Suchergebnisse

This volume offers a new view on gender structuring in contemporary Slovenia and the persistence of the gender order – produced and reproduced through gender regimes in education, work, family life and politics. With a focus on the low presence of women in politics, the study analyses empirical data, mapping structural changes, delays of changes and the persistence of existing social structures over several decades. It appears that the choices individuals make in their lives are made in a specific social context of structural opportunities and obstacles. As such, gender difference is first socially produced and later universally used for justification of that stratification

The aim of the present paper is to map the development of women's and gender studies (WGS) in the academic field in Slovenia. Slovenia is the first of the former Yugoslav state republics in which WGS have succeeded in entering the academic field and becoming part of institutionalized university study. In this paper we will ask the following questions: How, when and why did this happen? How was this connected to women's and feminist movements and politics regarding women's issues and demands? What were the obstacles in this process? Who were the agents and what were the factors that supported demands for the incorporation of WGS in academia? How has the field evolved in the last few decades? What were the phases of this development? Which fields were the forerunners, which were the late-comers and which are still left aside? What are the thematic scopes taught in WGS courses? In which degrees are the courses offered and what are their modules? Who teaches them? The mapping in this paper is mainly based on primary sources of university programmes and their curricula at faculties of the University of Ljubljana, as well as on interviews with important agents in the field. (DIPF/Orig.)

The debate on nonsexist or gender-sensitive language in Slovenia has been taking place since the mid-1990s. It intensified again in 2018 when the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, decided to use the feminine grammatical gender in its internal regulations as generic and inclusive for all genders. The decision provoked heated public reactions and media reports. Through critical frame analysis of 60 media texts published between May and December 2018, this article identifies four basic frames: the decision as impermissible linguistic engineering, as a sign of excessive political correctness, as a false solution to the actual existence of sexism in language, or finally, as a positive change. Whereas many of the arguments used in the Slovenian debate were found in similar debates elsewhere, a new discursive frame emerged that cannot be placed on the classical dichotomy of feminist and antifeminist, but is instead based on equality fatigue and the understanding that gender equality has allegedly already been achieved.Razprava o neseksisticni oziroma spolno obcutljivi rabi jezika v Sloveniji poteka ze od sredine 90. let prejsnjega stoletja. Ponovno se je okrepila leta 2018, ko je bil na Filozofski fakulteti UL sprejet sklep o genericni rabi zenskega slovnicnega spola kot vkljucujocega za vse spole v internih pravilnikih fakultete. Odlocitev je sprozila burne odzive javnosti in prav taksno porocanje medijev. S kriticno analizo okvirjev smo analizirali 60 medijskih besedil, objavljenih med majem in decembrom 2018, in v njih identificirali stiri osnovne okvire: odlocitev kot nedopusten jezikovni inzeniring, kot znak pretirane politicne korektnosti, kot napacno resitev za preseganje dejanskega obstoja seksizma v jeziku oziroma kot pozitivno spremembo. Medtem ko je mnoge argumente, uporabljene v slovenski razpravi, moc najti v podobnih razpravah drugod, se je v analiziranih medijskih porocilih pojavil tudi nov diskurzivni okvir, ki ga ni mogoce umestiti na klasicni feministicni ali protifeministicni kontinuum, saj temelji na zasicenosti z enakostjo in razumevanjem, da je enakost spolov domnevno ze dosezena.

When in Slovenia after the first multi-party election in National Assembly (NA) 1992 the share of women MPs dropped dramatically and did not changed a lot during the 1990s women activists and left-oriented female politicians started a struggle for an effective measure to improve this situation. First proposals to introduce quotas for internal party bodies and national election came from women in the center and left-wing political parties but with no visible effect for the presence of women in elected political bodies. It was only when legal quotas have been introduced that they brought significant changes in the representation of women in Slovene politics. This paper will focus on the importance of legal and institutional mechanisms that brought up more women in politics in the last elections at all levels but also on the limitations in the functioning of the quota regulations in the Slovene political and institutional context.

Temporary or permanent, local or international, voluntary or forced, legal or illegal, registered or unregistered migrations of individuals, whole communities or individual groups are an important factor in constructing and modifying (modern) societies. The extent of international migrations is truly immense. At the time of the preparation of this publication more than 200 million people have been involved in migrations in a single year according to the United Nations. Furthermore, three times more wish to migrate, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa towards some of the most economically developed areas of the world according to the estimates by the Gallup Institute (Esipova, 2011). Some authors, although aware that it is not a new phenomenon, talk about the era of migration (Castles, Miller, 2009) or the globalization of migration (Friedman, 2004). The global dimensions of migration are definitely influenced also by the increasingly visible features of modern societies like constantly changing conditions, instability, fluidity, uncertainty etc. (Beck, 2009; Bauman, 2002).The extent, direction, type of migrations and their consequences are affected by many social and natural factors in the areas of emigration and immigration. In addition, researchers from many scientific disciplines who study migrations have raised a wide range of research questions (Boyle, 2009, 96), use a variety of methodological approaches and look for different interpretations in various spatial, temporal and contextual frameworks. The migrations are a complex, multi-layered, variable, contextual process that takes place at several levels. Because of this, research on migrations has become an increasingly interdisciplinary field, since the topics and problems are so complex that they cannot be grasped solely and exclusively from the perspective of a single discipline or theory. Therefore, we are witnessing a profusion of different "faces of migration", which is reflected and at the same time also contributed to by this thematic issue of the journal Ars & Humanitas.While mobility or migration are not new phenomena, as people have moved and migrated throughout the history of mankind, only recently, in the last few decades, has theoretical and research focus on them intensified considerably. In the last two decades a number of research projects, university programs and courses, research institutes, scientific conferences, seminars, magazines, books and other publications, involving research, academia as well as politics and various civil society organizations have emerged. This shows the recent exceptional interest in the issue of migration, both in terms of knowledge of the processes involved, their mapping in the history of mankind, as well as the theoretical development of migration studies and daily management of this politically sensitive issue.Migration affects many entities on many different levels: the individuals, their families and entire communities at the local level in the emigrant societies as well as in the receiving societies. The migration is changing not only the lives of individuals but whole communities and societies, as well as social relations; it is also shifting the cultural patterns and bringing important social transformations (Castles 2010). This of course raises a number of questions, problems and issues ranging from human rights violations to literary achievements. Some of these are addressed by the authors in this thematic issue.The title "Many faces of migration", connecting contributions in this special issue, is borrowed from the already mentioned Gallup Institute's report on global migration (Esipova, 2011). The guiding principle in the selection of the contributions has been their diversity, reflected also in the list of disciplines represented by the authors: sociology, geography, ethnology and cultural anthropology, history, art history, modern Mediterranean studies, gender studies and media studies. Such an approach necessarily leads not only to a diverse, but at least seemingly also incompatible, perhaps even opposing views "on a given topic. However, we did not want to silence the voices of "other" disciplines, but within the reviewing procedures actually invited scientists from the fields represented by the contributors to this volume. The wealth of the selected contributions lies therefore not only in their coherence and complementarity, but also in the diversity of views, stories and interpretations.The paper of Zora Žbontar deals with the attitudes towards foreigners in ancient Greece, where the hospitality to strangers was considered so worthy a virtue that everyone was expected to "demonstrate hospitality and protection to any foreigner who has knocked on their door". The contrast between the hospitality of ancient Greece and the modern emergence of xenophobia and ways of dealing with migration issues in economically developed countries is especially challenging. "In an open gesture of hospitality to strangers the ancient Greeks showed their civilization".Although the aforementioned research by the United Nations and Gallup Institute support some traditional stereotypes of the main global flows of migrants, and the areas about which the potential migrants "dream", Bojan Baskar stresses the coexistence of different migratory desires, migration flows and their interpretations. In his paper he specifically focuses on overcoming and relativising stereotypes as well as theories of immobile and non-enterprising (Alpine) mountain populations and migrations.The different strategies of the crossing borders adopted by migrant women are studied by Mirjana Morokvasic. She marks them as true social innovators, inventing different ways of transnational life resulting in a bottom-up contribution to the integrative processes across Europe. Some of their innovations go as far as to shift diverse real and symbolic boundaries of belonging to a nation, gender, profession.Elaine Burroughs and Zoë O'Reilly highlight the close relations between the otherwise well-established terminology used in statistics and science to label immigrants in Ireland and elsewhere in EU, and the negative representations of certain types of migrants in politics and the public. The discussion focusses particularly on asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who come from outside the EU. The use of language can quickly become a political means of exclusion, therefore the authors propose the development and use of more considerate and balanced migration terminology.Damir Josipovič proposes a change of the focal point for identifying and interpreting the well-studied migrations in the former Yugoslavia. The author suggests changing the dualistic view of these migrations to an integrated, holistic view. Instead of a simplified understanding of these migrations as either international or domestic, voluntary or forced, he proposes a concept of pseudo-voluntary migrations.Maja Korać-Sanderson's contribution highlights an interesting phenomenon in the shift in the traditional patterns of gender roles. The conclusions are derived from the study of the family life of Chinese traders in transitional Serbia. While many studies suggest that child care in recent decades in immigrant societies is generally performed by immigrants, her study reveals that in Serbia, the Chinese merchants entrust the care of their children mostly to local middle class women. The author finds this switch of roles in the "division of labour" in the child care favourable for both parties involved.Francesco Della Puppa focuses on a specific part of the mosaic of contemporary migrations in the Mediterranean: the Bangladeshi immigrant community in the highly industrialized North East of Italy. The results of his in-depth qualitative study reveal the factors that shape this segment of the Bangladeshi diaspora, the experiences of migrants and the effects of migration on their social and biographical trajectories.John A. Schembri and Maria Attard present a snippet of a more typical Mediterranean migration process - immigration to Malta. The authors highlight the reduction in migration between Malta and the United Kingdom, while there is an increase in immigration to Malta from the rest of Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Amongst the various impacts of immigration to Malta the extraordinary concentration of immigrant populations is emphasized, since the population density of Malta far exceeds that of nearly all other European countries.Miha Kozorog studies the link between migration and constructing their places of their origin. On the basis of Ardener's theory the author expresses "remoteness" of the emigratory Slavia Friulana in terms of topology, in relation to other places, rather than in topography. "Remoteness" is formed in relation to the "outside world", to those who speak of "remote areas" from the privileged centres. The example of an artistic event, which organizers aim "to open a place like this to the outside world", "to encourage the production of more cosmopolitan place", shows only the temporary effect of such event on the reduction of the "remoteness".Jani Kozina presents a study of the basic temporal and spatial characteristics of migration "of people in creative occupations" in Slovenia. The definition of this specific segment of the population and approach to study its migrations are principally based on the work of Richard Florida. The author observes that people with creative occupations in Slovenia are very immobile and in this respect quite similar to other professional groups in Slovenia, but also to the people in creative professions in the Southern and Eastern Europe, which are considered to be among the least mobile in Europe. Detailed analyses show that the people in creative occupations from the more developed regions generally migrate more intensely and are also more willing to relocate.Mojca Pajnik and Veronika Bajt study the experiences of migrant women with the access to the labour market in Slovenia. Existing laws and policies push the migrants into a position where, if they want to get to work, have to accept less demanding work. In doing so, the migrant women are targets of stereotyped reactions and practices of discrimination on the basis of sex, age, attributed ethnic and religious affiliation, or some other circumstances, particularly the fact of being migrants. At the same time the latter results in the absence of any protection from the state.Migration studies often assume that the target countries are "modern" and countries of origin "traditional". Anıl Al- Rebholz argues that such a dichotomous conceptualization of modern and traditional further promotes stereotypical, essentialist and homogenizing images of Muslim women in the "western world". On the basis of biographical narratives of young Kurdish and Moroccan women as well as the relationships between mothers and daughters, the author illustrates a variety of strategies of empowerment of young women in the context of transnational migration.A specific face of migration is highlighted in the text of Svenka Savić, namely the face of artistic migration between Slovenia and Serbia after the Second World War. The author explains how more than thirty artists from Slovenia, with their pioneering work in three ensembles (opera, ballet and theatre), significantly contributed to the development of the performing arts in the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad.We believe that in the present thematic issue we have succeeded in capturing an important part of the modern European research dynamic in the field of migration. In addition to well-known scholars in this field several young authors at the beginning their research careers have been shortlisted for the publication. We are glad of their success as it bodes a vibrancy of this research area in the future. At the same time, we were pleased to receive responses to the invitation from representatives of so many disciplines, and that the number of papers received significantly exceeded the maximum volume of the journal. Recognising and understanding of the many faces of migration are important steps towards the comprehensive knowledge needed to successfully meet the challenges of migration issues today and even more so in the future. It is therefore of utmost importance that researchers find ways of transferring their academic knowledge into practice – to all levels of education, the media, the wider public and, of course, the decision makers in local, national and international institutions. The call also applies to all authors in this issue of the journal.

Temporary or permanent, local or international, voluntary or forced, legal or illegal, registered or unregistered migrations of individuals, whole communities or individual groups are an important factor in constructing and modifying (modern) societies. The extent of international migrations is truly immense. At the time of the preparation of this publication more than 200 million people have been involved in migrations in a single year according to the United Nations. Furthermore, three times more wish to migrate, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa towards some of the most economically developed areas of the world according to the estimates by the Gallup Institute (Esipova, 2011). Some authors, although aware that it is not a new phenomenon, talk about the era of migration (Castles, Miller, 2009) or the globalization of migration (Friedman, 2004). The global dimensions of migration are definitely influenced also by the increasingly visible features of modern societies like constantly changing conditions, instability, fluidity, uncertainty etc. (Beck, 2009; Bauman, 2002).The extent, direction, type of migrations and their consequences are affected by many social and natural factors in the areas of emigration and immigration. In addition, researchers from many scientific disciplines who study migrations have raised a wide range of research questions (Boyle, 2009, 96), use a variety of methodological approaches and look for different interpretations in various spatial, temporal and contextual frameworks. The migrations are a complex, multi-layered, variable, contextual process that takes place at several levels. Because of this, research on migrations has become an increasingly interdisciplinary field, since the topics and problems are so complex that they cannot be grasped solely and exclusively from the perspective of a single discipline or theory. Therefore, we are witnessing a profusion of different "faces of migration", which is reflected and at the same time also contributed to by this thematic issue of the journal Ars & Humanitas.While mobility or migration are not new phenomena, as people have moved and migrated throughout the history of mankind, only recently, in the last few decades, has theoretical and research focus on them intensified considerably. In the last two decades a number of research projects, university programs and courses, research institutes, scientific conferences, seminars, magazines, books and other publications, involving research, academia as well as politics and various civil society organizations have emerged. This shows the recent exceptional interest in the issue of migration, both in terms of knowledge of the processes involved, their mapping in the history of mankind, as well as the theoretical development of migration studies and daily management of this politically sensitive issue.Migration affects many entities on many different levels: the individuals, their families and entire communities at the local level in the emigrant societies as well as in the receiving societies. The migration is changing not only the lives of individuals but whole communities and societies, as well as social relations; it is also shifting the cultural patterns and bringing important social transformations (Castles 2010). This of course raises a number of questions, problems and issues ranging from human rights violations to literary achievements. Some of these are addressed by the authors in this thematic issue.The title "Many faces of migration", connecting contributions in this special issue, is borrowed from the already mentioned Gallup Institute's report on global migration (Esipova, 2011). The guiding principle in the selection of the contributions has been their diversity, reflected also in the list of disciplines represented by the authors: sociology, geography, ethnology and cultural anthropology, history, art history, modern Mediterranean studies, gender studies and media studies. Such an approach necessarily leads not only to a diverse, but at least seemingly also incompatible, perhaps even opposing views "on a given topic. However, we did not want to silence the voices of "other" disciplines, but within the reviewing procedures actually invited scientists from the fields represented by the contributors to this volume. The wealth of the selected contributions lies therefore not only in their coherence and complementarity, but also in the diversity of views, stories and interpretations.The paper of Zora Žbontar deals with the attitudes towards foreigners in ancient Greece, where the hospitality to strangers was considered so worthy a virtue that everyone was expected to "demonstrate hospitality and protection to any foreigner who has knocked on their door". The contrast between the hospitality of ancient Greece and the modern emergence of xenophobia and ways of dealing with migration issues in economically developed countries is especially challenging. "In an open gesture of hospitality to strangers the ancient Greeks showed their civilization".Although the aforementioned research by the United Nations and Gallup Institute support some traditional stereotypes of the main global flows of migrants, and the areas about which the potential migrants "dream", Bojan Baskar stresses the coexistence of different migratory desires, migration flows and their interpretations. In his paper he specifically focuses on overcoming and relativising stereotypes as well as theories of immobile and non-enterprising (Alpine) mountain populations and migrations.The different strategies of the crossing borders adopted by migrant women are studied by Mirjana Morokvasic. She marks them as true social innovators, inventing different ways of transnational life resulting in a bottom-up contribution to the integrative processes across Europe. Some of their innovations go as far as to shift diverse real and symbolic boundaries of belonging to a nation, gender, profession.Elaine Burroughs and Zoë O'Reilly highlight the close relations between the otherwise well-established terminology used in statistics and science to label immigrants in Ireland and elsewhere in EU, and the negative representations of certain types of migrants in politics and the public. The discussion focusses particularly on asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who come from outside the EU. The use of language can quickly become a political means of exclusion, therefore the authors propose the development and use of more considerate and balanced migration terminology.Damir Josipovič proposes a change of the focal point for identifying and interpreting the well-studied migrations in the former Yugoslavia. The author suggests changing the dualistic view of these migrations to an integrated, holistic view. Instead of a simplified understanding of these migrations as either international or domestic, voluntary or forced, he proposes a concept of pseudo-voluntary migrations.Maja Korać-Sanderson's contribution highlights an interesting phenomenon in the shift in the traditional patterns of gender roles. The conclusions are derived from the study of the family life of Chinese traders in transitional Serbia. While many studies suggest that child care in recent decades in immigrant societies is generally performed by immigrants, her study reveals that in Serbia, the Chinese merchants entrust the care of their children mostly to local middle class women. The author finds this switch of roles in the "division of labour" in the child care favourable for both parties involved.Francesco Della Puppa focuses on a specific part of the mosaic of contemporary migrations in the Mediterranean: the Bangladeshi immigrant community in the highly industrialized North East of Italy. The results of his in-depth qualitative study reveal the factors that shape this segment of the Bangladeshi diaspora, the experiences of migrants and the effects of migration on their social and biographical trajectories.John A. Schembri and Maria Attard present a snippet of a more typical Mediterranean migration process - immigration to Malta. The authors highlight the reduction in migration between Malta and the United Kingdom, while there is an increase in immigration to Malta from the rest of Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Amongst the various impacts of immigration to Malta the extraordinary concentration of immigrant populations is emphasized, since the population density of Malta far exceeds that of nearly all other European countries.Miha Kozorog studies the link between migration and constructing their places of their origin. On the basis of Ardener's theory the author expresses "remoteness" of the emigratory Slavia Friulana in terms of topology, in relation to other places, rather than in topography. "Remoteness" is formed in relation to the "outside world", to those who speak of "remote areas" from the privileged centres. The example of an artistic event, which organizers aim "to open a place like this to the outside world", "to encourage the production of more cosmopolitan place", shows only the temporary effect of such event on the reduction of the "remoteness".Jani Kozina presents a study of the basic temporal and spatial characteristics of migration "of people in creative occupations" in Slovenia. The definition of this specific segment of the population and approach to study its migrations are principally based on the work of Richard Florida. The author observes that people with creative occupations in Slovenia are very immobile and in this respect quite similar to other professional groups in Slovenia, but also to the people in creative professions in the Southern and Eastern Europe, which are considered to be among the least mobile in Europe. Detailed analyses show that the people in creative occupations from the more developed regions generally migrate more intensely and are also more willing to relocate.Mojca Pajnik and Veronika Bajt study the experiences of migrant women with the access to the labour market in Slovenia. Existing laws and policies push the migrants into a position where, if they want to get to work, have to accept less demanding work. In doing so, the migrant women are targets of stereotyped reactions and practices of discrimination on the basis of sex, age, attributed ethnic and religious affiliation, or some other circumstances, particularly the fact of being migrants. At the same time the latter results in the absence of any protection from the state.Migration studies often assume that the target countries are "modern" and countries of origin "traditional". Anıl Al- Rebholz argues that such a dichotomous conceptualization of modern and traditional further promotes stereotypical, essentialist and homogenizing images of Muslim women in the "western world". On the basis of biographical narratives of young Kurdish and Moroccan women as well as the relationships between mothers and daughters, the author illustrates a variety of strategies of empowerment of young women in the context of transnational migration.A specific face of migration is highlighted in the text of Svenka Savić, namely the face of artistic migration between Slovenia and Serbia after the Second World War. The author explains how more than thirty artists from Slovenia, with their pioneering work in three ensembles (opera, ballet and theatre), significantly contributed to the development of the performing arts in the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad.We believe that in the present thematic issue we have succeeded in capturing an important part of the modern European research dynamic in the field of migration. In addition to well-known scholars in this field several young authors at the beginning their research careers have been shortlisted for the publication. We are glad of their success as it bodes a vibrancy of this research area in the future. At the same time, we were pleased to receive responses to the invitation from representatives of so many disciplines, and that the number of papers received significantly exceeded the maximum volume of the journal. Recognising and understanding of the many faces of migration are important steps towards the comprehensive knowledge needed to successfully meet the challenges of migration issues today and even more so in the future. It is therefore of utmost importance that researchers find ways of transferring their academic knowledge into practice – to all levels of education, the media, the wider public and, of course, the decision makers in local, national and international institutions. The call also applies to all authors in this issue of the journal.

Temporary or permanent, local or international, voluntary or forced, legal or illegal, registered or unregistered migrations of individuals, whole communities or individual groups are an important factor in constructing and modifying (modern) societies. The extent of international migrations is truly immense. At the time of the preparation of this publication more than 200 million people have been involved in migrations in a single year according to the United Nations. Furthermore, three times more wish to migrate, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa towards some of the most economically developed areas of the world according to the estimates by the Gallup Institute (Esipova, 2011). Some authors, although aware that it is not a new phenomenon, talk about the era of migration (Castles, Miller, 2009) or the globalization of migration (Friedman, 2004). The global dimensions of migration are definitely influenced also by the increasingly visible features of modern societies like constantly changing conditions, instability, fluidity, uncertainty etc. (Beck, 2009; Bauman, 2002).The extent, direction, type of migrations and their consequences are affected by many social and natural factors in the areas of emigration and immigration. In addition, researchers from many scientific disciplines who study migrations have raised a wide range of research questions (Boyle, 2009, 96), use a variety of methodological approaches and look for different interpretations in various spatial, temporal and contextual frameworks. The migrations are a complex, multi-layered, variable, contextual process that takes place at several levels. Because of this, research on migrations has become an increasingly interdisciplinary field, since the topics and problems are so complex that they cannot be grasped solely and exclusively from the perspective of a single discipline or theory. Therefore, we are witnessing a profusion of different "faces of migration", which is reflected and at the same time also contributed to by this thematic issue of the journal Ars & Humanitas.While mobility or migration are not new phenomena, as people have moved and migrated throughout the history of mankind, only recently, in the last few decades, has theoretical and research focus on them intensified considerably. In the last two decades a number of research projects, university programs and courses, research institutes, scientific conferences, seminars, magazines, books and other publications, involving research, academia as well as politics and various civil society organizations have emerged. This shows the recent exceptional interest in the issue of migration, both in terms of knowledge of the processes involved, their mapping in the history of mankind, as well as the theoretical development of migration studies and daily management of this politically sensitive issue.Migration affects many entities on many different levels: the individuals, their families and entire communities at the local level in the emigrant societies as well as in the receiving societies. The migration is changing not only the lives of individuals but whole communities and societies, as well as social relations; it is also shifting the cultural patterns and bringing important social transformations (Castles 2010). This of course raises a number of questions, problems and issues ranging from human rights violations to literary achievements. Some of these are addressed by the authors in this thematic issue.The title "Many faces of migration", connecting contributions in this special issue, is borrowed from the already mentioned Gallup Institute's report on global migration (Esipova, 2011). The guiding principle in the selection of the contributions has been their diversity, reflected also in the list of disciplines represented by the authors: sociology, geography, ethnology and cultural anthropology, history, art history, modern Mediterranean studies, gender studies and media studies. Such an approach necessarily leads not only to a diverse, but at least seemingly also incompatible, perhaps even opposing views "on a given topic. However, we did not want to silence the voices of "other" disciplines, but within the reviewing procedures actually invited scientists from the fields represented by the contributors to this volume. The wealth of the selected contributions lies therefore not only in their coherence and complementarity, but also in the diversity of views, stories and interpretations.The paper of Zora Žbontar deals with the attitudes towards foreigners in ancient Greece, where the hospitality to strangers was considered so worthy a virtue that everyone was expected to "demonstrate hospitality and protection to any foreigner who has knocked on their door". The contrast between the hospitality of ancient Greece and the modern emergence of xenophobia and ways of dealing with migration issues in economically developed countries is especially challenging. "In an open gesture of hospitality to strangers the ancient Greeks showed their civilization".Although the aforementioned research by the United Nations and Gallup Institute support some traditional stereotypes of the main global flows of migrants, and the areas about which the potential migrants "dream", Bojan Baskar stresses the coexistence of different migratory desires, migration flows and their interpretations. In his paper he specifically focuses on overcoming and relativising stereotypes as well as theories of immobile and non-enterprising (Alpine) mountain populations and migrations.The different strategies of the crossing borders adopted by migrant women are studied by Mirjana Morokvasic. She marks them as true social innovators, inventing different ways of transnational life resulting in a bottom-up contribution to the integrative processes across Europe. Some of their innovations go as far as to shift diverse real and symbolic boundaries of belonging to a nation, gender, profession.Elaine Burroughs and Zoë O'Reilly highlight the close relations between the otherwise well-established terminology used in statistics and science to label immigrants in Ireland and elsewhere in EU, and the negative representations of certain types of migrants in politics and the public. The discussion focusses particularly on asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who come from outside the EU. The use of language can quickly become a political means of exclusion, therefore the authors propose the development and use of more considerate and balanced migration terminology.Damir Josipovič proposes a change of the focal point for identifying and interpreting the well-studied migrations in the former Yugoslavia. The author suggests changing the dualistic view of these migrations to an integrated, holistic view. Instead of a simplified understanding of these migrations as either international or domestic, voluntary or forced, he proposes a concept of pseudo-voluntary migrations.Maja Korać-Sanderson's contribution highlights an interesting phenomenon in the shift in the traditional patterns of gender roles. The conclusions are derived from the study of the family life of Chinese traders in transitional Serbia. While many studies suggest that child care in recent decades in immigrant societies is generally performed by immigrants, her study reveals that in Serbia, the Chinese merchants entrust the care of their children mostly to local middle class women. The author finds this switch of roles in the "division of labour" in the child care favourable for both parties involved.Francesco Della Puppa focuses on a specific part of the mosaic of contemporary migrations in the Mediterranean: the Bangladeshi immigrant community in the highly industrialized North East of Italy. The results of his in-depth qualitative study reveal the factors that shape this segment of the Bangladeshi diaspora, the experiences of migrants and the effects of migration on their social and biographical trajectories.John A. Schembri and Maria Attard present a snippet of a more typical Mediterranean migration process - immigration to Malta. The authors highlight the reduction in migration between Malta and the United Kingdom, while there is an increase in immigration to Malta from the rest of Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Amongst the various impacts of immigration to Malta the extraordinary concentration of immigrant populations is emphasized, since the population density of Malta far exceeds that of nearly all other European countries.Miha Kozorog studies the link between migration and constructing their places of their origin. On the basis of Ardener's theory the author expresses "remoteness" of the emigratory Slavia Friulana in terms of topology, in relation to other places, rather than in topography. "Remoteness" is formed in relation to the "outside world", to those who speak of "remote areas" from the privileged centres. The example of an artistic event, which organizers aim "to open a place like this to the outside world", "to encourage the production of more cosmopolitan place", shows only the temporary effect of such event on the reduction of the "remoteness".Jani Kozina presents a study of the basic temporal and spatial characteristics of migration "of people in creative occupations" in Slovenia. The definition of this specific segment of the population and approach to study its migrations are principally based on the work of Richard Florida. The author observes that people with creative occupations in Slovenia are very immobile and in this respect quite similar to other professional groups in Slovenia, but also to the people in creative professions in the Southern and Eastern Europe, which are considered to be among the least mobile in Europe. Detailed analyses show that the people in creative occupations from the more developed regions generally migrate more intensely and are also more willing to relocate.Mojca Pajnik and Veronika Bajt study the experiences of migrant women with the access to the labour market in Slovenia. Existing laws and policies push the migrants into a position where, if they want to get to work, have to accept less demanding work. In doing so, the migrant women are targets of stereotyped reactions and practices of discrimination on the basis of sex, age, attributed ethnic and religious affiliation, or some other circumstances, particularly the fact of being migrants. At the same time the latter results in the absence of any protection from the state.Migration studies often assume that the target countries are "modern" and countries of origin "traditional". Anıl Al- Rebholz argues that such a dichotomous conceptualization of modern and traditional further promotes stereotypical, essentialist and homogenizing images of Muslim women in the "western world". On the basis of biographical narratives of young Kurdish and Moroccan women as well as the relationships between mothers and daughters, the author illustrates a variety of strategies of empowerment of young women in the context of transnational migration.A specific face of migration is highlighted in the text of Svenka Savić, namely the face of artistic migration between Slovenia and Serbia after the Second World War. The author explains how more than thirty artists from Slovenia, with their pioneering work in three ensembles (opera, ballet and theatre), significantly contributed to the development of the performing arts in the Serbian National Theatre in Novi Sad.We believe that in the present thematic issue we have succeeded in capturing an important part of the modern European research dynamic in the field of migration. In addition to well-known scholars in this field several young authors at the beginning their research careers have been shortlisted for the publication. We are glad of their success as it bodes a vibrancy of this research area in the future. At the same time, we were pleased to receive responses to the invitation from representatives of so many disciplines, and that the number of papers received significantly exceeded the maximum volume of the journal. Recognising and understanding of the many faces of migration are important steps towards the comprehensive knowledge needed to successfully meet the challenges of migration issues today and even more so in the future. It is therefore of utmost importance that researchers find ways of transferring their academic knowledge into practice – to all levels of education, the media, the wider public and, of course, the decision makers in local, national and international institutions. The call also applies to all authors in this issue of the journal. ; Začasne ali stalne, lokalne ali mednarodne, prostovoljne ali prisilne, legalne ali ilegalne, registrirane ali neregistrirane migracije posameznic in posameznikov, celih družbenih skupnosti ali posameznih skupin predstavljajo pomemben dejavnik v konstruiranju in spreminjanju (sodobnih) družb. Razsežnosti mednarodnih migracij so resnično ogromne, saj je bilo vanje v času nastajanja te publikacije po ocenah Združenih narodov v enem letu vključenih več kot 200 milijonov ljudi. Po ocenah Gallupovega inštituta pa se jih še trikrat toliko želi preseliti, največ iz podsaharske Afrike ter proti nekaterim gospodarsko najbolj razvitim območjem sveta (Esipova, 2011). Nekateri avtorji zato, čeprav ob zavedanju, da ne gre za nov fenomen, govorijo o dobi migracij (Castles, Miller, 2009) ali o globalizaciji migracij (Friedman, 2004). Zagotovo je na globalne razsežnosti migracij vplivalo tudi to, da so vse bolj vidne značilnosti sodobnih družb nenehno spreminjanje razmer, nestabilnost, fluidnost, negotovost ipd. (Beck, 2009; Bauman, 2002).Na obseg, smeri in vrste migracij ter na njihove posledice vplivajo številni družbeni in naravni dejavniki, tako na območjih odseljevanja kot tudi na območjih priselitev. Poleg tega si raziskovalke in raziskovalci iz številnih znanstvenih disciplin, ki proučujejo migracije, v raziskavah zastavljajo »neverjetno raznovrstna« vprašanja (Boyle, 2009, 96), uporabljajo različne metodološke pristope in iščejo različne interpretacije, in sicer v različnih prostorskih, časovnih in vsebinskih okvirih. Vse bolj prihaja do izraza, da so migracije kompleksen, večplasten, spremenljiv in kontekstualen proces, ki poteka na več ravneh. Prav zaradi tega spoznanja je raziskovanje migracij postajalo vse bolj interdisciplinarno polje, saj so teme in problemi tako kompleksni, da jih ni mogoče zagrabiti zgolj in izključno iz perspektive ene same znanosti ali teorije. Zato smo priča pravemu bogastvu »obrazov migracij«, ki ga odraža ter obenem k njemu tudi prispeva pričujoča tematska številka revije Ars & Humanitas.Čeprav mobilnost oziroma migracije niso nov pojav, saj so se ljudje selili in preseljevali skozi celotno zgodovino človeštva, pa se šele v zadnjem času, v zadnjih nekaj desetletjih, z njimi resno teoretsko in raziskovalno ukvarjamo. V zadnjih dveh desetletjih so se pojavili številni raziskovalni projekti, univerzitetni programi in predmeti, raziskovalni inštituti, znanstvene konference, posveti, revije, knjige in druge publikacije, pri katerih sodelujejo tako raziskovalna in akademska sfera kot tudi politika in različne civilnodružbene organizacije. To priča o v zadnjem času izjemnem zanimanju za vprašanje migracij, tako kar zadeva poznavanje samih procesov in njihovo mapiranje v zgodovini človeštva kot tudi teoretski razvoj migracijskih študij in vsakodnevno urejanje tega politično občutljivega vprašanja.Migracije zadevajo številne subjekte na številnih ravneh: posameznice in posameznike, njihove družine ter celotne skupnosti tako na lokalni ravni v družbi emigracije kakor tudi na vseh teh ravneh v imigrantski družbi. Z migracijami se spreminjajo ne samo življenja posameznikov in posameznic, ampak se spreminjajo celotne skupnosti oziroma družbe in družbeni odnosi, zamikajo se kulturni vzorci, prihaja do pomembnih družbenih transformacij (Castles, 2010). Ob tem se seveda odpirajo številne teme, problemi in vprašanja, ki se gibljejo v širokem razponu od kršenja človekovih pravic do literarnih presežkov. Nekaterih od njih se dotikajo tudi prispevki v pričujoči tematski številki.Povezovalni naslov prispevkov v tej tematski številki revije, »Številni obrazi migracij«, smo si sposodili iz že omenjenega poročila Gallupovega inštituta o globalnih selitvah (Esipova, 2011). Temeljno vsebinsko vodilo pri izbiri prispevkov je bila raznovrstnost, kar nakazuje tudi pregled znanstvenih disciplin, iz katerih prihajajo avtorji: sociologija, geografija, etnologija in kulturna antropologija, zgodovina, umetnostna zgodovina, sodobne sredozemske študije, študiji spola in medijski študiji. Tak pristop nujno pripelje ne le do raznolikih, ampak tudi do vsaj navidezno neskladnih, morda celo nasprotnih pogledov na obravnavane tematike. Vendar nismo želeli utišati glasov iz »drugih« znanstvenih disciplin, temveč smo raje v recenzentske postopke povabili znanstvenike s področij, s katerih so tudi avtorji. Bogastvo zbranih prispevkov torej ni v njihovi medsebojni skladnosti in potrjevanju, temveč prav v mnogoterosti pogledov, zgodb in interpretacij.Prispevek Zore Žbontar obravnava odnos do tujcev v antični Grčiji, kjer je bilo gostoljubje do tujcev tako častivredna vrlina, da je vsak moral »izkazati gostoljubje in zaščititi kateregakoli tujca, ki je potrkal na vrata«. Zlasti je izzivalen kontrast med gostoljubjem v antični Grčiji in sodobnim pojavljanjem ksenofobije ter načini soočanja z migracijsko problematiko v gospodarsko razvitih državah. »Antični Grki so v odprti gesti gostoljubja do tujcev prepoznali svojo civiliziranost.«Čeprav omenjene raziskave Združenih narodov in Gallupovega inštituta podpirajo nekatere uveljavljene stereotipe o glavnih globalnih tokovih migrantov ter o območjih, o katerih »sanjajo« potencialni migranti, Bojan Baskar opozarja na sočasen obstoj tudi drugačnih migracijskih želja, tokov migracij in njihovih interpretacij. Posebej se osredotoči na preseganje in relativizacijo stereotipov in teorij o nemobilnem in nepodjetnem (alpskem) hribovskem prebivalstvu in migracijah.O tem, kako različne strategije pri prehajanju, prestopanju in prečkanju meja razvijejo migrantke, piše Mirjana Morokvasic. Označi jih kot prave socialne inovatorke, ki izumijo različne načine transnacionalnega življenja in tako od spodaj navzgor prispevajo k integrativnim procesom po vsej Evropi. V svoji inovativnosti gredo nekatere tako daleč, da premikajo različne, tako realne kot simbolne meje pripadanja naciji, spolu in poklicu.Elaine Burroughs in Zoë O'Reilly izpostavita tesno povezanost med sicer uveljavljeno terminologijo, s katero v statistiki in tudi znanosti označujejo imigrante na Irskem in širše v EU, ter negativnimi reprezentacijami nekaterih tipov migrantov v politiki in javnosti. Razpravo navežeta zlasti na iskalce azila in nezakonite priseljence, ki pridejo iz držav zunaj EU. Raba jezika lahko hitro postane politični način izključevanja, zato predlagata razvoj in uporabo obzirnejše in pravičnejše migracijske terminologije.Za spremembo izhodišča opredeljevanja in interpretacije sicer dobro proučenih selitev v nekdanji Jugoslaviji se zavzame Damir Josipovič. Predlaga zamenjavo dualističnega pogleda na te migracije s celostnim. Namesto njihovega poenostavljenega razumevanja kot mednarodnih in notranjih ali prostovoljnih in prisilnih migracij pa se zavzema za koncept psevdoprostovoljnih migracij.Na zanimiv fenomen zamikanja ustaljenih vzorcev spolnih vlog opozori tekst Maje Korać-Sanderson, katere zaključki izhajajo iz študije družinskega življenja kitajskih trgovcev v tranzicijski Srbiji. Medtem ko številne študije ugotavljajo, da skrbstveno delo v zadnjih desetletjih v imigrantskih družbah v glavnem opravljajo migrantke, njena študija ugotavlja, da v Srbiji kitajske trgovke skrb za svoje otroke večinoma zaupajo lokalnim ženskam srednjega razreda. Ta obrat vlog pri »delitvi dela« v skrbstveni sferi, ugotavlja avtorica, je v prid obema vpletenima stranema.Specifičen del mozaika sodobnih migracij v Sredozemlju, bangladeške skupnosti imigrantov na visoko industrializiranem severovzhodu Italije, razkriva Francesco Della Puppa. Izsledki poglobljenega kvalitativnega proučevanja odstirajo dejavnike, ki oblikujejo ta segment bangladeške diaspore, izkušnje migrantov ter učinke selitve na njihove družbene in biografske trajektorije.Izsek iz bolj tipičnih sredozemskih migracijskih procesov na primeru priseljevanja na Malto predstavita John A. Schembri in Maria Attard. Ugotavljata zmanjševanje števila selitev med Malto in Veliko Britanijo ob hkratnem povečevanju priseljevanja iz ostalih držav Evrope in podsaharske Afrike. Med učinki priseljevanja na Malto izpostavita izredno zgoščenost priseljenega prebivalstva, ki presega gostote celotnih prebivalstev v nekaterih evropskih državah.Miha Kozorog obravnava povezavo med migracijami in konstruiranjem krajev, iz katerih te migracije izvirajo. S pomočjo Ardenerjeve teorije »odročnost« izrazito emigracijske Benečije izrazi ne toliko v topografskem kot v topološkem smislu, v razmerju do drugih krajev. »Odročnost« nastaja v razmerju z »zunanjim svetom«, s tistimi, ki govorijo o »odročnih krajih« iz privilegiranih središč. Na primeru umetniškega dogodka, s katerim želijo organizatorji »odpreti tak kraj zunanjemu svetu« in »spodbuditi produkcijo bolj svetovljanskega kraja«, pokaže zgolj začasnost učinka tega dogodka na zmanjšanje »odročnosti«.O temeljnih časovnih in prostorskih značilnostih selitev »prebivalcev z ustvarjalnim poklicem« v Sloveniji piše Jani Kozina. Pri opredeljevanju tega specifičnega dela prebivalstva in pristopa k proučevanju njegovega migriranja se opre zlasti na dela Richarda Floride. Ugotavlja, da so prebivalci z ustvarjalnim poklicem v Sloveniji prostorsko zelo nemobilni in po tem kriteriju precej podobni ostalim poklicnim skupinam v Sloveniji, obenem pa tudi prebivalcem z ustvarjalnimi poklici v južni in vzhodni Evropi, za katere velja, da so med najmanj mobilnimi v Evropi. Podrobnejše analize pokažejo, da se ustvarjalci bolj razvitih regij načeloma intenzivneje selijo in so tudi v večji meri pripravljeni na selitev.O izkušnjah migrantk pri dostopu do trga delovne sile v Sloveniji govori članek Mojce Pajnik in Veronike Bajt. Obstoječa zakonodaja in posamezne politike namreč migrantke potiskajo v položaj, ko, če hočejo priti do zaposlitve, pristajajo na manj zahtevna dela. Pri tem so tarče stereotipnih reakcij in praks diskriminiranja tako na podlagi spola kot tudi starosti, pripisane etnične in religiozne pripadnosti ali kakšne druge okoliščine, še posebej dejstva, da so migrantke. Obenem pa prav zadnje vpliva na to, da s strani države niso deležne nikakršne zaščite.Migracijske študije pogosto domnevajo, da so ciljne države »moderne«, države izvora pa »tradicionalne«. Razprava Anıl Al-Rebholz ugotavlja, da takšna dihotomija pojmovanja modernega in tradicionalnega dodatno spodbuja stereotipne, esencialistične in homogenizirajoče predstave o muslimanskih ženskah v »zahodnem svetu«. Na podlagi biografskih pripovedi mlade Maročanke in Kurdinje ter razmerij med materami in hčerami prikaže raznolike strategije opolnomočenja mladih žensk v transnacionalnem migracijskem kontekstu.Specifični obraz migracij prinaša tekst Svenke Savić, namreč obraz umetniških migracij med Slovenijo in Srbijo po drugi svetovni vojni. Avtorica v njem ugotavlja, da je v treh ansamblih (opernem, gledališkem in baletnem) več kot trideset umetnic in umetnikov iz Slovenije s svojim pionirskim delom pomembno zaznamovalo razvoj gledališke umetnosti v Srbskem narodnem gledališču v Novem Sadu.Verjamemo, da nam je uspelo v pričujočo tematsko številko ujeti pomemben del sodobnega evropskega raziskovalskega utripa s področja migracij. Poleg uveljavljenih znanstvenikov s tega področja se je v ožji izbor prispevkov uvrstilo tudi več mladih avtoric in avtorjev, ki začenjajo raziskovalne kariere. Njihov uspeh nas veseli, saj obeta živahnost tega raziskovalnega področja tudi v bodoče. Obenem nas veseli, da so se vabilu odzvali predstavniki tako številnih znanstvenih disciplin ter da je število prispevkov, ki smo jih prejeli, znatno presegalo največji možni obseg revije. Spoznavanje in razumevanje številnih obrazov migracij sta pomembna koraka proti celovitemu znanju, potrebnemu za uspešno soočanje z izzivi migracijske problematike danes in, kot kaže, še posebej v prihodnosti. Zato je izjemnega pomena, da raziskovalci najdemo načine prenosa svojih znanstvenih spoznanj v prakso – na vse ravni izobraževanja, v medije, širše strokovne javnosti ter seveda tudi odločevalcem v lokalnih, državnih in mednarodnih ustanovah. Poziv velja tudi vsem avtorjem prispevkov v tej številke revije.

V zadnjem času smo priča povečanemu zanimanju za telo v vsakdanjem življenju in v naših vsakdanjih praksah, pa tudi v družboslovnih in humanističnih raziskavah in analizah. Pri tem zagotovo prednjačijo mediji, ki nas zasipavajo s podobami idealnih, zdravih, zagorelih, lepih, vitkih teles, ki so tako rekoč povprečnemu človeku/ženski nedosegljive. Ti isti mediji nas po eni strani posiljujejo z mnogimi dobrotami, recepti, hrano, po drugi pa s podobami vitkih teles, kar skorajda nujno vodi do frustracij ali pa do različnih oblik trpinčenj lastnega telesa. Ta se lahko kažejo v obliki občasnega hujšanja, anoreksije, bulimije, kompulzivnega prenajedanja, ortoreksije, bigoreksije (pretirane fizične aktivnosti) ipd. Če pa to ni učinkovito ali ni zadosti hitro, se je tudi za težave našlo zdravilo – oz. zdravnik – lepotni kirurg, ki nam izreže, zmanjša ali poveča tisto, kar hočemo oz. česar nočemo. Poraslo je tudi zanimanje za zdravo telo – ljudje hočejo, da bi bili videti zdravo, se počutiti zdravo, zato jejo zdravo hrano, se ukvarjajo s športom, skratka skrbijo za svoje telo.
Telo je hkrati del posameznika/posameznice, obenem pa je lahko njen/ njegov objekt oz. projekt – če se odločimo, ga bomo oblikovali tako, da bo krepko ali krhko, obilno ali skoraj shirano, lahko si okrepimo/povečamo ali zmanjšamo ta ali oni del, možnosti so stvar naše domišljije in časovno
finančnih možnosti. Ta interes je, kot je opozoril že Bourdieu (1984), najbolj prisoten pri t.i. novem srednjem razredu, najverjetneje se je v zadnjem času razširil tudi na druge sloje.
Telo pa ne predstavlja le stvar zanimanja posameznikov in posameznic ampak tudi oblasti oz. politike. Če pritrdimo Foucaultu, se je oblast pravzaprav vedno zanimala za telesa svojih podrejenih. Že davno tega so bila telesa predmet nadzorovanja in kaznovanja, telesne kazni so bile prve oblike kaznovanja neubogljivega ljudstva in za razliko od danes so bila ta kaznovanja vsem na ogled in v opozorilo. Zdi se, da oblast/politika teles ni nikoli izpustila iz svojega primeža, le da so se oblike nadzorovanja in kaznovanja spreminjale/spremenile – predvsem najbrž to velja za ženska telesa.
Telo je bilo, je in bo predmet zanimanja različnih ved in polj. Čeprav je bilo videti, da si ga je najprej za ekskluzivno polje svojega delovanja privzela medicina, pa se z njim ukvarjajo (je predmet njihovega raziskovanja) tudi druge vede oz. znanstvene discipline od sociologije in antropologije, študijev spola, umetnostne zgodovine, literarne zgodovine in drugih. Večkrat ponovljena modrost, da nimamo svojega telesa, temveč smo telo, je v sodobnem družbosovju in humanistiki postala prežvečena puhlica. In prav zato, ker nas vabi v objem najbolj duhamornega vulgarnomaterialističnega redukcionizma, jo je vredno od časa do časa premisliti. Imeti telo ali biti telo? Frommovska dilema sploh ni na izbiro: človeštva si ni mogoče predstajati v breztelesnem ali bognedaj! raztelešenem stanju. Celotno človeštvo, ki edino ustvarja, posreduje, uporablja in preobrača simbole, skratka "simboli", če smeva uporabiti glagol, ki si ga je neuspešno zamislil Leslie White, ustvarja neskončne nize neopredmetenih zamisli, a nikakor ne more ustvariti enega samega simbola, torej predmeta, ki omogoča reprezentacijo, tako da ga postavimo na mesto nečesa drugega, ne da bi se za to pomučilo v potu svojega obraza. Še več, največje skrivnosti, kar si jih lahko zamislimo, izhajajo iz nizov telesih drž in sporočil, ki jih prevzemamo od drugih brez simboljenja.
Če smo še pred tremi desetletji govorili skorajda samo o strukturah (ne da bi dobro premislili paleto pomenov tega danes skorajda pozabljenega koncepta), pa pred desetletjem in pol o tekstih in njihovem »branju«, si danes ne moremo predstavljati humanistične razprave, ki ne bi umeščala razumevanja človeške sporočilnosti na raven neposrednih človeških dejavnosti. Pri tem v glavnem ne gre za obujanje pragmatizma, ki bi ga spodbujala prevlada anglosaške teoretske misli, niti za slepo sledenje vmes skorajda pozabljenim spoznanjem o telesnem ustroju človeških svetov Merleau-Pontyja, temveč za premik, v katerega nas sili soočanje z dogajanji v resničnem svetu, na katera se moramo ustrezno odzvati kot raziskovalci in raziskovalke.
Pričujoči tematski sklop revije Ars et Humnitas prinaša pestro paleto različnih pristopov in prikazov telesa v polju družboslovja in humanistike od teoretskih razprav v okviru post-fenomenološke sociologije telesa, tematiziranja telesa v odnosu do zdravja in plesa, pa vse do razprav o lepotnem idealu telesa v florentinskem slikarstvu, golote in spola v žanru akta ter pomena fotografij (ki predstavljajo zamrznjena telesa), s pomočjo katerih je mogoče odstirati osebne zgodovine.

V zadnjem času smo priča povečanemu zanimanju za telo v vsakdanjem življenju in v naših vsakdanjih praksah, pa tudi v družboslovnih in humanističnih raziskavah in analizah. Pri tem zagotovo prednjačijo mediji, ki nas zasipavajo s podobami idealnih, zdravih, zagorelih, lepih, vitkih teles, ki so tako rekoč povprečnemu človeku/ženski nedosegljive. Ti isti mediji nas po eni strani posiljujejo z mnogimi dobrotami, recepti, hrano, po drugi pa s podobami vitkih teles, kar skorajda nujno vodi do frustracij ali pa do različnih oblik trpinčenj lastnega telesa. Ta se lahko kažejo v obliki občasnega hujšanja, anoreksije, bulimije, kompulzivnega prenajedanja, ortoreksije, bigoreksije (pretirane fizične aktivnosti) ipd. Če pa to ni učinkovito ali ni zadosti hitro, se je tudi za težave našlo zdravilo – oz. zdravnik – lepotni kirurg, ki nam izreže, zmanjša ali poveča tisto, kar hočemo oz. česar nočemo. Poraslo je tudi zanimanje za zdravo telo – ljudje hočejo, da bi bili videti zdravo, se počutiti zdravo, zato jejo zdravo hrano, se ukvarjajo s športom, skratka skrbijo za svoje telo.
Telo je hkrati del posameznika/posameznice, obenem pa je lahko njen/ njegov objekt oz. projekt – če se odločimo, ga bomo oblikovali tako, da bo krepko ali krhko, obilno ali skoraj shirano, lahko si okrepimo/povečamo ali zmanjšamo ta ali oni del, možnosti so stvar naše domišljije in časovno
finančnih možnosti. Ta interes je, kot je opozoril že Bourdieu (1984), najbolj prisoten pri t.i. novem srednjem razredu, najverjetneje se je v zadnjem času razširil tudi na druge sloje.
Telo pa ne predstavlja le stvar zanimanja posameznikov in posameznic ampak tudi oblasti oz. politike. Če pritrdimo Foucaultu, se je oblast pravzaprav vedno zanimala za telesa svojih podrejenih. Že davno tega so bila telesa predmet nadzorovanja in kaznovanja, telesne kazni so bile prve oblike kaznovanja neubogljivega ljudstva in za razliko od danes so bila ta kaznovanja vsem na ogled in v opozorilo. Zdi se, da oblast/politika teles ni nikoli izpustila iz svojega primeža, le da so se oblike nadzorovanja in kaznovanja spreminjale/spremenile – predvsem najbrž to velja za ženska telesa.
Telo je bilo, je in bo predmet zanimanja različnih ved in polj. Čeprav je bilo videti, da si ga je najprej za ekskluzivno polje svojega delovanja privzela medicina, pa se z njim ukvarjajo (je predmet njihovega raziskovanja) tudi druge vede oz. znanstvene discipline od sociologije in antropologije, študijev spola, umetnostne zgodovine, literarne zgodovine in drugih. Večkrat ponovljena modrost, da nimamo svojega telesa, temveč smo telo, je v sodobnem družbosovju in humanistiki postala prežvečena puhlica. In prav zato, ker nas vabi v objem najbolj duhamornega vulgarnomaterialističnega redukcionizma, jo je vredno od časa do časa premisliti. Imeti telo ali biti telo? Frommovska dilema sploh ni na izbiro: človeštva si ni mogoče predstajati v breztelesnem ali bognedaj! raztelešenem stanju. Celotno človeštvo, ki edino ustvarja, posreduje, uporablja in preobrača simbole, skratka "simboli", če smeva uporabiti glagol, ki si ga je neuspešno zamislil Leslie White, ustvarja neskončne nize neopredmetenih zamisli, a nikakor ne more ustvariti enega samega simbola, torej predmeta, ki omogoča reprezentacijo, tako da ga postavimo na mesto nečesa drugega, ne da bi se za to pomučilo v potu svojega obraza. Še več, največje skrivnosti, kar si jih lahko zamislimo, izhajajo iz nizov telesih drž in sporočil, ki jih prevzemamo od drugih brez simboljenja.
Če smo še pred tremi desetletji govorili skorajda samo o strukturah (ne da bi dobro premislili paleto pomenov tega danes skorajda pozabljenega koncepta), pa pred desetletjem in pol o tekstih in njihovem »branju«, si danes ne moremo predstavljati humanistične razprave, ki ne bi umeščala razumevanja človeške sporočilnosti na raven neposrednih človeških dejavnosti. Pri tem v glavnem ne gre za obujanje pragmatizma, ki bi ga spodbujala prevlada anglosaške teoretske misli, niti za slepo sledenje vmes skorajda pozabljenim spoznanjem o telesnem ustroju človeških svetov Merleau-Pontyja, temveč za premik, v katerega nas sili soočanje z dogajanji v resničnem svetu, na katera se moramo ustrezno odzvati kot raziskovalci in raziskovalke.
Pričujoči tematski sklop revije Ars et Humnitas prinaša pestro paleto različnih pristopov in prikazov telesa v polju družboslovja in humanistike od teoretskih razprav v okviru post-fenomenološke sociologije telesa, tematiziranja telesa v odnosu do zdravja in plesa, pa vse do razprav o lepotnem idealu telesa v florentinskem slikarstvu, golote in spola v žanru akta ter pomena fotografij (ki predstavljajo zamrznjena telesa), s pomočjo katerih je mogoče odstirati osebne zgodovine.

Pred vami je nova revija Ars & Humanitas – revija za umetnost in humanistiko, področji, ki ju v sodobni družbi pogosto ločuje absurdna potreba po natančnem zamejevanju medsebojnih razmerij, pristojnosti in vsebin, raziskovalnih pristopov in metodologij dela. Ars & Humanitas želi preseči to razločenost. Ars v humanistični tradiciji razumemo kot umetnost, a tudi kot veščino, znanje, znanost. Humanitas kot humanistiko, vsestransko izobrazbo, omiko in plemenitost duha. Eno brez drugega v resnici ne more obstajati.
Razdrobljenost intelektualnih horizontov pa je žal še veliko večja. Tudi znotraj same humanistike postaja drobljenje znanstvenega in raziskovalnega prostora na ozko specializirane stroke resna zavora v razvoju humanističnih ved. Ob vse večjem številu specializiranih, v pristopu teoretsko in diskurzivno strogo zamejenih znanstvenih publikacij, njihovih tvorcev in bralcev, je potrebno ponuditi več prostora za nove, interdisciplinarno zasnovane znanstvene revije. Ars & Humanitas hoče biti prav to – spodbuditi želi povezovanje družboslovnih in humanističnih strok, okrepiti dialog med različnimi teoretskimi orientacijami, odpirati izvirne pristope k obravnavi tem, opozarjati na aktualne vidike interferenc in skrbeti za promocijo humanistike tako v strokovnih krogih kot v širši javnosti.

Zasnova revije je tridelna: v nosilnem tematskem bloku (študije) bodo objavljene študije domačih in tujih strokovnjakov, ki bodo odražale različne pristope k izbrani temi, medtem ko bo odprti blok (varia) namenjen prispevkom, ki so v določenem trenutku posebej aktualni ali ponujajo svež pogled na obravnavano temo. Tretji del bo namenjen recenzijam najnovejših in najaktualnejših znanstvenih publikacij s širšega humanistično družboslovnega področja.

Posebno pozornost bo revija namenjala nacionalni in regionalni specifiki humanistike in družboslovja znotraj Evropske unije, pa tudi promociji nacionalnih kultur in umetnosti. Skladno s tem je eno od pomembnih poslanstev revije Ars & Humanitas krepitev zavesti o pomenu jezika v razvoju humanistike, saj jezik v humanističnih znanostih presega vlogo orodja sporočanja in je neločljivo povezan s samim razvojem humanističnih znanosti. Revija je zasnovana na večjezičnosti, posebno skrb pa bo posvečala slovenski humanistiki in razvoju strokovne terminologije v slovenskem jeziku.

V trenutku, ko globalizacija nezadržno spodjeda same temelje kulturne in intelektualne različnosti, ko sodobni razvojni trendi sleherno dejavnost vse pogosteje merijo z enotnim vatlom produktivnosti, ko nam celo nekateri uradni zastopniki znanosti poskušajo na različne načine vcepiti prepričanje, da humanistika postaja odveč in neuporabna, je vsak korak v nasprotno smer vreden pozornosti in spodbude. Ustanovitev nove revije za umetnost in humanistiko je nedvomno tak korak.

Pred vami je nova revija Ars & Humanitas – revija za umetnost in humanistiko, področji, ki ju v sodobni družbi pogosto ločuje absurdna potreba po natančnem zamejevanju medsebojnih razmerij, pristojnosti in vsebin, raziskovalnih pristopov in metodologij dela. Ars & Humanitas želi preseči to razločenost. Ars v humanistični tradiciji razumemo kot umetnost, a tudi kot veščino, znanje, znanost. Humanitas kot humanistiko, vsestransko izobrazbo, omiko in plemenitost duha. Eno brez drugega v resnici ne more obstajati.
Razdrobljenost intelektualnih horizontov pa je žal še veliko večja. Tudi znotraj same humanistike postaja drobljenje znanstvenega in raziskovalnega prostora na ozko specializirane stroke resna zavora v razvoju humanističnih ved. Ob vse večjem številu specializiranih, v pristopu teoretsko in diskurzivno strogo zamejenih znanstvenih publikacij, njihovih tvorcev in bralcev, je potrebno ponuditi več prostora za nove, interdisciplinarno zasnovane znanstvene revije. Ars & Humanitas hoče biti prav to – spodbuditi želi povezovanje družboslovnih in humanističnih strok, okrepiti dialog med različnimi teoretskimi orientacijami, odpirati izvirne pristope k obravnavi tem, opozarjati na aktualne vidike interferenc in skrbeti za promocijo humanistike tako v strokovnih krogih kot v širši javnosti.

Zasnova revije je tridelna: v nosilnem tematskem bloku (študije) bodo objavljene študije domačih in tujih strokovnjakov, ki bodo odražale različne pristope k izbrani temi, medtem ko bo odprti blok (varia) namenjen prispevkom, ki so v določenem trenutku posebej aktualni ali ponujajo svež pogled na obravnavano temo. Tretji del bo namenjen recenzijam najnovejših in najaktualnejših znanstvenih publikacij s širšega humanistično družboslovnega področja.

Posebno pozornost bo revija namenjala nacionalni in regionalni specifiki humanistike in družboslovja znotraj Evropske unije, pa tudi promociji nacionalnih kultur in umetnosti. Skladno s tem je eno od pomembnih poslanstev revije Ars & Humanitas krepitev zavesti o pomenu jezika v razvoju humanistike, saj jezik v humanističnih znanostih presega vlogo orodja sporočanja in je neločljivo povezan s samim razvojem humanističnih znanosti. Revija je zasnovana na večjezičnosti, posebno skrb pa bo posvečala slovenski humanistiki in razvoju strokovne terminologije v slovenskem jeziku.

V trenutku, ko globalizacija nezadržno spodjeda same temelje kulturne in intelektualne različnosti, ko sodobni razvojni trendi sleherno dejavnost vse pogosteje merijo z enotnim vatlom produktivnosti, ko nam celo nekateri uradni zastopniki znanosti poskušajo na različne načine vcepiti prepričanje, da humanistika postaja odveč in neuporabna, je vsak korak v nasprotno smer vreden pozornosti in spodbude. Ustanovitev nove revije za umetnost in humanistiko je nedvomno tak korak.