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The NGOs or the Independent Citizen’s Organizations are the third – after the state and neo-liberal market structure – oficial sector distinguished by a formal organization. On the positive side of NGOs we could mention the numerous civil initiatives which advance public education and public debate on global affairs. Most NGOs undertook also projects to fight for more equitable distribution of planetary resources. In a postcolonial era some Western observers were of opinion that the sustainable development and the process of democratisation in Developing Countries, could be achieved mainly with the help of NGOs. But in the same time the models of NGOs activities, growing and shaped by the western patterns of economy and culture, were not properly understood and realized in the differentiated cultures of Developing Countries. The end of cold war and growing disappointment with globalization expanded the space for religious renewal. Alongside with the erosion of traditional identities and sources of authority, religion was able to furnish the empty space of people’s sence of security. In comparison with NGOs the religious social organizations, FBOs, have something qualitatively different to offer, particularly in terms of empowering people, e.g. giving them personal dignity and selfworthiness.
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Numerous “free speech” platforms have been launched in recent years as a form of protest against content moderation practices on mainstream social media. This paper asks the question of how the issue of these emerging right-wing alternative social media is discursively constructed, taking as an example the Polish conservative media debate over the American service Parler and its Polish equivalent Albicla. Taking a critically discursive approach, the article provides an analysis of the discursive strategies applied, and critically embeds the findings in the broader socio-political context, as well as in the alternative media theory. The results show that, drawing on the wartime rhetoric and numerous references to Poland’s non-democratic past, the discourse creates a populist narrative of identity conflict between two opposing groups: “them” – hostile “leftists” seeking to impose a radical, progressive social order and “us” – oppressed protectors of freedom and common-sense values. The study additionally indicates that the issue is also utilised for the purposes of rivalry between domestic right-wing factions. Furthermore, the data contains frequent reference to issues of political economy and thus, intriguingly, overlaps to some extent with left-wing media critique, in that both agree on the necessity of contesting a monopolised media market and developing alternative means of communication.
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The paper refers to the current legislation drafting on cultural heritage in Romania, with a view to the amendments regarding museums and public collections. It debates both on the positive and the negative stipulations in the draft Code of Cultural Heritage, published by the Romanian Ministry of Culture early in 2022. The main subjects presented in the paper are: the revision of the definition of national movable cultural heritage, stating that all cultural goods are subject to legal protection, the emphasis on the public interest in protecting the cultural heritage as well as new and needed clarifications on the public property legal regime of cultural goods in the public domain, new centralized inventories and registries, new procedures regarding the classification as ”National Treasury” and the new ex lege general protection regime for public collections, accredited museums and religious institutions, new obligations regarding the strategic planning of museum collections management and accessibility for the public.
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In the philosophical article I would like to formulate a statement that the humanities are Geisteswissenschaften, although I am far from naively repeating the 19th century slogans. I respect what happened in the humanities in the 20th century, but it seems to me that it is possible to refer to old concepts anew, giving them new life. One such concept is the concept of spirit (der Geist). I am trying to give it new meanings by bringing relationships with space to the foreground (moving relationships with time to the background). The space, however, is thought differently than traditionally. The spirit turns out to be the space of the humanities.
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In this paper I present an understanding of the humanities from the perspective of cultural ontology. In the introduction, I specify the perspective from which I am conducting my reflections, synthetically characterise how cognition is understood on its grounds, and introduce a characterisation of the humanities as relating to meaning. In what follows, I show why, from the point of view of cultural ontology, the humanities are practical. In dialogue with other concepts, I introduce the notions of ontological imagination, mindfulness, phronesis, parrhesia, (etho)ecology. With a view to the relationship between the humanities and practical rationality, I try to show why it should be a slow science.
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Management is classically defined as taking responsibility. In the era of late neoliberalism, the crisis in management leads one to understand that this fundamental goal is not being achieved by mainstream management. Humanizing management is necessary to restore the balance of managed systems. This article specifically proposes a historiographical reflection and a dialogue between management and art as viable – and efficient – ways to accomplish this mission. Simultaneously, it offers hope for addressing the crisis in the humanities (as discussed by Lech Witkowski), by moving closer to concrete actions in favor of the Other. In this way, management and the humanities together can tackle the challenges of complex modernity and generate positive synergistic effects by means of taking responsibility for the future.
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National Revival architectural and ethnographic complexes and sites are an essential part of Bulgarian national culture. The aim of this study was to analyze the spatial concentration of the main reserves and complexes of this type in the mountainous and hilly areas of the country. To achieve this aim are used cartographic and comparative geographic method (Arc GIS 92) and historical approach. As a result, a map of these sites is geographically identified cultural and historical localizations and major axes of the monuments of this age. An architectural and historical assessment of their importance for cultural tourism is done.
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The aim of the article is to analyze Gaston Bachelard’s psychoanalysis of the scientific mind in its practical dimension. Inspired by Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis, Bachelard deployed his own method to analyze the scientific unconscious, populated by epistemological obstacles inhibiting scientific cognition. As this article seeks to demonstrate, Bachelard’s psychoanalysis aims to purify, and thereby streamline the cognitive mind on two levels: individual and historical. Bachelard’s methodological experiment, transferring psychoanalysis into the spheres of the theory of knowledge and philosophy of science, turns out to be, at the same time, an instance of the architecture of a scientific mind, a polemic with cognitive realism and empiricism, and a postulate of analytical therapy in the field of cognition.
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The complexity of cultures in the modern world is beyond human comprehension. Cognitive sciences cast doubts on the traditional explanations based on mental models. The core subjects in the humanities may lose their importance. The humanities have to adapt to the digital age. New, interdisciplinary branches of the humanities emerge. Instant access to information will be replaced by instant access to knowledge. Understanding the cognitive limitations of humans and the opportunities opened by the development of artificial intelligence and interdisciplinary research necessary to address global challenges is the key to the revitalization of the humanities. Artificial intelligence will radically change the humanities, from art to political sciences and philosophy, making these disciplines attractive to students and enabling them to surpass current limitations. The main goal of this article is to alert people working on different branches of humanities that a new wave of very advanced technology is quickly coming, enhancing human intellect in an unprecedented way.
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In the paper, the current condition of the humanities is confronted with the crisis of foundations in mathematics at the turn of the 20th century. This reveals the difference between mathematical knowledge and the humanities, especially that of the structuralist variant with its formalist aspirations. The birth and decay of structuralism involve a simultaneous transformation of the research field, which henceforth becomes culture, and of the cognitive instrumentarium. As a result, it turns out that not only is there no proper object of humanistic research, but also no truly humanistic language. Humanistic knowledge – called extensive knowledge, in contrast to mathematical intensive knowledge – is doomed to meta-languages.
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The paper argues that the standard pro- and anti-Kantian reception of the Critique of Judgment has largely misconstrued the relationship between Part I and Part II of the book by failing to recognize that the former is primarily providing a series of stepping-stones laying the groundwork for the elaboration of reflective-teleological reasoning in Part II. Instead of its dominant reading as foremost relevant to the study of biological nature, the paper distils from the reflective-teleological judgment a universal principle by which we typically interpret any complex set of particulars. As such, the reflective-teleological judgment of 1790 is shown to have done away with interpretive truth, replaced by Kant with the more modest claim of intelligibility.
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In this paper, we offer a reading of selected novels by 2018 Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk in terms of their dedication to changing the world. We show that Tokarczuk’s essays and fiction defy genre limits and invite readers to exercise their imagination in conceptualising the world and redefining values. The alternative modes of viewing reality proposed by Tokarczuk may provide a starting point for change, in which the synergy of ostensibly mutually exclusive tenderness and anger kindles hope in the times of crisis and inspires courage to embrace change and, in doing so, to use the opportune moment (kairos) and institute a new order – one based on justice for the bio-community.
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Results from an online research and observations of Bulgarian migrant communities’ organizations within and outside Europe due to Covid-19 pandemic. Main pillars are the 123 connections with the homeland, the hosting country, and with the local community, mechanisms for support, as well as forms of activities, festivity, and communal consolidation.
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The text presents the Bulgarian church community “Nativity of the Vir-gin Mary” in Geneva, which is part of the Western and Central European Diocese of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. It contains thoughts shared by Bulgarians participating actively in the development of the newly-created church community. The article focuses on different aspects of parish life: church services, social initiatives, educational activities, etc. It also exam-ines the question of how restrictive measures during a pandemic affect a young church community.
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The article is interpreting the problem about the way of self-distinction of the Bulgarian minority in the area Sredska Jupa, located on the territory of Kosovo Republic. It is well preserved due to the mountain terrain and the natural isolation of the region and its origin leads back to the years of pros-perity of the First and the Second Bulgarian kingdom. The interest, which the language of the people from the region inflicts, is due to not only the compilation of archaic signs with modern tendencies in the development of the Bulgarian language, but with the possibility that through its research to be outlined the western border of the Bulgarian linguistic area too. The research is based fully on new linguistic material, collected on place during seven years while conducting courses of Bulgarian language, History and Literature for the candidate students from the area.
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The text reflects on the issues of wokeness and culture wars in regard to mainstream cinema and its reception. Building on the author’s own ethnographical fieldwork within film industry, it addresses the question of desired anthropological approach to the discourse about representation in popular culture. The case of backlash against certain elements of popular fantasy live action series The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power and The Witcher is used by the author to argue for intersectional analysis rooted in economic perspective that exceeds identity-oriented, binary discursive setup, in search of more nuanced social knowledge, which is something that should constitute anthropological presence in public debate.
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