Жизнени преходи в трансформиращото (се) село: памет, идентичност, наследяване
Life transitions in the (self-)transforming village: memory, identity, inheritance
Contributor(s): Meglena Zlatkova (Editor), Stoyka Penkova (Editor), Milena Tasheva (Editor)
Subject(s): Anthropology, Social Sciences, Customs / Folklore, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
Published by: Пловдивски университет »Паисий Хилендарски«
Keywords: life transitions; generations; biographical strategies; village; festivity; identity
Summary/Abstract: This book presents summarized results of the work on a research project entitled Life transitions in the (self-)transforming village: memory, identity, inheritance, funded by the National Science Foundation of the Ministry of Education and Science in the period of 2019 to 2024. Thе book reflects both the multidimensionality of the project’s problematic and the many faces of the Bulgarian village as a research object. The transformations in the Bulgarian village are explored through the transforming biographical and life experiences of its inhabitants. Our approach includes building an interdisciplinary methodology based on ethnological and anthropological methods, grounded theory and socioanalysis of self-inheritance. People living in the Bulgarian village are a heterogeneous group, composed of individuals with different biographical experiences, life strategies and everyday practices. Our research allowed us to see the different people we interacted with – young retirees, returnees, village citizens, digital villagers – as figures of transformation, who provide us with a different perspective on the socially active population in Bulgarian villages and on the ways in which they adapt their social experience accumulated in different social and biographical times and places, transforming times and places and becoming a driver of change in them.
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-619-7768-09-1
- Page Count: 275
- Publication Year: 2024
- Language: Bulgarian
Жизнените преходи като праксеологическа нагласа: методологически контексти и аналитични интерпретации
Жизнените преходи като праксеологическа нагласа: методологически контексти и аналитични интерпретации
(Life transitions as a praxeological attitude: theoretical and methodological contests)
- Author(s):Stoyka Penkova
- Language:Bulgarian
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Social Sciences, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
- Page Range:12-38
- No. of Pages:27
- Keywords:life transitions; life history; praxeological perspective; ethno-methodology
- Summary/Abstract:In trying to resolve the theoretical and methodological problem in which traditional approaches of analyzing life histories become entangled, the praxeological perspective here proposed puts a different emphasis, making explicit the ways in which life transitions are ‘done’ in the course of our practices and social interactions as an effect and manifestation of local membership and categorizations. The thesis here is that life transitions are constructed and constituted in the ways in which agents speak of them describe, negotiate, legitimate or deny them by discur- sive, institutional and everyday practices. Methodologically this means that when- ever someone ‘does’ a life transition, they in fact invent, create, construct etc. their own history of life which in its essence is neither a pre-given or a rationally ordered sequence of events obeying to an inherent telos of this history but something that is constructed and constituted in the course of life itself, more precisely of living together. To defend my thesis, I will first dwell on the critique of ‘biographical illusion’ of Bourdieu by which he questions the notion of ‘life history’ as a linear, ordered, logically connected sequence of events and transitions. As a next step, I will demonstrate that the question of the praxeological attitude toward life transitions is not merely ontological and/or epistemological but, rather, socioanalytical and methodological. My goal is not to propose a summarizing model of life transitions in general but, rather, to mark the different aspects of institutional, discursive and individual practices as the theoretical and methodological background of the empirical cases explored in the collective monograph, in which the diverse forms of life transitions become full of life, i.e. become charged with time and are lived.
Трансформации и дистинкции в българското социалистическо село: как ТКЗС „Георги Димитров“ в с. Ръжево Конаре се превърна в демонстративно образцово стопанство
Трансформации и дистинкции в българското социалистическо село: как ТКЗС „Георги Димитров“ в с. Ръжево Конаре се превърна в демонстративно образцово стопанство
(Transformations and distinctions in the Bulgarian village: how the ‘Georgi Dimitrov’ agricultural cooperative in Razhevo Konare became a ‘demonstrative model farm’)
- Author(s):Stoyka Penkova
- Language:Bulgarian
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Social Sciences, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
- Page Range:41-75
- No. of Pages:35
- Keywords:transformations; demonstrative model farm; distinctive place; distinctive identities; inheritance; rituals of institution
- Summary/Abstract:This study is an attempt to interpret those transformations that took place immediately after the creation of the „Georgi Dimitrov’ agricultural cooperative in the village of Razhevo Konare and lead to its becoming a ‘demonstrative model farm’, i.e. a distinctive place specially constructed by the new Communist power destined to normalize the identity of the future ‘model’ cooperators who have not yet become what they must be, that is, ‘worthy pioneers of this great cause to the good of the people’ (as Georgi Dimitrov himself bequeathed in the telegram sent from Moscow for the cooperative’s creation). An analytic accent is put on the intricate dual process combining 1) vertical transformations from above of people, places and times, whereby they are bestowed identity by powerful, normative and ideological strategies and discourses; 2) horizontal transformations from below by people, places, times, whereby agents are energized, their practices are temporized, and the effects of distinctiveness are deployed. To describe this specific ‘double reality’ in Bourdieu’s terms, I will first present the historical background of the transformations in Razhevo Konare unfolded. Then I will problematize the link between distinctiveness and inheritance, trying to establish whether and how the distinctiveness is inherited of this chosen place, as well as the ways in which inheriting is done. Finally I will dwell on the praxeological understanding of the process of accepting/transmitting ‘heritage’ in the situation of socialist transformations performed in the village, as they are revealed in the witnesses of archive documents and living narratives of participants in those processes.
Към една социоаналитична интерпретация на жизнените преходи в трансформиращото (се) село
Към една социоаналитична интерпретация на жизнените преходи в трансформиращото (се) село
(Toward a socioanalytic interpretation of life transitions in the (self-)transforming village)
- Author(s):Milena Tasheva
- Language:Bulgarian
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Social Sciences, Sociology, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure , Applied Sociology, Sociology of Culture
- Page Range:76-108
- No. of Pages:33
- Keywords:Bulgarian village; socioanalysis; life transitions; biographical strategies; biographical trajectories
- Summary/Abstract:The text presents the author’s work on the project Life transition in the self-transforming village, articulating the theoretical context of the socioanalysis of self-inheritance with the empirical context of the Bulgarian village, through an analysis of life transitions and biographical strategies in a concrete empirical case. The first part presents the accent of institutional politics related to Bulgarian villages as well as the specific focus of the project and of the text – the local com- munity as the acting subject of practical strategies of self-inheritance. The theoretical framework of the study, namely the post-Bourdieusian socioanalysis, is succinctly presented, as well as the methodology used and the design of the research undertaken. The second part enters the subject matter itself, thematizing the main research problem – the dialectic between the transformations of the inhabited locality and the transformation of the people who inhabit it. Special attention is given to the life transitions undertaken by the analysed person and the strategies of becoming an inside dweller of the new places and positions that the person has deployed, guided by her practical sense of regularity and correctness. The last analytic step presented in this text is the outlining of the socioanalytic profile of the personal Who-identity of the analysed person by making explicit the ‘strategy of practical sense’ that is characteristic of the studied person. This time-persistent, repetitive investing structure is the foundation of a multitude of statements, decisions, actions, and has the functions of a symbolic nerve which, permeating the rather diverse biographical episodes, in fact links them together into the unity of a seemingly discordant but in fact internally consistent and coherent life trajectory.
Преосмисляне и предоговаряне на общностна идентичност. Случаят Пчеларово
Преосмисляне и предоговаряне на общностна идентичност. Случаят Пчеларово
(Rethinking and renegotiating communal identity. The case of Pchelarovo)
- Author(s):Maria Kisikova
- Language:Bulgarian
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Social Sciences, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
- Page Range:111-135
- No. of Pages:25
- Keywords:memory; heritage; village; folklore; sacred
- Summary/Abstract:Pchelarovo, a ‘purely’ Bulgarian village in the Rhodopes, near Kardjali, seems a ‘typical’ case of a fading village where places and institutions are devoid of meaning and the cultural riches (in the deteriorating museum) have lost their value. The transformations taking place in villages during the so-called Transition, proceed in Pchelarovo through the need for the past to be rethought and for the community to be reconfigured. Starting from such assumptions, I seek, in different manifestations of the social, signs of renegotiation of meanings, rethinking of the past, discovering heirs and reaffirmation of the community. In the processes so presented, certain elements of memory and the past can stay under the veil of forgettance (in the crumbling museum) while certain people and institutions carry the momentum of transformation, undertaking initiatives of rethinking, renegotiation and entering into inheritance.
От традиционното хоро до сценичното изкуство и културното наследство. Културни политики и социална трансформация
От традиционното хоро до сценичното изкуство и културното наследство. Културни политики и социална трансформация
(From traditional horo dances to stage art and cultural heritage. Cultural politics and social transformation)
- Author(s):Krasimira Krastanova
- Language:Bulgarian
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Social Sciences, Customs / Folklore, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
- Page Range:136-162
- No. of Pages:27
- Keywords:life transitions; social transformations; cultural politics; ‘invented traditions’; cultural heritage
- Summary/Abstract:The specifics of life transitions are often constructed in relation to social transformations generated by political, economic, cultural demographic causes. Changes come as the result of actions of community members who build their strategies, participate in meaningful events and/or routine activities that transform the environment but also the people. Life transitions can affect the separate person but also the whole community, reflecting and becoming included in the process of social transformation. The text is a case study (the Thracian dance of Kalekovtsi) and analyses the transitions in the life of the village community, seen through the construction and uses of cultural heritage. There is a role for the conceptualization of life transition played by the cultural politics carried out through the activities of the local community culture clubs (chitalishte), and the changes are traced from the 1930s to the 2020s. Before WWII, the chitalishte worked mostly in the direction of educating and spreading information. During the socialist period, their task was to contribute for the establishment of homogeneity of the working and peasant class in everyday life. Elements of festive customs were extracted from their ‘natural environment’ and proclaimed as folk art. Through the chitalishte, the idea of that art’s reworking and modernization was carried out with the purpose of inscribing it in a new manner into people’s life. Thus the traditional Kalekovtsi Horo became the raw material for its reincarnation as a stage dance, as only some elements were emphasized to give it a specific characteristic and recognizability on the stage. This puts it into the category of ‘invented traditions’ (after Hobsbawm). Since more than two decades ago, the contemporary politics have been directed towards the preservation and valorization of cultural heritage. The people of the local community (re-)conceptualise their idea of cultural heritage and they take the stage version as an important element of their ofn past and present. The analysis of the material reveals the processes of social transformation that are manifested in cultural practices and inheritance.
Жизнени преходи и празничност: актуализирана традиция
Жизнени преходи и празничност: актуализирана традиция
(Life transitions and festivity: an updated tradition)
- Author(s):Stoyan Antonov
- Language:Bulgarian
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Social Sciences, Customs / Folklore, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
- Page Range:163-194
- No. of Pages:32
- Keywords:updated tradition; ritual; village; transformation; distinctiveness
- Summary/Abstract:The article presents the feast day of Diadovden (‘Grandfather’s Day’), observed in the village of Chereshovo, as an example of updated tradition. In the different stages of construction of the feast day, transformations are revealed that relate to the status of a grandfather, and hence to the basic life transition in the village environment – the transition to old age. In the same time, the feast day is a concentration of interaction between the individual and the community, considered as adapting the personal rhythm to the social rhythm. The article discusses the ritual, the official, and the entertaining parts of the festivity, and notes the changes in the actions, the participants, and the audience.
Жизнени преходи и кризи на „млади пенсионери“ в села със „затихващи“ функции – политики и граничност
Жизнени преходи и кризи на „млади пенсионери“ в села със „затихващи“ функции – политики и граничност
(Life transitions and crises of ‘young retirees’ in villages with ‘fading’ functions – politics and borderline state)
- Author(s):Anelia Avdzhieva
- Language:Bulgarian
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Social Sciences, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
- Page Range:197-216
- No. of Pages:20
- Keywords:young retirees; aging; border villages; mutual aid
- Summary/Abstract:In villages with ‘fading functions’ one observes different degrees of activity of an increasingly older population of ‘young retirees’ born in the 1940s and the 1950s – those who never left the villages and the few who have returned. Tracing the life path of some who have stayed and some who have returned, I will outline a few important accents in the perception of the former regime of state socialism as a period of nostalgia in Bulgaria’s border zones then and now, what took place after the 1989 changes, and what does a ‘young retiree’ have to face, either taking the decision to have a nature-consistent way of life or to restore or keep the ‘connection to the roots’. The interest here lies in the forms of local interaction, as well as in the ways to cope with absences – of people, of connections, of desired communication, of health care or institutional support, etc., and the way transitions proceed from town to village, and from work to retirement.
Биокултурното наследство в контекста на социалното конструиране на локалност
Биокултурното наследство в контекста на социалното конструиране на локалност
(Biocultural Heritage In The Context Of Social Construction Of Locality)
- Author(s):Elitsa Stoilova
- Language:Bulgarian
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Social Sciences, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Culture and social structure
- Page Range:217-239
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:village; biocultural; biocultural heritage; Ivaylovgrad tachini; valorization
- Summary/Abstract:The article views the connection between the human (the cultural) and the natural (the biological) space as an important part of biographies of persons, collectives and settlements. Moreover, the idea of the village as a specific localness, heritage, settlement traditions, livelihood, customs and culture is unthinkable without the close connection between humans and nature. Life transitions are conceived through the connection with space and village livelihood.
Жизнени преходи и трансформации в дигитални разкази на влогъри на българското село
Жизнени преходи и трансформации в дигитални разкази на влогъри на българското село
(Life transitions and transformations into digital narratives by vloggers of the Bulgarian village)
- Author(s):Svetoslava Mancheva
- Language:Bulgarian
- Subject(s):Anthropology, Social Sciences, Sociology, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Sociology of Culture
- Page Range:240-267
- No. of Pages:28
- Keywords:vlogger; digital narrative; village; transitions; transformations
- Summary/Abstract:The (self-)transforming village and its actors create active images that are presented in a digital online environment. Vloggers, having skills that are different from those ‘traditional’ for the village, narrate on transitions to an out-of-the-city way of life. This text tries to produce a typology of vloggers from different parts of Bulgaria who present their perspectives on such experiences and on the village. They adapt online their knowledge to the place and the people, they educate and they create connections, interactions and communities. Life transitions and change are narrated and shown to teach to village life and interaction with the place. How are memories of the past and the future (re-)constructed, in the structure of ‘new’ digital narratives on the Bulgarian village? I am looking for the answer in the (online) strategies of narrators, vloggers of the village, who organize and popularize images from their experience and interactions.
