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Two months after WW2, in July 1945, the Soviets conducted the biggest military operation against Polish underground resistance – the Augustów Roundup. In districts of north-eastern Poland and parts of Lithuania and Belarus, the Soviet soldiers arrested over 7,000 people. At least 592 of them were murdered and until today it isn’t known where were concealed. This traumatic experience was the ultimate situation for many families of the Roundup victims. During Communist domination, they could not talk about their loss nor express their grief. They lived in terror. Being silent about this extorted by communists crime against humanity prolonged the trauma. We can hear it clearly in victim’s families stories 40 years after this tragic occurrence. It is example of eastern trauma caused by the Communist crimes.
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Left-handers have always been surrounded by stigma and controversy, and attitudes toward this group have always been rooted in the ideas and traditions of power relations existing in a given society. Thus, the goal of this study is to describe the retraining of left-handers as it was conducted in Soviet education. The impact of political power on an individual’s body-mind interaction is a significant problem in research on the creation of the “New Soviet Man.” The teaching of left-handed children in the Soviet Union is a noteworthy example of the totalitarian regime’s illusionary endeavors to change human nature. The Soviet education envisaged neither a special attitude nor any particular pedagogical strategies for the work with left-handed children. The Soviet science was based on the anthropological understanding of man as a tabula rasa, which made it possible to explain the omnipotence of Soviet pedagogy as well as the unswerving belief that it was possible to educate every child into a true member of the socialist society. The present study provides insight into the disciplining of the left-handed children’s bodies and minds using pedagogical tools that was being conducted in Soviet Latvia.
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Of all the chant lyrics that were collected during the German Aksum-Expedition (1905/06) by Erich Kaschke a.o. and which are held in the Pho-nogramm-Archiv of the Ethnologisches Museum (former Museum für Völkerkunde) in Berlin, no more than two have so far been published: an Amharic song of praise for the German Kaiser (Voigt 2004) and a War-Song on Yoḥannəs IV (Smidt 2007). The last-mentioned text is however in its transcription so idiosyncratic and in its translation so free that a revised edition and a new translation seem necessary.It becomes apparent that the text is even more strongly influenced by Tigrinya. I have also been able to show that further rhyme structures exist: in the first part there is initially an -s rhyme and then an -a rhyme, and in the second part at first an -i/e rhyme followed by an -ot/ut(t) rhyme.
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Oral and written storytelling traditions in Africa developed at the same time and influenced each other in many ways. In the twentieth century, the relation between the deeply rooted oral tradition and literary traditions intensified. We aim to reveal literary analysis tools that help to trace ways how oral narrative genres found reflection in African short fiction under analysis. A case study is based on two short stories by women writers, The Rain Came by Grace Ogot and The Lovers by Bessie Head. Images and symbols both, in oral and written traditions in Africa, as well as the way they evolved and extended in a literary genre of short fiction are considered within the framework of hermeneutics, reader reception theory and feminist literary criticism. The results obtained in the study prove that oral narrative genres interact with literary genres, though most importantly, women’s writing as a literary category and images embodied in the short stories play a decisive role and deviation from the images embodied in African oral tradition.
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This paper analyses the reception of Latin language and culture in the research of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It focuses on the works of various disciplines – social and cultural history, literary research, art criticism, etc. – and seeks to identify the recurring themes, symbols and topics that comprise homogenous narratives and interpretations. They consolidate the findings of different fields of study and thus allow to analyse the Latinitas of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania as an integral part of the political community’s identity. The symbols of Latin language and culture can be identified as a basis for a Shift from oral to written culture. It conveys the ideas of order and organisation, as it transforms customary law into a codified one, a natural religion into that based on Scripture, etc. It alters the society as well, mainly because writing and written culture marks a shift in identity and behaviour. Also, by focusing on social and educational aspects, the Shift marks an institutional change, which permeates the developments of the state and society as a whole. The multipolar cultural field of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania is described by four cultural models – Polish, Lithuanian, Ruthenian, and Latin. The metaphor of Interaction shows how Latin culture and language is seen as one of the four ideological alternatives that legitimize the state, dynasty and sovereignty. Thirdly, the metaphor of Tension depicts Latinitas as part of the dichotomy between Eastern and Western civilizations by expressing the symbolical content of the latter. This narrative also emphasizes the internal confessional disputes inside the Western Church, and by exploiting the specific understanding of the Renaissance humanism, it becomes a means to understand sociocultural conflicts of the Early Modern state. The interpretation of Latinitas as a communication channel is nested under the metaphor of Medium. Works in this category usually portray Latin language as an expression of a social, economic, political, etc. status quo, which differs in each European state. Latin culture thus helps to articulate national interests and identity, and enables the cultural exchange among the Western countries as well. Finally, by emphasizing the poor literacy of the society and only limited possibilities to learn Latin and acknowledge its cultural code, researchers portray Latinitas as a Secret. The speakers and writers of Latin form a hermetic group, possessing the knowledge of a cultural matrix inaccessible to others. The dignity of Latin language also strengthens the status of vernacular languages, and thus accumulates the process of identity formation. These five narratives exemplify how Latinitas is embedded within the economic, political, and cultural activities of the society. It also depicts the different ways by which it becomes an integrating principle of the identity of the intellectual and political classes in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. It provides an account of Roman descent, sustains the claim for political sovereignty, and indicates the civilizing process. By adopting those five different narratives, researchers may further analyse Latinitas not only as a separate cultural layer, but as a part of social identity as well.
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The economic policies of the communist regime in Romania had a powerful impact on society, transforming it in many regards: behaviorally, professionally, demographically, etc. In this study we propose an analysis of how the ‘new worker’ was constructed, migration to cities and the relationship with the old workforce. For the purposes of our research, we focused on the case‑study of Cluj, taking advantage of its ethnic diversity which offers an extra layer for the analysis, but also because the city had an industrial sector before the communist period. Firstly, we aimed at explaining the demographic process through which a large number of people from the countryside moved to cities in search for an industrial job. This phenomenon can be linked to the effects of collectivization, which changed the social mobility model, as it dissolved the right to own land. Secondly, we aim to understand the ample process of integrating new workers in production and their tense relationship with the old proletariat. This must be understood within the context of urbanization, of migrants and the ‘ruralization of cities.’ The last element brought into discussion will be regarding the role played by old specialists in communist industrialization. Here we will focus on the interesting case of Dezideriu Jenei, chief‑engineer at Tehnofrig, one of the few examples we can retrace from the archives.
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Using open historical sources and archival documents, this article attempts to clarify the role which the young generation played in the long-term economic plans of the communist regime. From this perspective, the education of the young generation in the cult of labor became a priority for the regime’s ideologues. This was achieved through amending the labor laws, imposing the obligation of patriotic labor, ideological pressures, and administrative constraints. Work-to-work education has become the central theme of official narratives relating to the youth. Reopening the youth national building sites and the revival of the mythology of the brigadier movement responded to the economic needs of the regime which was used for free the youth workforce.At the beginning of the 70s, the youth building sites were the constitutive part of the systematization program which involved the participation of youth in the construction of irrigations system, railways, schools, sports fields, and last but not least the Danube-Black Sea Canal. In the regime’s rhetoric, voluntary labor has become synonymous with patriotic duty. Behind the voluntary labor was actually hidden a whole system of constraints and punishments. The refusal to fulfill the patriotic duties, which multiplied alongside the economic crises of the regime, was sanctioned as a disciplinary violation and disrespect for socialist norms. The entire country, from the youngest to the oldest, was forced to participate in various works for the benefit of the communist state. The propagandistic revival of the spirit of the brigadier movement from the 50s aimed to cultivate the socialist austerity and the uniforming norms, both contained in the empty formula of patriotic duty.
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The purpose of the research is to study the influence of methodological pluralism as a meta-approach on the formation of modern historical science; to examine the role that diverse approaches played in the scientific study of the past; to demonstrate the importance of a multi-vector view of history as an integral part of the study of the past. The relevance of the research: these are interdisciplinary interactions between both socio-humanitarian and natural sciences. The consequence of this is the emergence of the phenomenon of methodological pluralism as the basis of modern historical science. Conclusions: in the process of research we discovered that diverse methodological approaches influence the historical science, which ultimately leads to the emergence of the new directions in historical knowledge. Research methods: analytical and synthetic, inductive and deductive, comparative approach. The novelty of the article lies in the analysis of the potential of methodological pluralism in the discourse of post-classical historical science. The productivity of using modern interdisciplinary approaches in the study of processes that have taken place in the past is substantiated.
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The construction of roadside shrine rooms in Colombo, Sri Lanka has been a recent phenomenon, a trend which started after the 1970s. These roadside shrines are constructed and maintained by Buddhists, Catholics and Hindus and are a testimony to the increase of religious influence on the everyday social lives of people. Against this backdrop, an ethnographic research was conducted in 2009 and 2019 by the author aiming to explain why and how city folk construct roadside shrines in Colombo and worship at these shrines, and also to identify alternative and emerging religious practices. The paper based on the ethnographic data collected in relation to the Buddhist shrines suggests that roadside shrine worshipping has a lot of functions for the everyday social life which is identified as secularising Buddhism in the sense of Durkheim’s definition. This paper is based on a functionalist approach to discuss those urban religious practices which play a very significant role in explaining how people in the city negotiate their goals, the aspirations of their lives and the means to achieve them. In general, most people visit these shrines to obtain the blessings of the Buddhist pantheon and cosmology to minimize vulnerabilities and get the maximum benefit from the liberal economic trends and globalisation patterns. Moreover, these mini-shrines which give easy and quick access to a people friendly religious place pay more attention to this worldly life than that of considering other worldly benefits, which seems to be the priority of the urban dwellers.
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Andrijica Šimić (Alagovac 22 November 1833 – Runovići 5 February 1905) is the most famous hajduk harambaša. Turkish oppression and injustice drove him into the ranks of hajduks in the year 1859. He was a noble and pious hajduk for twelve years. He protected and helped the poor and women. At dawn on 14 January 1871, he was betrayed by Ante Garac, in whose house he slept that night. Seven Garac’s tied him up and handed him over to the authorities. In late July of the same year, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He served the sentence in the Koper prison until 16 December 1901 when he was released by royal decree. For days, many people were waiting for him at the Split waterfront. When he arrived in Split by steamer from Koper, he was greeted and hosted by many people everywhere. He did not take revenge on his traitors. Andrijica narrated his life as a hajduk, proving to be an excellent folk narrator. He died three days after his traitor Ante Garac. He rests in the cemetery in Runovići, and his curse came true. Andrijica Šimić’s legs are over Ante Garac’s head. Six years after the death of Andrijica Šimić, a Croatian football club (HNK) was founded, which was named Hajduk because of Šimić’s virtues.
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This article presents the transcription, translation, and annotation of an original performance of hta, a traditional form of oral poetry in Sgaw, the language of the Pgaz K’Nyau (Karen) people of northern Thailand. This performance was recorded during ethnopoetic fieldwork carried out in two villages in the province of Chiang Rai. The hta is then analysed to understand the operations of ecopoetic symbolisation that bring particular nonhumans into the domain of human language. This analysis reveals that a metaphorical mode of symbolisation is extensively used throughout the hta to overcome human/nonhuman allotopies by means of implicit or explicit semic transformations. This seems to indicate that a naturalistic mode of identification underlies the whole poem, a conclusion that calls into question the essentialising and mythifying portrayal of the Pgaz K’Nyau as pre-modern and animistic indigenous stewards.
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Najpoznatija i najviše prevođena naša pjesma svakako je usmena balada Hasanaginica. Pjesma obiluje nizom nepoznanica a o nekima od njih napisane su brojne rasprave. Tako se nadugo i naširoko pisalo o tome ko su likovi o kojima se u pjesmi pjeva, gdje je pjesma nastala, je li je Fortis zapisao ili dobio zapisanu, ko je pjesmu spjevao, šta znači sintagma uboške haljine, kakav je to stid Hasanaginicin, čija je balada Hasanaginica... Ovo posljednje pitanje otvara još jedno drugo, sasvim blizu prethodnom: na kome je jeziku spjevana Hasanaginica?
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A story by Zuzanna Michcik, one of the participants of the first editions of the music events in Poland in years 2009–2019, is about co-creating festivals, belonging to festival community and process of building festivals. Festivals are not only about live music, but also about creating bonds and shaping group identity.
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Kilis is a city located on Turkey's Syrian border and 10 km away from the border. Here are some events that have been believed by the people and have survived to the present day. These events are both interesting and extraordinary. Some people claim that these events are completely real. These events also appear in verbal narrative types transmitted from the old generation to the new generation. The deceased doctor who treats the patient, the shrine whose walls are leaning, people who travel in the place and change places at once, mysterious structures and magical events are part of Kilis culture. Cultural values that have been going on for centuries in Kilis combine with legends and emerge as a new system of values. These beliefs are interconnected and consistent. It is understood from people who say they are not imaginary. It is seen that the people living these things do not engage in any gain. For this reason, the credibility of the narratives seems to be quite high. A serious research on these events and places may perhaps solve the mystery of these places.
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The article is devoted to the representations in the modern Eastern Slavic peasant autobiographical narratives about 20th century history. Peasant biographies, diaries, oral peasant tales about the life are the materials of this work. Eastern Slavic autobiographical texts are based on traumatic interpretation of history. The main composition of cultural indices in such narratives about the past coincides with the collection of personal and collective disasters including revolution, Civil War, collectivization, dekulakization, repressions, Great Domestic War and postwar hunger. The article analyzes traumatic memory as such type of memory which interprets the past as a set of personal and general traumas and failures.
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The article explores the content of an operational file in the CNSAS archive from the perspective of social history. Topics without major political or historiographical implications, such as, mismanagement of collective farms or relations with foreign nationals are assembled into a narrative that provides the reader of the Securitate (Romanian political police) file with a window into the various characteristics of everyday life of a township in Dobrudja during the 1980s. Critical issues for the work of the Securitate – the categories of people under surveillance, the social tensions in the community and their causes – are presented briefly and fragmentarily. The article takes a bottom-up historiographical approach to the study of the communist regime in Romania. The emerging image is complex, blurred and incomplete, mirroring two general features of the last decade of communist rule: the dissatisfaction of ordinary people and the scarcity of resources, ubiquitous including in the activity of the Securitate.
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