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Content of the main Bulgarian scientific journals for the current period in linguistics, literature, history, folklore, ethnography, archeology and art studies
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Content of the main Bulgarian scientific journals for the current year in linguistics, literature, history, folklore, ethnography, archeology and art studies
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Selected bibliography in the field of Bulgarian Studies published in the current year
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The article discusses some aspects related to the handling of the Sabbath, and its symbolism. The author has focused on approximate basic principles and an explanation of some of them, in order to familiarize the reader with the idea of the Sabbath, as well as, it’s position in Judaism. There were also raised some doubts and obstacles faced by persons, who would like to faithfully observe all of the Sabbath rules.
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Selected bibliography in the field of Bulgarian Studies published in the current year
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History shows that in times of deep social crises there is a considerable growth of eschatological sentiments. At the end of the twentieth century Russia encounters revolutionary political, economic and cultural changes, some of them being related to a religious renaissance. The discrediting and collapse of the former communist ideology created a vacuum which was quickly filled with a variety of ideas, including the revival of some pre-revolutionary myths. The return of religion leads not only to increase of the number of believers but also to the emergence of Orthodox monarchist organizations in which faith is combined with the dream of restoration of the kingship. Prophecies based on images from “Apocalypse” are quite popular in these circles. The article analyzes the content of the prophecies, the characteristics of their publication and dissemination, the nature of the activists dealing with these matters as well as the religious political movements and their impact on the believers. The author discusses the question about the different meaning of these prophecies, about the radical right-wing movements, and the ezoterists and konspirologists who have their own interpretations and use them differently. In addition, the question about the relationship between religion and politics in the modern era is also raised.
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The great work of the Solun Brothers – Saints Cyril and Methodius – undoubtedly played an important part in the creation of the national identity and national awareness for many Slavic nations. Considering importance of the Cyril and Methodius heritage, it seems surprising how little their images were used on national coinage – one of the most common and most important symbols of independent nations. The only countries that paid a tribute to Solun Brother’s legacy, while creating their national identity were Slovakia, Bulgaria and Macedonia; by placed them in certain cultural, political and ideological context on collector’s items as well as on everyday currency.
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Hands language as a means of expression in rhetoric and fine arts, the rules of which were presented mainly by the Roman authors Cicero and Quintilian, continued to stir interest over the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and strongly influenced artists and their iconographic reference points. English physician and rhetorician John Bulwer (1606–1656) devoted a few of his significant works to studying of the human gesture system, offering over 120 chirograms (types) of particular meanings. Spanish mathematician Juan Caramuel (1606–1682) studied the rhetorical wealth of chirologia, defining it as a major means of human communication. Hand gestures with fingers locked together is traditionally deemed to be a Christian prayer gesture, where palms are pressed together with fingers straight pointing up. In fact, the locked together fingers, known as early as the Antiquity, unlike the prayer gesture that emerged as late as the late medieval period, designated something else: a moment of deep sadness and suffering reflecting the strong tension of the mind. French artist Georges de La Tour uses this gesture as a basis for reflection on the vanity of worldly goods. Thus the position of the hands played the role of both a plastic device and an iconographic symbol.
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In Gnawa music, the three-stringed lute called guembri plays a central role. According to Sum (2012, p. 52), “the guembri attracts the mluk (supernatural entities summoned in gnawa ceremonies) by sounding their musical identities, effectively sounding their names (...), (as well as) calling on the adept (...). Upon arrival of the spirit, the guembri, as the adept, becomes possessed.” The guembri is equipped with a detachable idiophone consisting of metal loops or rings fixed around the edges of a metal sheet, inserted into the neck. This device, called the sersera, is mostly audible during solo moments. It has been often noticed, or briefly described (Baldassarre 1999), but never analyzed in detail. However, it seems important for us to include the sersera in the analysis of the status, meaning and roles of the guembri timbre. Taking it into consideration will provide a new approach leading to better understanding of many facets of the instrument, including its cultural value. The sersera was used before and it is still made and carried by musicians, but nowadays it is barely employed either in Morocco or in Belgium. Through confrontation of the acoustical analysis and the information found in literature with the musicians’ experience, this paper tries to find the reasons of this obsolescence.
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This article explores Leila Ahmed’s A Border Passage, and Nawal ElSaadawi’s Memoirs from the Women’s Prison, A Daughter of Isis, and Walking Through Fire. It contrasts their works and argues that location and gender awareness play an important role in the writing of autobiographies. The focus is on showing how El Saadawi’s positioning as a feminist activist in Egypt and Ahmed’s location in the USA determine the texts’ themes and shape the construction of the autobiographical “I.”
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The paper concentrates itself on the figure of the Alevi-Bektashi musician (zakir, Imam Jafer) in Kardzhali region, who has at the same time religious, social, and artistic roles in society. Because of his characteristics, this figure could be categorized as an epic musician. His non-professional, but specialized activity is presented through the insiders‘ views on the specifics, educational manners, musicians’ quality assessment and their differences in performing styles. A young Bektashi musician from the region, whose biography and performing manner are marked by the complex interaction between his great talent and strong religious feelings is also portrayed in the paper. The interaction itself determines his complicated path as a musician and as a member of a community of heterodox Muslims.
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Plato’s Timaeus, a dialogue on the creation of the world and the soul of the world, mentions a hidden mistake or defect inscribed into the structure of the cosmos. Gnostic philosophers examined this passage in the first and second centuries. In the Syrian-Egyptian writings of the Nag Hammadi Library, this mistake, on which matter is founded, becomes key to understanding the world as emptiness (kenoma). A similar perspective can be found in Isaac Luria’s Kabbalistic ideas as well as in the works of Franz Kafka. The latter’s short story ‘The Cares of a Family Man,’ a testimony to spiritual experience in which the author approaches the limits of what is human, has been variously interpreted by Theodor Adorno and other philosophers. Walter Benjamin and Gershom Scholem have made Odradek a reference point in their theological discussions. Rudaś-Grodzka’s anamorphic approach, meanwhile, presents a new reading of the story.
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The use of term σύμβολον in Clement’s writings is problematic because of differences between common doctrine of symbol and symbolism expressed by Clement almost theoretically, and particular examples of symbolism and allegoric exegesis, where Clement’s wording and underlying conceptions are strongly dependent on the relevant contexts. In order to bring the most instances of σύμβολον in a system we propose some classifications. Firstly, according to their function, we distinguish ‘protective,’ ‘anagogic,’ and ‘manifestative’ symbols; secondly, according to the contexts in which they predominantly appear, such as the Pythagorean tradition, Greek Mysteries, Egyptian religion and hieroglyphic script, and extracts from the Greek grammarians; finally, in the context of Biblical exegesis, where one can distinguish instances of typology, morally instructive allegory and symbolism per se. In the latter case the nature of symbol is constituted by Divine Logos who “signifies the invisible link between earth and heaven.” Such a reading clarifies the ontological importance of symbolism for Clement’s metaphysics and philosophy, and helps to explain some difficulties in Clement’s writings actual for Western theology.
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The music of Polish composers of the Romanticism is still quite a forgotten and undiscovered area. One of the examples of that issue are the works of Joseph Poniatowski (1816–1873), a composer who spent a significant part of his life abroad. His work concentrates mainly on the opera music, which was largely dictated by the environment from which he descended and in which he stayed. The purpose of this article is to draw attention to one of the composer’s forgotten works – Mass in F major, and also to presently selected topics related to this work.
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