This work intends to discuss about the first generation of Romanian womenpainters within the wider context of the condition of woman within the Romanian society during the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. We will develop the following path: a) the movement of women’s emancipation in Romania – characteristics and phases; b) the Romanian art-world and this movement of women-painters.

In 1992, the much acclaimed prolific American writer Joyce Carol Oates publishes Black Water – a very harsh and condensed literary reenactment of a gruesome event having taken place more than twenty years before and known as the “Chappaquiddick incident”. Another twenty years later, through her 2012 novel Mudwoman, the author seems to revisit the topic that had haunted her for decades. This paper aims at establishing a certain narrative pattern connecting the two novels not only thematically, but also phantasmatically: (...) the sudden “resurrection” of Joyce Carol Oates’s character in the 2012 novel is, as we see it, far from being “incidental”. By “textual anastomosis”, we understand a subjective association of narratives in order to show how the disembodied consciousness “travels” from one character’s fictional body to another’s, triggering a whole bunch of personal memories which also resurrect in this other character’s fictional biography. (shrink)

This work applies the meaning of empsychia (animation) to the domain of graphe empsychos (animated word or image) using some funerary orations written by Gregory of Naziansus (IV-th century) and Michael Psellos (XI-th century). In our opinion, a certain continuity of this Byzantine tradition could be traced in the Romanian culture of the XVI-th century.

This essay intends to reveal the contribution of some Aristotelian concepts – such as “just measure” (metron, meson) and “lack of measure” (alloiosis) as well as some other connected pathological affections (pathe) of the human volitive part of the soul (thymos), caused by certain changes of the humoral mixtures, especially the ones of the black bile, a humoral substance that was considered largely responsible for the severe alterations of the normal rational activity of the human soul (logismos). – to the (...) definition of melancholy as a natural/pathological condition. This type of analysis could be useful for wider cultural studies in which certain medical traditions would have a significant contribution and would help us understand better the holistic thought of the ancient and medievalEuropean culture. (shrink)

Simona Nicoarã, Istorie si imaginar – eseuri de antropologie istoricã (History and Imaginary - Essays in Historical Anthropology) Editura Presa Universitarã Clujeanã, Cluj-Napoca, 2000.

Andrei Pop argues that Frege's distinction between sense and reference, concept and object, and asserted and unasserted thought provides a superior account of the overlapping categories of fiction and art. This book also tackles case studies in Fregean art history and theory.

After studying a Latin record issued on 6 June 1574, the specialists expressed different opinions regarding the expression romana videlicet seu graeca religio, i.e. “Roman or Greek religion”. The author believes that the issuer of the 1574 document only transposed into Latin a phrase commonly used in the Romanian Transylvanian environment, so that the “Romanian religion” became practically naturally, in Latin, religio romana, all the more so as we are dealing with an internal document, not intended for the Holy See (...) or for other foreign institutions, where it may have created confusion. The matter of this unusual document is far from being settled, as the arguments raised are probably insufficient or not eloquent enough. However, they are just as consistent as those that suggest an interpretation based on the alleged Catholicism of the Romanians. Consequently, we consider that in the current stage of our knowledge it is plausible to believe that in the document of 1574 religio romana sive greca means “Romanian or Greek religion.”. (shrink)

At the beginning of the 16 th century, Transylvania had been an officially Catholic land belonging to the Kingdom of Hungary and led by an elite consisting of three nations, the Hungarian nobles (increasingly referred to as the Hungarian nation), the Saxons and the Szeklers. However, the general population, deprived of any political power, consisted of Orthodox Romanians. In other words, in Transylvania the Latin West met the Byzantine Orient. The old Hungary fell apart between 1526 and 1541, its central (...) regions taken by the Ottoman Empire, the west and the north by the Habsburgs, while the eastern part, Transylvania, became an autonomous principality under Ottoman suzerainty. At the same time, various Protestant trends made their presence felt among the leading nations, eventually crystallizing in the form of Lutheranism, Calvinism, and Unitarianism. In the space of three decades (1540–1570) these rival denominations gained legal status and joined Catholicism as the official religions of the country. Catholicism became a marginal denomination, deprived of assets and of its hierarchy. Under Protestant pressure, the Orthodox Romanians were still kept away from power. The last three decades of the century saw some attempts at Counterreformation and at a Catholic Reformation, at a time when the principality was once again led by a Catholic dynasty. In this context, new Catholic cultural (educational) models, supported by the Jesuits, were implemented in the existing Protestant and Orthodox context, in an often desperate attempt to reverse or at least balance the situation. In this respect, the Jesuit College of Cluj (today Cluj-Napoca, Romania), established in 1581, remains a most memorable episode, whose consequences can still be seen today. By resorting to education and learning, the college was meant to influence and alter the surrounding Protestant and Orthodox world. In fact, it became an interesting facet of the multicultural, multiethnic and multiconfessional character of Transylvania, a miniature Europe inhabited by Latin, Germanic, Finno-Ugrian, Slavic peoples etc., by Byzantines, Catholics and Protestants, by rightful citizens and “tolerated” inhabitants, by masters and servants, by privileged categories and by groups merely “allowed to exist”. The troubled events of those years have left us with a model of cohabitation based on both cooperation and rivalry that truly deserves consideration. (shrink)

Os tempos pandêmicos forçaram a escola em relação ao encontro com a morte. Cenas narradas ou encenadas convocaram os educadores a se confrontarem com os desdobramentos desse encontro disruptivo. Coube aos professores se ocuparem dos efeitos mortíferos produzidos pela pandemia de Covid-19. Diante da morte, o silêncio costuma ser uma saída e, em relação aos educadores, não saber sobre o que fazer com ela na escola produz mal-estar, pois educar supõe uma posição de saber a ser sustentada. A partir de (...) fragmentos das falas de educadoras da Educação Infantil, da entrevista com a diretora e coordenadora de uma escola pública da região serrana do Rio de Janeiro, questionamos se a intensificação do mal-estar vivido durante o período pandêmico poderia impactar nas formas de saber fazer com o mortífero que se presentificou no encontro com as crianças.Os espaços de escuta ocorreram no retorno das aulas presenciais, no início do ano de 2022, no formato de rodas de conversa, em uma pesquisa-intervenção. A possibilidade de colocar em palavras o vivido na escola possibilitou aos educadores reservar um lugar para a morte, ao invés de suprimi-la, oferecendo espaço para o não saber e a dúvida. (shrink)

Although Max Weber does not specifically analyze the topic of esteem, his investigation of the Protestant ethic offers interesting insights into it. The change in mentality it engendered essentially contributed to enhancing the meaning and importance of esteem in modern society. In his analysis, Weber ascertains that esteem was fundamental to being accepted and integrated into the social life of congregations. Nevertheless, he also highlights that esteem was supported by a form of self-esteem which was not simply derived from a (...) good social reputation, but also achieved through a deep and continual self-analysis as well as a strict discipline in the ethical conduct of life. The present analysis reconstructs the different aspects of the relationship between social and self-esteem and analyzes the consequences of that relationship by focusing on the exemplary case of the politician’s personality and ethic. (shrink)

Este artigo discute o mal-estar de adolescentes de duas escolas públicas da cidade do Rio de Janeiro, no contexto de retorno presencial das aulas pós-pandemia da COVID-19. Durante o contexto de isolamento, a escola teve de se ressignificar como lugar de aprendizagem, de convivência e de mediações com tecnologias até então ausentes, e atualmente tem que se reconstruir, territorialmente, como um lugar possível de afeto e transmissão. A escola é uma das instâncias que se ocupa desta tarefa, em que o (...) jogo de forças entre os grupos e a subjetividade se faz presente. No entanto, a ausência territorial da escola no período de isolamento social foi inevitável. A questão central a que este artigo busca responder é de que maneira o pressuposto freudiano de que o mal-estar faz parte e é inerente à relação entre o sujeito e a cultura, aparece, e sob que aspectos, nesta experiência de retorno às escolas, no período pós-pandemia. Quer nas dificuldades de aprendizagem, diante do lugar do outro, no conflito entre temporalidade e demanda, nas estratégias de enfrentamento e na distância entre os projetos e a realidade, os estudantes revelam suas angústias e novos modos de lidar com a condição de mal-estar. (shrink)

The psychological factors influencing a return to sport has gained increased research attention. In the current investigation, we explored professional basketball players’ perceptions of the psychological factors facilitating a return to performance equal to or exceeding previous performance standards. We also sought to describe athletes’ experiences – both positive and negative – of returning to sport following injury recovery. Ten Italian professional male basketball players (age range 22-36 years), were retrospectively interviewed in relation to three time-periods: (1) from the commencement (...) of rehabilitation to their first official competition, (2) the first official competition, and (3) the six-months following the initial competition. Hierarchical content analysis of the data revealed numerous themes across the three time periods. In regards to Period 1, participants indicated that social support, investment in rehabilitation and training programs, coping skills and motivation were fundamental in reaching pre-injury performance levels. During their first official game (i.e. Period 2), athletes reported that realistic performance expectations, focusing on the performance, positive emotions, motivation, arousal and social support facilitated their return to sport. Athletes however, also described a predominance of factors that hindered their return to pre- injury levels (i.e., low confidence in personal abilities, decrements in skill execution and dysfunctional physical sensations). Moreover, participants typically described a substandard level of performance during their first competition back following injury. In recounting experiences during the six months following their first official game, basketballers reported improvements in skill execution and highlighted the importance of coping skills, motivation and social support. The process of restoring self-confidence in one’s ability to successfully perform was perceived as crucial in enabling participants to move beyond a mere return to sport to a return to high performance ─ that is, to reach a level of proficiency equal to or exceeding previous performance standards. Findings support the relevance of cognitive, emotional and behavioral responses highlighted in the Integrated Model and suggest the importance of addressing psychological factors throughout the return-to-sport process. Finally, results from the present study hold a number of practical implications for athletes’ aiming to achieve a return to pre-injury levels. (shrink)

This study presents the manifestations of irrational practices in recent Romanian politics. Providing a short history of the mystical and the occult in Romanian politics, this research uses as a case study the alleged use of the occult “violet flame” in the presidential campaign of 2009. By showing how public religiousness and the daily mystical practices are changing, the author is describing the transformations of the national political communication under the pressure of the news media, which are becoming more and (...) more pervasive to the occult discourses and the magical thinking. The author describes these transformations as part of the general transformations of the political imaginary inRomania. The Romanian public psyche belongs more and more to the culture of infotainment, a culture based on cultivating superficiality, where mystical and simplistic thinking have replaced the traditional processes of public exchange of reasonable ideas. Thus a main trait of this video-pathology in which the Romanian media is engulfed, is the substitution of the rational discourses with the superficial understanding of the world and supernatural explanations about the universe. One of the conclusions is that the manifestations and functions of the irrational in the Romanian political sphere have become more innocuously connected with a deep mysticism already in place, and are profoundly changing the society as a whole. (shrink)

Human tragedy could be summed up a single word—death. One first encounters it through the death of others, and then everyone faces it for themselves. The Christian faith confronts humanity’s final foe head on, delivering sustained hope amidst the sorrow and despair of impending death. This paper will first address the central role of the resurrection of the dead in First Corinthians. Second, the paper will present Paul’s retort to several challenges raised against the notion of the resurrection. Finally, the (...) paper will attempt to systematize the means by which Paul proves the resurrection of the dead. (shrink)

Mat is a specific domain of Russian obscene vocabulary including words related to sexuality. The first sociolinguistic studies on mat emerged after the fall of the Soviet Union, concomitantly with the formation of Russian gender studies in the early 1990s. Until today, research on gender and taboo in Russian has been exiguous. Many scholars claim that the use of mat is a male prerogative, whereas women’s use of mat is heavily sanctioned in society. Through data from a survey I carried (...) out with 772 participants, I illustrate that mat is strongly present in women’s language use and that stereotypical gender conceptualizations are undergoing change. From the participants’ answers it emerges that discussions about the use of obscene language play a critical role in the multifaceted process of renegotiation of gender roles in post-Soviet contexts. (shrink)

Befasst man sich mit dem Begriff ›Bürger‹ in Fichtes später Reflexionsentwicklung, so ist man mit der vorausgehenden Frage konfrontiert, welche Konnotationen hier als von der früheren Phase unterschieden gelten können. Eine vorläufige Betrachtung würde als erstes darauf hindeuten, dass schon der quantitative Gebrauch des Wortes »Bürger« in Fichtes Jenaer Zeit weniger häufig ist und mit unbestimmteren Sachverhalten im Zusammenhang steht. Aber eine quantitative Bewertung ist an sich nicht schlüssig, wenn sie nicht dabei durch eine begriffsinhaltliche Analyse untermauert wird. Und eine (...) derartige Analyse kann sich nicht nur auf das Spezifikum der Notion ›Bürger‹ berufen, sondern muss gleichzeitig die Korrelate in Betracht ziehen, welche den inhaltlichen Umfang zu erörtern vermögen, die gesamte gedankliche Konstellation umfassen und gleichwohl synthetisch veranschaulichen können. Ein besonders einleuchtendes Beispiel wird durch eine vergleichende Analyse der jeweils im Naturrecht von 1796 und in der Rechtslehre von 1812 enthaltenen korrelierenden Begriffsinhalte dargeboten. Schon der Unterschied in der Betitelung könnte auf eine gewichtige Sinnverschiebung anspielen. Wir wissen aber, dass das deutschsprachige Verständnis des Wortes ›Naturrechts‹ jenes Zeitalters nicht immer dem fachlichen Ausdruck genau entspricht. Der Terminus Naturrecht wird in der Tat oft als Oberbegriff verwendet, welcher gleichzeitig naturrechtliche Ansprüche, privates Recht und Staatsrecht deckt oder mit einbezieht. Einen eindeutigen Beweis dafür wird einige Jahre später die Hegelsche Rechtsphilosophie liefern, welche im Untertitel die Naturrechtslehre anspricht und sich jedoch als Gegendarstellung der durch die Feststellung der natürlichmenschlichen Konnotationen erworbenen, das Individuum betreffenden Rechtsansprüche erweist. Unter dieser Betrachtung soll die Behauptung eines schwerwiegenden Unterschieds vorerst aufgeschoben werden und eine umfangreichere Argumentation veranlassen. (shrink)

Dario Argento and the Mother-Witch: Psychoanalysis of an Obsessive Image. This paper tries to present the complexity of the maternal figures in the work and biography of film director Dario Argento. The methods of interpretation are inspired by psychoanalysis, because Argento often referred to Freud’s writings in his films or in his recent autobiography, Fear, published in 2014. The criminal mothers depicted in some films signed by Dario Argento show, through violent narratives, the difficulties he had in dealing with the (...) maternal imago. But the most striking embodiments of the maternal monstrosity are to be found in the figure of the mother-witch, in the trilogy composed by Suspiria (1977), Inferno (1980), La Terza Madre (2007). The mother-witch has, of course, biographical sources, but its presence in some classical fairy-tales or in fin-de-siècle decadent literature also inspired the film director. (shrink)

This paper represents a case study interpretation of the political and media discourses in Romania referring to Islam and the threat of Muslim refugees. Using a selection of media narratives from the public debates that took shape immediately after the Brussels attacks on March 22, 2016, this study uses a critical discourse analysis approach as an interpretative tool to understanding how in Romania the opinion leaders, the political elites and the media are building an anti-Islam propaganda. By applying a textual (...) and ideological analysis of a selection of media discourses that refer to the terrorist attacks and the implicit threat of Islam, the author describes the dominant rhetorics of conflict between the West and the Muslim world. By elaborating a list of Islamophobic stereotypes used in the Romanian mainstream media and by discussing the negative narratives propagated in the public sphere, a case is made against the artificial growth of intolerant attitudes. The central argument of the author is that we are witnessing a generalized anti-Islam propaganda, where a specific religion and its followers are demonized by politicians, cultural figures and opinion leaders. This paper's conclusion is that in the Romanian media and the political discourses a form of unjustified Islamophobia is cultivated for ideological purposes. (shrink)

In the Phaedrus, the expression τὰ γεγραμμένα φαῦλα ἀποδεῖξαι, „to demonstrate the inadequacy of its own written” could mean „to make a palinody.” The requirements to define someone as a philosopher that Socrates provides describe in theoretical and normative form what the dialogue has already represented in its dramatic form. Plato has targeted the speech of Lysias and the first speech of Socrates as belonging to a literary genre that is still in statu nascendi: a sophistic conference in which the (...) writing is supposed to be read aloud and there is established a particularl emotional relationship between the reader and listener with the subordination of the latter to the former. For Socrates this relationship should be different and the speeches as well as books should have a completely different intent, content and form: philosopher must offer to the one whom he loves a chaste and virtuous conduct: such conduct, in its imitation of the divine, is precisely what distinguishes him from other scholars: τιμιώτερα. The philosophical relationship must involve a different kind of reading: a silent one that can neutralize the deleterious and seductive effects of the voice. This does not imply, however, that all books are the same. Philosophical writing is not a palindrome on a statue, like a picture. Its qualifying element is the linear and irreversibile sequence. Time flows between one segment and the next. Thus, thoughts presented in writing move in space, whereas characters that have thoughts in them also move over time, changing and modifying themselves. That is precisely how philosophical writing, such as the platonic dialogue, can reproduce logos. (shrink)