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The article dwells on the situation in Europe and in the world in the sphere of cultural heritage and its preservation in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Attention is focused on the reactions, decisions and actions taken by the European Council/ Council of the European Union, UNESCO and ICOM.
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The study is part of a larger project that aims to examine national cultural policies related to the support of various performing arts, cultural forums, and especially, some festivals of the performing arts in Bulgaria. The focus is on the professional performing arts (theatre and dance), affected by the pandemic, and on various art forums and the policy of the Bulgarian state (in particular, the Ministry of Culture) to support freelance artists, who have been heavily affected by the social isolation resulting from the quarantine due to COVID-19. An attempt is made to outline more important trends in the pandemic situation and to delineate perspectives for dealing with the crisis.
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In this article, I offer a summarized survey of the different folklore genres in Bulgarian traditional culture that refer to dreams, dream interpretation and the consequences of dreams. The study is based on a substantial number of narratives of dreams and dream interpretations that I have recorded through fieldwork, and on my research on this topic. I have also utilized published and archive materials, dating since the Bulgarian Revival period until modern times, and published research by folklorists and ethnographers from the distant past until the present day. I delineate the main principles of dream interpretation; the ways of dream interpretation, and the factors that influence it. It is underlined that dream interpretation is part of the cultural education in patriarchal Bulgarian society as an essential element of the skills and practices referring to predicting the future. All of this confirms the fact that dreams and dream interpretation are a significant part of the system of Bulgarian traditional culture. I emphasize the unity of opposites, which is basic for the classification and interpretation of dreams. It is an important characteristic of Bulgarian traditional culture as a whole and also of the Bulgarian culture and language from the Middle Ages until modern times. Simultaneously, I also dwell on the analytical-psychological essence the unity of opposites. Special attention is paid to the crucial role of the context for the correct interpretation of dreams, which corresponds to the method of amplification in Jungian psychology.
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The article deals with the semantic and functional interrelations between folktales and dreams and with the role of dreaming as a component which defines the structure of the folktale plots. The author discusses the symptomatic lack of the dream motif in one of the key studies in the humanities of the twentieth century, Vladimir Propp’s “Morphology of the Folktale” (1928). The study emphasizes the special place that the motif of dreaming has in folktales and analyses the versatile development of the narrative through the situations of “a folktale in the dream” and “a dream in the folktale.” The focus of attention is on the folktales from “One Thousand and One Nights,” through which a range of narrative techniques and plots enter European culture, along with a plethora of themes and motifs related to dreams and dreaming. Based on the analysis, the author elicits two main models of assimilation of dreams/ sleep in folktales: the model of Sleeping Beauty and the model of Scheherazade, which represent respectively sleeping as a fact provoking no plot, and the dream as a tale. The conclusion offers an explanation of the absence of the dreaming motif from Propp’s folktale morphology and draws a parallel between the theory of the functions in folktale plots and the idea of the psyche’s protective mechanisms in psychoanalytical tradition.
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In his book “The Myth of the Birth of the Hero” (1909), the psychoanalyst Otto Rank identified in various cultures numerous versions of the same narrative which was very close in content to the Oedipus myth. The structure of this repetitive plot is the following: a son of a king, sentenced to death by his father, survives miraculously and grows up far away from his family; when grown-up, he returns to his hometown, murders his father and inherits the throne. The paper argues that this plot has come into being as a narrative aimed at legitimizing the right of existence of a newly formed community by presenting its leader as the legitimate successor of the ruler of the group from which the new community has separated. After its dramaturgical rendition by the ancient Greek tragedians, the Oedipus plot has acquired a new meaning – it started functioning as a story of the great sinner.
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The text is dedicated to two movies based on Alberto Moravia’s book “Ciociara”. The author examines some folklore motifs through which the role of the woman is presented. The analysis also includes the dream of a wedding, which transforms the understanding of time-space relationship. Outlining authentic folklore motifs in the film narrative is in the centre of the study, together with the original presentation of the person having the wedding dream, which forms the visual core of the film. Central point in the text is the relation between reality and the way it is experienced by the dreamer.
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The dual broadcasting system in the six Western Balkan countries puts challenges but also creates opportunities to increase the diversity of the TV program. The paper aims to answer the question whether there is a variety of television content provided by the public broadcasters to the audiences in the Western Balkans. Their public mission obliges them to provide access to programs on diverse topics for all target audiences, including ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
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The study presents the contributions of Raina Katsarova (1901-1984) - one of the pioneers in establishing the Bulgarian traditional music in the first specializated music programs on Rodno Radio and Radio Sofia. It presents a researcher with experience in field work and thousands of recordings of traditional music, with publications of song collections and academic works, but also a citizen, cultural figure, public activist, media figure. The activities of Raina Katsarova as an educator, music journalist and media critic are discussed; her talks and song tales on the radio; her activities in defense of faith and rituals in the media of totalitarian Bulgaria; her role in publicizing Bulgarian traditional music on air around the world as an ambassador of Bulgarian culture, folklore and science. It is concluded that the traces of her activity in the media cover the history of Bulgarian radio, understood in the middle of the twentieth century as a public good and cultural force. It is clear to everyone that music on the radio matters. Raina Katsarova's radio appearances show how ethnomusicology is also important in and for radio.
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Modern Mimesis: Self-Reflexivity in Literature is a passionate defence of philology that traverses the distances from Ancient Hellas to present-day Japan, from Ulysses to robots. This movement follows a logic described by the author as reconceptualization, and creates conceptual nodes configured through horizontal and vertical, temporal and spatial self-reflexive reduplications. The broad arc from the libraries of Alexandria and Pergamum to the mimetic valleys of robotics thus turns out to be underpinned by the reconceptualization of the ancient dispute between ‘analogy’ and ‘anomaly’, turning any attempt at ordering into an ‘endless series of rearrangements’.
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In the end of September 2021 one of the celebrations of the academic community took place – colleagues and friends congratulated prof. Lilyana Deyanova with the publishing of the anniversary anthology ‘Time and Memory’. Compilers and organizers of the academic celebration are Maya Grekova, Petya Kabakchieva, Momchil Hristov, Milena Yakimova.
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Philologists and medievalists rarely deal with the subject of contemporary Pop-Rock or Folk music. When they do it, they usually fall prey to a certain form of medievalism. The current section of Museikon follows a completely different approach. The pairing of interviews with memoirs and the introduction shaped in the form of an actual scientific study have the sole purpose of launching an experiment in the history of culture. The case study is a 1976 album of the Romanian Rock group Phoenix. The state owned record company Electrecord made a mistake, releasing it as Cantofabule, even though its correct title was Cantafabule or Bestiar. It had traditional- and medieval inspired lyrics, but most of all, it was the result of artistic synergy. A collective work of sorts, much in the manner of the medieval manuscripts of old.
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Born in 1951 in Timișoara, Elisabeth Ochsenfeld lives today between Heidelberg (de), Frankfurt am Main (de) and Wolfsberg / Gărâna (ro). She graduated the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Timișoara, in the class of Professor Leon Vreme (1973); she directed the Art Group—Studio 35 in Timișoara(1974-1980) and has had, from 1973 to date, several exhibitions of painting, drawing, mixed media, photography, and illustrations, being also the curator of a large number of exhibitions and artistic events. In 1975 she finalized the drawings for the cover of the double LP Phoenix Cantafabule based on an idea of Valeriu Sepi. She immigrated to Germany in 1986 and soon thereafter became a graphic artist for the project Rock Carvings and Inscriptions along the Karakorum Highway at the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (1987-2012). Her works are displayed in galleries, museums and private collections across Germany, Romania, England, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Austria, Ukraine, Hungary, Belgium, Israel, Greece, Sweden, Pakistan, Finland, South Korea, the USA, and Canada. She is the founder of Arthouse Wolfsberg / Gărâna and a member of the Association of Professional Artists in Germany, the International Women’s Cultural Federation, Freeinterartists, and Contemporanii.
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The article studies the role of the musician in Alevi-Bektashi culture in the region of Kardzhali, Southern Bulgaria. The musician in that culture performs simultaneously religious, social and artistic roles. He is a figure whose qualities allow the researcher to associate him with the cultural type of the epic musician. His non-professional but specialized activity is presented from an insider’s viewpoint detailing the specific characteristics of that activity, the approaches applied in the process of training in it, through the qualitative evaluation of the musicians and the differences in their performance manners. The author presents the biographical trajectory and the performance style of a contemporary young Bektashi musician from the region in order to depict his portrait. The interaction between his outstanding talent and his strong religious devotion define his complex development as a musician and a member of the Heterodox Muslim community.
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In this paper, we analyzed the current refugee crisis in Europe by discussing its main characteristics within the European context. A comparison between the different routes in Western, Central, and Eastern Mediterranean, the Western Balkans, and in general in South-Eastern Europe was done. As the main research problem, we focused on Bulgaria as an entry gate for the arriving immigrants and we presented the most recent statistics related to the illegal entries in the country. Among our objectives was the analysis of the current problems at the reception centers in the South-Eastern part of Bulgaria. An important part of our methodology consisted of direct interviews performed with the local and immigrant population at the center of Harmanli. The key results of our analysis showed that despite the attempts on the part of the officials for successful integration of the immigrants, there were still important needs for improvement. In conclusion, we suggested that the use of good practices from other countries with experience in migration policies might contribute to better integration and improvement of the mutual respect between local and migrant populations.
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The purpose of this study was to see whether the Taliban regime poses a threat to the international community. The research primarily examined the threats that the formation of a theocratic regime in Afghanistan poses to neighboring countries and the international community. With regards to research methods, a document analysis method was used to obtain valid information and to analyze and describe the complex situation in Afghanistan. A wide array of documents and scholarly articles were analyzed to obtain reliable and objective information. This research revealed that the Taliban has not changed at all and still rules Afghanistan with medieval methods and strategies. Since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the economic situation has deteriorated considerably and people face severe hardship. Therefore, hundreds of thousands of Afghans want to leave their homeland and migrate to the West. The Taliban violates constantly human rights and discriminates against women, ethnic and religious minorities. The Taliban has transformed Afghanistan into a narco-state. Neighboring countries fear that Afghanistan might become a hotbed of terrorism and extremism again.
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Selected bibliography in the field of Bulgarian Studies published in the current year.
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Before the Taliban came back to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, India and Afghanistan had cordial bilateral relations and were often described as great friends. Since 2002, India had helped build several infrastructure projects as part of its promised development assistance program of over $2 billion (later increased to $3 billion). Considering India’s investments in Afghanistan, the goodwill it enjoyed among common Afghans was understandable. However, it would be wrong to imply that these unique, multifaceted bilateral relations between the two countries were simply due to India's helping hand. This research paper is one of its kind attempt to explain the perceptions Afghans had about India based on the field survey done in Afghanistan in 2019. Using responses of over 321 Afghan participants, the paper attempts to quantitatively analyze the goodwill and positive vibes that India enticed among Afghans. However, many Afghans felt that India did not do enough during the crisis in August 2021. Based on the survey and the general perceptions of Afghans in the aftermath of the return of the Taliban, this paper argues that the soft power investments in Afghanistan helped India in its nation-branding, making it attractive and creating goodwill. However, New Delhi lacked the will to act smartly and hence did not get the desired strategic influences due to ‘soft power behavior’
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