them both as a form of expression permitting the creation and circulation of utopian messages of resistance, and as relating to the inclusion of a multiplicity of identities in the protest arena, such as Kurdish, Armenian and LGBT identities. I insist on the role the written word plays in forging a specific and non-exclusivist imaginary of the protest, positioned within complex power dynamics and national narratives. I view the physical presence of specific graphic expressions referencing "marginal identities" as part of a set of revolutionary actions, which demonstrate the importance of written-in spaces and surfaces in processes of "symbolic reterritorialization". This theme emerges as one of the central questions in interpretations of events relating to the Gezi resistance.

Women’s Narratives of Racialized and Gendered Space in Austin, Texas

Author(s): Martha Norkunas / Language(s): English Issue: 39/2016

This article examines African American women’s movement in racialized and gendered space in Austin, Texas in the mid twentieth century, reflecting on the relationship between race, gender, power and space. It draws on oral history interviews with African American women to consider how they negotiated the racialized and gendered geography of the city as well as the microspaces – especially downtown clothing stores – that were racialized and gendered in particular ways.

THE LEFTISM IDEOLOGY OR NOSTALGIA FOR THE SOCIALIST PAST? SEARCHING FOR LIEUX DE MÉMOIRE IN THE POST-SOVIET CULTURAL SPACES

Author(s): Liena Galeja / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2015

The concept lieu de mémoire (site of memory) was developed by the Frenchhistorian Pierre Nora in the 1970–90s, who suggests to use the term to refer to“any significant entity, whether material or non-material in nature, which by dintof human will or the work of time has become a symbolic element of the memorialheritage of any community” [Nora, Kritzman 1996:18]. Lieux de mémoire functionas an array of mnemonic techniques, which are necessary when the real memoryThe concept lieu de mémoire (site of memory) was developed by the French historian Pierre Nora in the 1970–90s, who suggests to use the term to refer to “any significant entity, whether material or non-material in nature, which by dintof human will or the work of time has become a symbolic element of the memorial heritage of any community” [Nora, Kritzman 1996:18]. Lieux de mémoire function as an array of mnemonic techniques, which are necessary when the real memory (milieux de mémoire) fades. Lieux de mémoire are repeatedly employed in referring back to the past, thus sustaining the actual identity of a community and laying a solid foundation for developing the existing identity or re-shaping it. In the Post-Soviet cultural space of Latvia lieux de mémoire, which are associated with the Soviet past, can be encountered everywhere, from the “The Government Inspector”, staged by Alvis Hermanis and performed during the 2010s, to the nostalgic interior objects in cafés, the hullabaloo stirred by the contest New Wave, the popularity of Karosta Prison in Liepāja, and social media users’ commentaries on the Internet about the topical events in contemporary society. The article discusses the potential links of these phenomena to contemporary socio-political events and attempts to establish if they hide any efforts to restore collective and individual memory, which were split alongside the so-called rewriting of history that took place as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union, or indications of flaws in Western neoliberalism and neoconservativism while seeking opportunities for renewal of society by way of indirect leftist ideological implications.

ANNAS (ASJAS) LĀCIS LOMA VALTERA BENJAMINA FILOZOFISKĀS DOMAS ĢENĒZĒ

Author(s): Beata Paškevica / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 2/2015

Walter Benjamin’s collection of articles, Passagenwerk (The Arcades Project), is regarded as the quintessence of his philosophical thought and aesthetical beliefs. A forerunner of this monumental work is the travel description entitled “Napoli”, written in co-authorship with Anna Lācis, where the keyword is porosity, which is a metaphor for the specific way of thinking for Walter Benjamin. The collection of literary sketches “One Way Street” and “Moscow Diary”, created in cooperation with Anna Lācis, are also important records of the 20th century aesthetical perceptions and ideological considerations. There exists an interesting intertextual link between the images of cities in various Benjamin’s works – Naples, Rīga, Moscow. The article is an attempt to discover the “unclear” influence of Asja Lācis on the philosophical thought of Walter Benjamin and is based on Beata Paškevica’s monograph “In der Stadt der Parolen. Asja Lacis, Walter Benjamin und Bertolt Brecht” published in Germany in 2006. The conclusion is that Asja Lācis has not had a great influence on Benjamin’s political views but on his aesthetical views. This has been metaphorically formulated by Benjamin himself in the dedication text of his book “One Way Street”.

BERNHARDA RAIHA RADOŠĀ DARBĪBA LATVIJĀ: 1951–1972

Author(s): Līga Ulberte / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 2/2015

Director and theatre theoretician Bernhard Reich (1894–1972) is one of the most outstanding personalities of the German theatre of the 1920s, who, as a director and co-playwright, has collaborated with Max Reinhardt and particularly with Bertolt Brecht. In 1922, in Berlin, Reich meets Anna Lācis, with whom he leaves for the Soviet Union in 1926 and spends the rest of his life together. Having survived the reprisals of Stalin’s regime, Reich spends the last twenty years of his life in Latvia, where his creative endeavours are manifested in three ways. Firstly, Reich directs two productions in the theatre: H. Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” (Valmiera Theatre, 1956) and B. Brecht’s “Mother Courage and Her Children” (the State Philharmonic of the Latvian SSR, 1969). Secondly, during the 1960s and 1970s, Reich publishes reviews of Latvian theatre productions and articles about playwriting abroad in the Latvian periodicals. Thirdly, a number of Latvian museums and archives house Reich’s own correspondence, mostly addressed to Lācis and discussing both professional and private issues.

THE PERCEPTION OF ASJA LACIS IN ITALY: IMPACT ON THEATRE, EDUCATION, AND POLITICS

Author(s): Eugenia Casini Ropa / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2015

The 1970s in Italy proved to be the time of both intense cultural renewal and growing political tension, followed by street fights and violent terrorism. The breaking of traditional social and cultural models and high achievements went hand in hand in this stormy environment, facilitated by both the desire of the individual to break free and collective creativity. The latter was sustained by left-wing intellectuals and artists. Also felt was the necessity to secure once again the leading role of theatre in culture and society. In 1976, left-wing editor Feltrinelli published the translation of Asja Lācis’s memoirs into Italian, entitled “Professione – rivoluzionaria” (Profession – Revolutionist), with an introductory essay on agitprop theatre in the Weimar Republic by the author of the present paper. Those turbulent years were the fertile soil that ensured the positive perception of the book and its strong impact on theatre and education, as well as the political and cultural domains. The trespassing of officially established theatre boundaries, which developed the ideas of collectivism and overtness of the individual’s life, was inspired by Asja’s innovative experience – it encouraged numerous theatre artists to rediscover the ethical sense in their routine work.

PROLETĀRISKĀS MĀKSLAS APRISES STARPKARU POSMA LATVIJAS KREISAJĀ PERIODIKĀ

Author(s): Stella Pelše / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 2/2015

In the left-wing magazines of the 1920s and 1930s, the visual art has been analysed from variously emphasised left-wing positions; even though, on the whole, literature seemed to be a more important weapon in the ideological battle. “Laikmets” (“Epoch”) (1923) was the least politicised periodical, advocating active, modern art opposed to stagnant bourgeois traditions, and promoting, for instance, the activism of author Andrejs Kurcijs, which was related to the ideas of the French purism. “Domas” (“Thoughts”) (1912–1915; 1924–1934) was a more long-lived periodical, aspiring to be a sophisticated culture magazine with more elaborate essays, such as Kurcijs’s draft for his publication “On Art” and the article “The Sociology of Creativity” by literary scholar Pēteris Birkerts. The highlights of the magazine “Trauksme” (“Alert”) (1928– 1929) included the statement by poet Pēteris Ķikuts about constructivism being more akin to the expressionists’ depth than to the impressionists’ superficial sliding over the surface of life. In “Signāls” (“Signal”) (1928–1930), a publication which was socialdemocratic in orientation, Voldemārs Branks wrote about art, inspired by the ideas of Leo Tolstoy and Hippolyte Taine, as well as emphasising the importance of the content and the accessibility of art. On the other hand, magazine “Kreisā Fronte” (“Left Front”) (1928–1930), edited by Linards Laicens, was related to the Russian constructivism by calling for the abandonment of the visual art in the name of producing useful things. The coexistence of modernistic, realistic and utilitarian versions echoed the Russian and European art processes of the time with the rehabilitation of mimetic traditions and ideologically motivated discrediting of the avant-garde. With the establishment of the Latvian authoritarian regime in 1934, the era of the leftist magazines in Latvia, which revealed the controversial attempts to display a more progressive outline of art, came to an end.

STRATEGIES FOR RECHRISTIANIZATION. POLITICAL RHETORIC OF THE NORWEGIAN HOME MISSION IN THE 1920’s

Author(s): Arne Bugge Amundsen / Language(s): English Issue: 1-2/2001

The paper discusses the strategies and the rhetorical elements of the Norwegian Inner Mission during a period of political and cultural conflict – the 1920’s and 1930’s. Special attention is paid to understanding the ambivalence between premodern values and modern strategies as they were expressed by one of the leaders of one of the inner mission organisations, professor of theology Ole Hallesby (1879–1961). In his thinking, the explicit aim of the inner mission activities was the rechristianization of Norway, the means were actions organised according to the modern society, but the cultural and social ideal was the non-secularized, premodern Norway – as opposed to urban pluralism. Probably, this ambivalence made the inner mission strategy a political failure.

Post-Graduate Qualification of Teachers in Intercultural Educational Environment

Author(s): Irina Koleva,Vesselin Tepavicharov,Violeta Kotseva,Kremena Yordanova / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2019

The article analyses the results of a project, witch was realized with a leading team of lecturers from Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridsky” and another seven Bulgarian higher schools.The text contains methodology and technology of professional-pedagogical training of 4500 Bulgarian teachers at national level. Teachers are from the primary education system.It presents also a developed training package of: a teacher’s handbook/ handbook, a teacher’s manual, basic and additional instructional materials on intercultural education. The training is conducted in two modules: attendance and distance. The results of the 227 trainings conducted in all regions of the Republic of Bulgaria are discussed.It analyses how these results influence the new law in the Republic of Bulgaria on pre-school and school education and the accompanying state educational standards.

O besmrtnim sijamkama – fikciji i fakciji… i još ponešto o braći po oružju, ne manje smrtno ozbiljnoj

Author(s): Nermin Sarajlić / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 21/2015

Zapinje li kome ili ne, svejedno, neće ništa škoditi, da dočara starozavjetni pripovjedni horror dovoljno će biti u sjećanje prizvati Kratki film o ubijanju Krzysztofa Kieslowskog. Kao i onomad u drevno doba Ne ubij se izvrnulo u svoju suprotnost.

Einige Probleme des Übergangs vom Neolithikum zum Äneolithikum im Karpatenraum

Author(s): Juraj Pavuk / Language(s): German Issue: 21/1983

Die Organisatoren der diesjährigen table ronde haben bei der Wahl des Themas der Beratung auf die Problematik des Übergangs vom Neolithikum zur Bronzezeit besonderen Nachdruck gelegt, wobei sie ihr Augenmerk auf die Desintegration der neolithischen Welt und auf die Herausbildung neuer ethnischer Gruppen richteten. Es ist ein kompliziertes und anspruchsvolles Thema, an das man aus vielen Aspekten herantreten kann; viele Probleme sind auf diesem Gebiet noch unklar und mehrere wurden unter gegensätzlichen Gesichtspunkten und mit völlig unterschiedlichen Ergebnissen gelöst. Gleich zur Einführung müssen zwei Seiten eines Problems hervorgehoben werden, und zwar, wann endet das Neolithikum und wann beginnt die Bronzezeit. Wenn wir diese Probleme koordinierend lösen wollen, müssen wir uns ausser anderem auch über diese Frage klar werden. Es handelt sich um das Problem der historisch-gesellschaftlichen Periodisierung sowie um die Frage einer detaillierten archäologischen, wenn wir wollen, auch typologisch-komparativen Periodisierung im Sinne der Systematisierung und Klassifikation vpn archäologischen Quellen aller Art. Ich versuche einige Teilprobleme am Beispiel der Lage im Nordteil des Karpatenbeckens und in einigen anliegenden Gebieten anzudeuten. [...]

Le »Reseau« du neolithique final: mutations economiques et interrelations Ouest-Est et Est-Ouest en France et dans quelques regions voisines

Author(s): Julia Roussot-Larroque / Language(s): French Issue: 21/1983

La fin du Néolithique en France, vers le milieu du 3ème millénaire avant notre ère, apparaît souvent comme une période de désagrégation et de fragmentation des ensembles antérieurs. La période précédente, Néolithique moyen ou Néolithique affirmé (3800 à 2600 environ avant notre ère, en dates conventionnelles), représentée sur la plus grande part du territoire français par la civilisation de Chassey et des groupes apparentés, est généralement considérée comme l’apogée de la société néolithique. La phase suivante verrait l ’éclatement de cette civilisation en un grand nombre de groupes régionaux, occupant des territoires plus restreints, et dont le rayonnement paraît bien moindre. Cette conception, communément exprimée, ne se confirme nullement si l’on fait porter l’attention sur la vie économique, spécialement au niveau des industries d'extraction et de transformation et la diffusion des produits entre groupes culturels sur de longues distances. Corrélativement nous verrons, à la même époque, une diffusion à longue distance entre groupes culturels, de certaines idées concernant en particulier les architectures funéraires et les représentations symboliques. [...]

Градското земеделие – значение на храната за изграждането на социални взаимоотношения

Author(s): Albena Nakova-Manolova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2018

The article analyses the relations between man and food in terms of how the production of food in the process of practicing urban agriculture transforms into a process of building social relations – intensification of the interaction and communication between people, creating trust and mutual aid between them and establishing social communities in an urban environment. The data here presented are results of sociological research (in-depth interviews and focus groups) conducted within the project “Urban Agricultural as a Strategy for Improving the Quality of Life of theUrban Communities” funded by the National Science Fund of Bulgaria. The data refers to practices of urban agriculture on the territory of the Sofia Municipality. The emphasis in the article is placed on one of the widespread practices in the Bulgarian capital – communal/shared public gardens.

Sandu Frunza, Fundamentalismul religios și noul conflict al ideologiilor, [Religious Fundamentalism and the New Conflict of Ideologies], the Second Edition, revised and enlarged, Cluj-Napoca, Școala Ardeleană Publishing, 2015, 429p

Author(s): Marcela Salagean / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2016

Šekspīra recepcija padomju Latvijā. Oļģerta Krodera interpretācijas

Author(s): Vēsma Lēvalde / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 1/2015

The article offers a brief insight into theatrical productions of Shakespeare’s plays in Latvia, focusing on the tragedy “Hamlet”. The article also analyses four theatrical productions of William Shakespeare’s plays by Oļģerts Kroders during the Soviet times: “Romeo and Juliet” (1966), “A Tragic Story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” (1972), “The Winter’s Tale” (1980), and “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark” (1984). The theatrical productions of these plays demonstrate the influence of the world theatre processes on Kroders’s creative handwriting. The article is an attempt to find a connection between the director’s conception and the social situation of the historical period when the play was staged in Latvia. The materials used for the article include the reviews of every theatrical production in the press, two observations of the rehearsal process (1980–1984), the explications of the director in the copies of the text of the play and in his private archive, and the ideas Kroders expressed in my interviews in 2011 and 2012. When interpreting translations of Shakespeare’s works, Kroders has remarkably solved not only linguistic and cultural differences which are characteristic of translated texts; he has also ideologically blended the two different epochs, addressing topical themes for the audience of Shakespeare’s day, without vulgarising or impoverishing the multilayered message of the original.

Путь "археологической", или "исторической" одежды к фольклорным ансамблям

Author(s): Aušra Zabielienė / Language(s): Russian Issue: 2/2006

The article investigates how the so-called “archaeological" or "historical" clothes reach folklore ensembles. It focuses on the problems which the leaders of folk ensembles face in the effort to obtain such clothes, as well as the assistance they can expect from archaeologists, ethnologists, museum experts and folk masters. It also singles out the major reasons which encourage the selection of old 9th-15th century clothes rather than the traditional national attire of the end of the 19th-the beginning of the 20th century. Archaeological exhibitions have required rational and accurate data on the earliest Lithuanian clothes. The main reason which has necessitated reconstruction of the ancient Lithuanian clothes was the decision of museum experts to demonstrate archaeological finds on mannequins instead of exhibiting them on the shelves, which revealed that nobody knew how to dress them. Another stimulus was the trip of archaeologists and museum experts to Biskupin in Poland, where the Living Archaeology Festival was arranged. The idea of such a festival was brought to Lithuania and realized in Kernave. We have analysed three different ways of the acquisition of ancient clothes starting with archaeological finds, archaeologists, restorers, folk masters and designers, and ending up with folklore ensembles. It is most important to exoi cise a practical application of the living experimental archaeology, which is so popular today.

Komiteja kultūras sakariem ar tautiešiem ārzemēs (1964-1991): fakti, miti, interpretācijas

Author(s): Eva Eglāja-Kristsone / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 1/2006

In the 60s of the 20th century, the State Security Committee of the Soviet Union (KGB) established independent social organizations in several Soviet republics called Committees for Cultural Relations with Compatrid Abroad. Their official purpose was the development of cultural contacts an promoting peace, but the secret purpose was investigation of the emigrant communities and using them in order to destabilize the democratic Western states. In the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Committee for Cultural Relatiojon with Compatriots Abroad was formally established in 1964 by the represent fives of various social organizations and cultural institutions. In reality, tie organization had been functioning since 1955 according to the objectives set the KGB and under its close supervision. The Literature, Art, Music, Theatre, and Youth Sections of the Committee were joined by the leading representatives» Latvian culture - artists, writers, musicians, theatre and film experts, who membership was approved by the party committees of the corresponding professional associations, the KGB institutions, and the Foreign Relation Department of the Central Committee of the Latvian Communist Party.

Ieskats senajās Latviešu ziedošanas tradīcijās

Author(s): Jolanta Jurēvica / Language(s): Latvian Issue: 1/1998

Upurēšanas tradīcijas latviešu mitoloģijas kontekstā nav pētītas, taču šim aspektam pieskaras lielākā daļa pētnieku, kas rakstījuši par senlatviešu reliģiju un mitoloģiju. Jāmin tādi vārdi kā P.Šmits, K.Straubergs, L.Adamovičs, H.Biezais, M.Bruņenieks, arī latviešu gadskārtu un godu apcerētāji M.Grīns, M.Grīna un O.Līdeks. Seno latviešu svētvietu pētniecībā lielu ieguldījumu devis arheologs J.Urtāns. Ziedošanas tradīcijas esmu pētījusi senlatviešu reliģijas, mitoloģijas un folkloras kontekstā. Pie tam kopīgās indoeiropeiskās saknes ļauj saskatīt paralēles daudzu pasaules tautu vēsturē. īpaši esmu akcentējusi celtņu ziedojumus, jo cilvēku upurēšanas vienīgais neapstrīdamais pierādījums Latvijas teritorijā ir saistīts tieši ar šāda veida ziedojumiem. [...]

RECENSIONE: ZHVILLIMI I KULTURËS SHQIPTARE ME NDIKIME ORIENTALE PREJ SHEKULLIT XVIII DERI NË FILLIMET E RILINDJES KOMBËTARE

Author(s): Hakif Bajrami / Language(s): Albanian Issue: 48/2018

The review of: Dr. Nehat Krasniqi, Zhvillimi i kulturës shqiptare me ndikime orientale prej shekullit XVIII deri në fillimet e Rilindjes Kombëtare, Instituti Albanologjik, Prishtinë, 2017, 576 f.

Интеллигенция в перспективе межкультурных взаимоотношений: роль философии просвещения и Французской революции в формировании русской интеллигенции

Author(s): Vitaly Anatolievich Buduchev / Language(s): Russian Issue: 1/2019

This article highlights the connection between the two countries: Russia and France, that is the exchange of concepts and ideas between the two cultures, which develop under mutual influence. The forming of the Russian Intelligentsia is a great example of cultural links developing outside of geopolitical interests of nation states. Enlightenment played a role in Russian development by means of theories of inspiring Russian intelligentsia. These theories were later being taken in consideration by the leaders in their ruling tactics. Russian intelligentsia draws their inspirations from the Enlightenment. The 18th century brought enlightenment to Russia, this was a movement among Europe for the modernization of society. Absolute monarchy could no longer rely on religion as the sole basis of it’s indivisible power. The upper classes began to play a significant role in the public life. The reforms of Catherine II are the main consequences of the social change and political context in Europe. It is in this context that we consider the influence of French philosophy on the enlightened part of the Russian nobility, who received privileges due to the service to the absolute monarchy. However, the progressive nobles did not agree with the mission the monarchy gave to them. On the contrary, following the French example, the Russian enlighteners chose as a mission the criticism of the regime. This was reflected by the Decembrist revolt, which served as a basis for the formation of the Russian intelligentsia. French Revolution, in its own right, is both a symbol and an example to be followed by the formed intelligentsia. It creates conditions under which the cultural elite becomes the Progress and the Enlightenment at the time when political elite defies the same values.