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A review of Ivaylo Dichev’s book „Cultural scenes of the political”
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A review of Ivaylo Dichev’s book „Cultural scenes of the political”
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The aim of this article is to present the results of the author’s profound investigation on German-Bulgarian cultural relations since the beginning of the 20th century to the mid-1940s of the 20th century and to give an assessment of the cultural contacts between both countries in the context of Bulgarian political and historical development. The article reveals different aspects of the cultural contact between Germany and Bulgaria in the fields of theatre, fine and applied arts. The author emphasizes the role of the training of many Bulgarian artists in German art institutions and the establishment of German-Bulgarian cultural associations. The article is based on the findings of published studies as well as on the author’s own research undertaken in many museums, archives, private and institutional art collections, situated in Germany and Bulgaria.
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Following in the footsteps of the two conferences of Poi-tiers (Heresy and Bible translation in the Middle Ages and at the dawn of the Renaissance, October 27, 2017, Centre d’Études Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale) and Alba Iulia (Vernacular Psalters and the Early Rise of Linguistic Identities, June 27-28, 2018, Museikon), the nucleus of researchers already collaborating in a previous Museikon pu-blication (Vernacular Psalters and the Early Rise of Linguis-tic Identities: The Romanian Case, Bucharest, dark Publi-shing / Muzeul Național al Unirii Alba Iulia, ‘Museikon Stu-dies’, 1, 2019) decided to expand the scope of their commoneffort and see how a comparative philological approach would work on a practical level. The idea of this collective research and paper came naturally in the early stages of thepreparation of a future project dealing with a comparativeapproach of vernacular Psalters and Gospels both in rela-tion to their high-prestige Greek, Latin, or Church Slavonicsources, and at an intravernacular level, where some of them could have influenced the others. The comparisons bet-ween vernacular translations are useful for the identification of translation clusters active in several languages and for the reconstruction of a pan-European forma mentis which shaped the early vernacular renderings of the Bible.The present paper is also an editorial test. While experi-menting with format, the contributors equally tested how common publications such as this may be replicated in thenear future, in a journal dedicated only to a comparativephilological study of early Bible translations. The current subject (musical instruments terminology) was chosen in order to provide a representative prospective section ofThe Musical Instruments in the Early Vernacularagakcmmcpcpgccaecerhkisickvmuvathe entire corpus. New collaborators were invited to join inand contribute to the exploration of the more difficultaspects of the study, thus anticipating the opening of philology to a wider array of disciplines, according to the needs of the explored realia. Since the topic is far from being exhausted and since many European languages are not yet dealt with, the study will be continued in the next issue of Museikon.
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The article’s goal is to imagine a productive form of teaching creative writing as part of a Master's program in fields only remotely connected to literature and literary studies, such as digital media and videogames research. The text begins with a discussion on talent as the ability to perceive and submit to adequate and working models of writing. The topic is then further developed by analyzing talent within the framework of specific creative tools such as close reading and worldbuilding. Finally, the idea of creative writing as a model oriented and model guided activity is connected to the nature of the computer game as a space inhabited by a variety of new discourses, which the player - like a careful and attentive reader – has to learn to read and work with, thus making them part of her personal experience.
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Ralitsa Kovachevs’s new book on international journalism continues the story of how Bulgarian media cover world topics and problems. The author focuses on the opportunities for “getting to know the spatially distant, which is actually very close in time”, provided by professional journalism.
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A review of the collection “The Soft power of popular music in media (by examples from Bulgaria and the Balkans”, comp. Lozanka Peicheva. Sofia: “St. Kliment Ohridski” University Press, 2020 (160 p.). The collection is part of research collective’s work on the eponymous scientific project “The soft power of popular music in media (by examples from Bulgaria and the Balkans”, financed by the Bulgarian national science fund.
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The text examines the narrative of the video game Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice through Jean-Noël Thon’s three-part perspectivist model, focusing on its third dimension - the ideological perspective. It states that the elements of the gameplay, usually defined as purely ludic, in fact play a prominent narrative role. The game manages to trick the player without lying to them by relying on classic video game relations such as believing in what is seen and told, the self-identification of the player with the avatar, and uncritically accepting the game’s instructions/information as relating to their own actions, not to those of the avatar. The ideological perspective of the characters combined with the thus created ‘misleading’ gameplay question the game-player relationship, while at the same time succeeding in an original way to distance the player from the avatar and ultimately succeeding to make the player feel towards the game as the character feels within in his own world. Accordingly, if the gameplay has a message, i.e., allows itself to be semanticized independently of and in conflict with the cinematic cuts in the game, it functions narratively and creates a dissonance resulting from two different and parallel forms of storytelling.
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The edited volume “Journalism, Values, World. A Jubilee Collection in Honour of Prof. Dr. Maria Neykova” (University Press “St. Kliment Ohridski”, 2022) contains 20 articles united by 5 common themes that contribute to the understanding of a wide range of issues of journalistic practice and to professional debates in the field
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Moundbuilding was a preoccupation for the original, Indigenous occupants of the eastern portion of North America for at least six centuries. Approximately two millennia ago, the inhabitants of a broad swath of land primarily east of the Mississippi River and extending from the gulf to the Great Lakes, engaged in the production of conical, geometric, and effigy shaped earthen mound constructs. The efforts, from small to monumental, reflect a precision, often reflecting astronomical phenomenon. The proliferation of mounds and astronomical focus suggest the moundbuilder cultures privileged these activities, they had purpose. Today many remnants of these extraordinary efforts remain despite the systems of erasure that are characteristic of settler colonialism.Two such sites are the focus of this paper on “sacred space”: the Newark Earthworks and Serpent Mound. Both sites are short-listed for UNESCO World Heritage status. The Newark Earthworks as part of a larger package referred to as “The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks” and Serpent Mound is a stand-alone nomination. The names of the sites are exemplary of the “logic of elimination,” central to settler colonialism in the Americas (Wolfe). Newark, Hopewell, and Serpent all names given by dominant culture with no relation to the Indigenous architects and builders. They endure and resist, despite a long and complicated history of dominance. While the focus of this paper is on contemporary contestation surrounding the sites, this paper begins with a close description of the sites and offers a brief overview of contact. This historical contextualization serves to demonstrate the ramifications of settler colonialism, which ruptured connections between Indigenous people and this land while simultaneously reinterpreting the sites as distinctly American. This lays a foundation for the web of narratives refashioned and recirculated in today’s contest over World Heritage status. Central to these narratives is ascribing the label of “sacred” to the sites. The vast number of constituents who claim a seat at the table regarding “ownership” and a voice regarding the sites is astounding. These include governmental agencies from the local to global, historical societies, Native peoples, academics, golfers, and small pockets of the public. Into this mix we can include those with religious/spiritual claims such as the Mormons, new-agers, fundamentalist Christians, and contemporary Native tribes. Many of these stakeholders have come together to work toward the coveted World Heritage Status. But, if and when it happens, whose story will dominate, who will make decisions, which voice will be heard?
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Space and Time are parameters of the universe. They are also the basis of the ideas of ancient societies about the world, which are reflected in the archaeological monuments. The article presents an anthropomorphic menhir from Midwestern Bulgaria, which contains information about an anthropo-cosmological model of the world from the age of megalithic cultures.
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The article is focused on a specific type of artifacts, made on the terrain from clay and then roasted. In most cases they have been created in Thrace in the period III-I cent. BC. In our archaeological literature they are denoted by the Greek word “eskhara” (platform for sacrifices), but we shall use here the term “altar”. In the process of the archaeological excavations many factors directly affect the stability and integrity of the altar and determine the appropriate restoration methodology. In the Bulgarian archaeological practice over the past decade restorers are usually not included in the terrain work. This approach brought to extremely negative results and irreversible loss of valuable information. Incompetent treatment and storage of the altars makes the archeological study senseless, hinders the identification and scientific interpretation of the altars. The author insists that a change in the treatment of the Thracian altars has to be done.
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Georgian ecclesiastical hymns and folk songs are perceived within one musical language. However, the stylistic palette of Georgian song is more diverse than that of generally more regulated chants. Nevertheless, Georgian church chants made a significant contribution to the development of expression techniques of Georgian folk music tradition. Apparently, This tendency was more manifested in the following directions: • Increase in the melody volume and centonization principle (linking the phrases) in the songs; • Differences between Acharan and Gurian songs through the Prism of changing religious situation; • Structural and dramaturgical proximity of Svan hymn-like songs and mourning song “Zari” to church hymns; • Similarity of “ghighini”, festive hymns and some merry songs, as well as “live lie” songs with church hymns; • Modal mode and parallele voices in para-liturgical hymns and folk songs.
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According to the definition by ICOM, „A museum is a not-for-profit, permanent institution in the service of society that researches, collects, conserves, interprets and exhibits tangible and intangible heritage. Open to the public, accessible and inclusive, museums foster diversity and sustainability. They operate and communicate ethically, professionally and with the participation of communities, offering varied experiences for education, enjoyment, reflection and knowledge sharing.“ (https://icom. museum/en/resources/standards-guidelines/museum-definition/) At first glance, the museums in Bulgaria, and correspondingly those in Southwestern Bulgaria, adhere to the definition provided by ICOM. They are non-profit institutions and engage in research, collection, preservation, interpretation, and presentation of tangible and intangible heritage. However, upon closer examination and precise analysis of their structure and operations, we would have to classify museums as serving administrative bodies rather than serving society. According to Article 25, paragraph 3 of Regulation No. N-00-0001 of February 14, 2011, concerning field archaeological research, public access to archaeological documentation is severely limited, and comprehensive access to the full range of archaeological materials is practically impossible. In practice, visitors have access to minimal artifacts and information, which need to be improved to create a fundamental understanding of the respective archaeological culture, settlement, or structure. There are no annual, medium-term, or long-term plans for archaeological, ethnographic, historical, interdisciplinary, or exhibition development. There is no strategy for restoration and conservation. Practically no activity is conducted regarding intangible cultural heritage. The closure of museums in Southwestern Bulgaria within municipal administrations and their limited resources restricts public interest in museums and their capabilities. In order to compensate for this, as well as to be attractive to society, museums shift from presenting culture to presenting shows. Instead of authenticity, reconstruction, a product of the subjective views of specific researchers, is exhibited. The article directs the attention of museums and their activities towards the needs and resources of society. If museums have real, not fictitious, communication with society and scientific communities, they will achieve sustainability and a real presence in cultural life.
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In 2011, the author noticed in the city of Russe four cast-iron pillars abandoned in a small garden. After 2012, they disappeared. The pillars are believed to have been manufactured by the Austrian company Waagner & Biro and transported to Russe in the late 19th or early 20th century. They are part of the modernization process of Ruse after the Liberation from Ottoman rule. The article describes and analyzes this artifact in order to preserve the information about it as a part of the cultural history of Russe. The author proposes several hypotheses about the nature and the purpose of the pillars.
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The Bulgarian photographer and researcher, Petar Boev, was appointed as the leader of the first journalistic delegation that visited Vardarska Macedonia from June 8th to June 16th, 1942. The delegation visited dozens of towns, capturing moments of the lives of Bulgarians in Vardarska Macedonia. He took over 100 photographs, which are diligently arranged in an album from Petar Boev’s personal archive. The album was entirely designed by Petar Boev, with beautifully written texts. In addition to the texts, a detailed map of the visited places during the journey was drawn. These photographs, besides being exquisite photographic specimens, hold historical and ethnographic significance. They serve as evidence of the authentic way of life of Bulgarians from the Macedonian folklore region, which remained characteristic until the middle of the 20th century. Petar Boev was a prominent figure active in various spheres of Bulgarian cultural life in the 20th century.
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Colours are one of the most important signs and symbolic systems in Antiquity. They reflect a certain cosmic symbolism, manifested as deities in various cosmogonies. They are present, always and everywhere, at the core of the symbolic models, and can be examined from both a semantic and a semiotic perspective. The eschatological significance of the red colour in Thracian culture as well as other ancient societies, i.e. the transition from one space to another, is saturated with signs and symbols. According to ancient treatises related to the making of colours and pigments in ancient Greece during the Hellenistic period, ochre was the most commonly used red pigment. The colour reconstruction of cultural values approximates their authentic appearance and is a scholarly contribution to examine and preserving Bulgarian cultural heritage. Research conducted in 2023 on stelae from Apollonia Pontica necropolis proved the use of red ochre in their inscriptions. The findings of the study confirmed that the verification and valorisation of the cultural-historical heritage of Thracian civilization, particularly in terms of painted decoration, are a necessary consequence of in-depth and targeted comprehensive expertise.
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The article explores contemporary tendencies in the art world that incorporate elements from various spiritual practices and customs to reinterpret cultural identity and community. This analysis focuses on the methods by which filmmakers and theatrical creators embed mythological and ritualistic elements into their narrative structures to reach deeper levels of perception and stimulate the audience’s imagination for reconsidering existence in a new context.
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Mobile Journalism is often the subject of debate - is every journalistic assignment outside a studio or newsroom Mobile Journalism and whether the mobility of devices makes journalism mobile? This study presents another angle to the topic of Mobile Journalism, namely focusing on Smartphone Journalism. Why does one particular device stand out among the many technological innovations? The revolution in the field of journalism comes precisely from smartphones due to a specific reason – the liberalization of content distribution channels. These are the first devices in such a wide-scale use, where traditional media systems no longer control the channels for content to reach audiences. The article presents data, collected as part of the International Project: “Mobile Journalism Practice and Education in Central-East European Countries”
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The text explores laughter in the Horizont za vas show on the Bulgarian National Radio during two election campaigns for parliament. It analyses the dialogues with listeners and the documents that regulate what is legally acceptable to discuss during a campaign and what is not. The rare instances of on-air humor are not sought by journalists in purpose, and in most cases, are not intended by the audience either. The topics discussed, including the elections, are not approached through humor. The attempts to control communication on both sides are notable. Political satire is not present in the studio, domesticated by the contenders vying for power.
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