Suchergebnisse

"After a brief period of liberalization in 1956, cultural politics in communist Romania went through an ideological radicalization between 1958 and the early 1960s, which led to intimidation campaigns, arrests, trials, and condemnations of several groups of interwar intellectuals. Director and actress Marietta Sadova was convicted in the 'Noica-Pillat' trial in March 1960. This paper aims to unravel the complex interaction between culture and politics through a qualitative analysis of Marietta Sadova's case study. The focus will be on the Securitate's surveillance, coercion methods, and narrative construction on one hand and the artist's surviving fascist identity, compromises made to survive, and the validity of cultural niches of existence on the other. The theoretical and methodological apparatus is built on new historiographical approaches to communist repression, including the ability of the secret police to construct and politically instrumentalize guilt narratives. The results suggest that the interaction between the interwar intellectuals and the communist authorities was neither unidirectional nor unitary but multi-layered and mutually depended on negotiations and concessions, as well as on the secret police agents' newly acquired methods of creating and repressing 'hostile' social networks. Keywords: communism, cultural politics, fascism, Marietta Sadova, repression, theatre "

"This article proposes the use of a tool for analyzing the evolution of the balance of power in interwar Central Europe, taking over the theory of the regional security complex formulated by the Copenhagen School. This study starts from the premise that in from 1921 to 1938, it can be affirmed that the ephemeral existence of a central European security complex was distinct from the classical security complex of Europe. Next, the analysis criteria specific to the regional security complex and the diplomatic developments that created the Central European security complex are presented. Keywords: Central Europe, the interwar balance of powers, Regional Security Complex, regional alliances, Locarno Agreements"

"In this article I argue for a pluralistic vision of interaction and social cognition in general: we should imagine the landscape of types of interactions as a line segment whose ends represent radical positions (purely inferentialist or purely simulationist theories on one end and radical embodied cognition on the other) on which different types of interactions fall. The closer to any extreme a particular type is, then the more likely it is to be better explained by the theory the extreme point represents. In order to delineate the controversy that stems from different conceptualizations of the same phenomenon and to articulate my position, I criticize Gallagher's radical claims of embodied cognition as constituting social interaction. The main point that I make regarding his theory is that, even though it provides a satisfactory explanation for types that correspond to motor-perceptual processes, it only manages to metaphorically describe cases of interaction that involve articulated language use and, generally, semantically charged actions. Given that a serious researcher should be interested in accurate predictions or descriptions, it follows that Gallagher's account is not all-encompassing, and, given the many virtues of other theories, we should adopt a pluralistic point-of-view. Keywords: social interaction, social cognition, interaction, enactivism, embodied cognition, dynamical systems, theory of mind, simulation theory"

"Only several years after the war of 1877-1878 between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, in which Romania had also been involved and had had an important role, succeeding in gaining its state independence, the situation in the Balkan Peninsula experienced new tense moments. Against the background of the so-called Bulgarian crisis in the late '80s of the 19th century, in which Russian interests played again an important part, along with the involvement of other Great Powers, an armed conflict between Serbia and Bulgaria took place in November 1885, causing a general concern at the continental level. Situated in the immediate vicinity of the conflict, Romania tried to contribute to its resolution, wanting to avoid a new Russian invasion and a tension of the relations with its powerful eastern neighbour. The choice of Bucharest as a venue for peace negotiations and the signing of the treaty between Serbia and Bulgaria was also a sign of the appreciation and prestige enjoyed by the Romanian state and King Carol I, primarily due to the balanced and prudent approach shown in the foreign policy and international relations. However, at the level of the Romanian historiography, the erroneous perception of an important role that Romania would have played in the completion of the conflict and the signing of the peace in Bucharest was established for some time, a perception contradicted by the historical realities and the testimonies from that period. Keywords: Bulgarian crisis, Serbian-Bulgarian war, Romanian Kingdom, Carol I, the Bucharest peace. "

"The present study examines the complications that the confessional situation of King Ferdinand I (namely the fact that, as a Catholic, he was excommunicated for almost two decades by the Holy See due to the flagrant violation of certain rules of conduct, and the reconciliation granted to him by the pontifical court at the end of the World War I presupposed the observance of strict conditions) generated in relation to the design and conduct of the royal coronation in Alba Iulia, on 15 October 1922. The plans of the various political decision-makers regarding the coronation ceremony, or the intentions of the Orthodox Church (an institution that had aspired to mark the event from a religious point of view) were meticulously negotiated at the top of the Catholic Church, a scenario of the coronation ceremony having thus been staged (mise en scène) in accordance with the requirements formulated by the pontifical diplomacy. This is therefore the aim of the present study, namely to untangle, for the first time in historiography, the complicated threads of an important public spectacle – the coronation of Romanian sovereigns in Alba Iulia – in whose preparation political intrigue, religious passions and diplomatic pressure were consumed. Keywords: Reconciliation, nuncio Marmaggi, ceremony, diplomatic pressure, secular celebration "

"In April 1573, after the death of the head of the family, Ferenc Mikola, the elders of the Mikolas gathered in Someşeni to take over the family archive from his widow. The action carried out according to the custom, but also to the legislation of the country took place in the presence of witnesses, later a proving act being issued. The present study aims to investigate the process of handing over the noble family archives in Transylvania from the end of the Middle Ages and during the sixteenth century. In this context, the ways of keeping and ordering the charters during the researched period, as well as the circumstances of the formation of the noble family archives will be examined. The focus will be on the presentation of a case study, that of the Mikola family archive. Starting from the charter issued in April 1573, we shall briefly present the Mikola family, their family archive, but also the witnesses of the archive's transmission. Among the latter, we shall pay a special attention to Ferenc Dávid, the parish priest of Cluj and superintendent. The second title carried by the religious reformer shall provide the opportunity to reflect on the formation of the Reformed and Unitarian Churches in Transylvania. Keywords: Mikola family, family archives, Mikola archive, preservation of the charters, Transylvania, 16th century, Unitarian Church. "

"Focused on the transmission of books from one generation to another, this study explores the connection between gender and book ownership by attempting to discover whether the 'reading lists' inadvertently compiled by testators for their offspring were informed by gender stereotypes and by specific perceptions of masculinity and femininity. By carefully considering the nature and content of these bequests, this study will try to identify the stereotypes attached to men and women's relation to books and, ultimately, to knowledge and consequently explore the place of books in their lives within the boundaries set by their gender in terms of social roles, access to education and involvement in the public sphere. By analysing the dynamics of bequests involving books, this study aims to explore the complex motives that impacted on testators' decisions, including concern for tradition and heritage. By looking at men and women as both donors and recipients of books, this article would like to identify emergent and possibly gendered reading cultures. Finally, by closely examining the intricacies of bequests recorded in probate inventories, this essay aims to highlight interaction within the family, vertically between generations and horizontally within them. Keywords: books, bequests, gender, generations, reading cultures, social roles, stereotypes."

"The present article discusses food narratives from travelogues written by the Calvinist elite of Transylvania. The paper firstly presents attitudes toward travel and travel writing in 18th-century Transylvania and then offers examples about stories associated with food and foodways. In the first instance, we discussed the attachment of Transylvanians to familiar tastes, then we offered examples of food rejection, either culturally or confessionally motivated. The asymmetrically opposed constructions of these food narratives, the constant distinctions made by the authors between "our" food and "theirs", suggest the importance of food in identity building. In the last part of our paper, we approached the social dimension of food, arguing that we are witnessing a cultural shift and the changing of the existing food regime, processes undergoing due to the increased number of travels, especially to Vienna. Keywords: 18th Century, Transylvania, travelogues, culinary history, food narratives. "

"Research on late-medieval religiosity in Central and Western Europe has shown that religious books were not only possessed, but also read, and sometimes even copied or disseminated by laymen. The need for a better definition of the relationship between the laity and the religious text leads to the formulation and intensive discussion of concepts such as devotional reading, culture of religious reading, or vernacular theology. Several examples of works that belonged to late-medieval Transylvanian laymen suggest the opportunity and, at the same time, the need to ask whether similar dynamics of pious behaviour can be discussed in their case. In order to provide a convincing answer, this study proposes an analysis of these books from at least three perspectives: theme, language, formal characteristics. The most interesting information is offered, however, by property notes, which suggest that the devotional potential of the book was not activated by reading, but rather by donation. By offering solutions to the everyday necessities of ecclesiastical institutions, these gifts were designed to ensure personal salvation as well. In order to support this hypothesis, I will also address another category of sources from which mentions regarding this kind of donations can be recovered, i.e. last wills. Keywords: religious books, devotional practices, pious donations, last wills, laity "

"In November 2000, ten years after the fall of the communist regime and the organization of the first free elections, the Romanian population was called to decide on the future president of the country. This was the first poll that took place after the transition between power and opposition, which took place in 1996, but also in the context of a serious economic crisis with considerable effects on living conditions, which marked the activity and political destiny of PNŢCD. The elections, especially the second round, proved to be representative not so much from the perspective of political options, but especially regarding the future of the country: open to Euro-Atlantic structures or isolated, oriented towards the former Soviet space. These visions were personalized by the two candidates, Ion Iliescu and Corneliu Vadim Tudor, and the present article analyses the electoral mechanisms the two tried to use in order to promote their platforms within a Romanian society marked by the economic recession, but also by a major moral and identity crisis. Keywords: Elections, Electorate, Presidentialism, Europeanism, Populism, Crisis "

"This article tries to understand what type of film is approved by the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime and how it is promoted, through various propaganda channels. In this sense, we choose to discuss the film made by the artistic couple Manole Marcus - Titus Popovici, The Power and The Truth (1972), and we resort to a content analysis to understand the way it was made. We are also interested in the echoes of the film in the press of the time and how with the help of newspaper articles the authorities inoculate the idea that this film is the most important cinematographic achievement of the moment, a benchmark for political productions to be made from that point on. Keywords: Cinematography, Political Film, Nicolae Ceauşescu, Manole Marcus, Titus Popovici, Propaganda "

"Inspired by recent historiographical contributions concerning the complex implications of the notion of charisma for the various expressions of fascism, this article attempts to explore some of the main characteristics and functions of charismatic leadership in the case of the Legion of the "Archangel Michael". Drawing upon the classical ideal-typical model developed by Max Weber and building on the conclusions of some of its most significant refinements within the field of fascist studies, the present analysis will provide a brief outlook on the manner in which charismatic authority was theoretically developed in the case of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the founder and ruler of the Legionary Movement. Keywords: fascism, charismatic authority, the Legionary Movement, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu "

"The purpose of this article is to offer a general view over the different systems of catchment and storage of water used during the Dacian antiquity in the Orăştie Mountains area, Romania. The methodology will be based on a dichotomous approach, in an effort that tries to compare the hydrological situation (supported by GIS maps) with the known archaeological discoveries relevant for the subject. Keywords: water, storage, catchment, cisterns, hydrography, GIS, Dacians. "

"Mobile health (mHealth) apps are becoming progressively important for primary care, disease prevention, and public health interventions. They promise to empower its users by offering them more independence, better access to health services, and more insight into their health status resulting in better informed medical decision-making and lifestyle changes. Disadvantages of mHealth apps often include a lack of privacy protection, a decrease in personal attachment, and the acceptance of a normative conception of health challenging the user's self-determination. Privacy, attachment, and self-determination are, alongside health, linked to fundamental dimensions of human well-being. Users of mHealth apps can either accept those disadvantages or abstain from using this technology entirely. Users, therefore, have to trade-off fundamental dimensions of well-being to gain a certain health benefit if they want to use commercial mHealth apps. This presentation will clarify the values most relevant in this context, focusing on privacy, self-determination, and attachment. I claim that these values imply fundamental conditions of well-being that should not be undermined, especially in the context of health care. I will argue that the value trade-offs users must engage in are an instance of mutually advantageous agreements by which the provider of the app takes unfair advantage of the user. This renders such agreements exploitative. I will discuss the notion of exploitation that I think applies in this case and explain under what circumstances exploitative agreements that come with the use of commercial mHealth apps oppose the empowerment narrative. "

"This paper builds on anthropological fieldwork I conducted in 2019 while living for over two months with migrant caregivers of older adults in Epsom, England. Caregivers' experiences resonated with existing literature on everyday ethical challenges in caregiving: navigating divergent perspectives on good care, negotiating professional disagreements on treatments, dealing with older adults' verbal and physical abuse appropriately, and telling older adults 'white lies' to avoid mental distress. Caregivers also faced unique ethical challenges because of their migrant identities: dealing with racism, conscientious objecting of certain requests made by older adults, struggling with language when following training and defending themselves against exploitative managers, and carrying the burden of being a translator to fellow migrant colleagues. Based on insight into ethical challenges unique to migrant caregivers, this paper focuses on informal ethics support systems on which migrants relied ‒ an unexplored area in the literature on ethics support within social care ‒ and explores formal ethics support systems that could support migrant caregivers in the future. Existing literature shows that the UK in general lacks ethics support systems to help caregivers recognize and appropriately address ethical challenges. The literature goes on to explore kinds of formal ethics support systems that could address ethical challenges. However, the literature completely overlooks needs and challenges unique to migrant caregivers who increasingly constitute the older adult care workforce in the UK. Understanding everyday ethical challenges and informal support systems of migrant caregivers are important steps in ensuring wellbeing of caregivers, and thus, quality of care. "