Izgubljena prihodnost modernizma

One of modernism’s core claims was to own a technologically advanced, socially superior, equalitarian and internationalist future and play a definitive role in it. However, the future turned out to be contested territory and modernism, after setbacks in the wake of World War I, and in the late 1920s, was defeated by the emerging dictatorships in Europe. In the light of recent scholarship the relationship between modernist and anti-modernist art is seen as much more complicated than earlier. Following World War II, modernism was vigorously resuscitated. This revival peaked in the 1960s, a period of heightened social activism, while since the 1980s we see a shift. The artist has lost his mandate, ceased to be seen as a public figure competent in social issues, and has, to a great extent, exhibited his or her vulnerability as a private person. Even social comments are made from this marginal position. The ubiquity of the theme of childhood in the visual arts in the 1990 indicates the change in artistic attitude. Highly erudite, informed of the important intellectual currents of their time, many prominent artists find themselves powerless, detached from the public discourse. I call this blend of intellectual alertness and social inefficiency a transmodern phenomenon: lacking a strong social commitment and a claim to the future, it is beyond the illusions of modernism, but lacking the “anything goes” attitude as well, it differs from what is broadly understood as postmodern, too

Remembering and Forgetting: Lizkor VeLishkoach for String Quartet, after Schubert

Lizkor VeLishkoach (to Remember and to Forget) is a piece that is to be played together with Franz Schubert’s Quartet in G Major D887. Lizkor VeLishkoach (hebrew for “to remember and to forget”) forms its meaning from the roots of the words of its title. The root of “lizkor” is “zekher”, which means both “memory” and “imprint.” Embedded within the verb “lishkoakh” is the word “koakh” meaning “power.” In this paper, I explore aspects of time, memory and place within my quartet, aspects that have become “imprinted” within a personal subjective and larger collective memory. Investigating my own reaction to Schubert’s quartet, I examine how its form and material is re-collected within my own composition. Retracing the re-membering of Schubert’s quartet, I also speculate about my own re-membering and forgetting within the context of this chosen form.Lizkor VeLishkoach est une pièce qui est conçue pour être au même programme que le Quatuor en sol majeur D887 de Franz Schubert. Lizkor VeLishkoach (qui signifie « Se souvenir et oublier » en hébreu) trouve tout son sens dans la racine des mots qui forment son titre. La racine de « lizkor » est « zekher », qui singnifie à la fois « mémoire » et « impression ». Le verbe « lishkoakh » contient le mot « koakh », qui singifie « pouvoir ». Dans cet article, l’auteur explore des aspects du temps, de la mémoire et du lieu auquels se rattache son quatuor, des aspects qui sont « imprimés » dans sa propre mémoire subjective, mais aussi dans une plus vaste mémoire collective. Analysant sa propre perception du quatuor de Schubert, il vérifie à quel point sa forme et son matériau sont réappropriés dans son oeuvre à lui. Retraçant les rappels au quatuor de Schubert, il spécule sur ses propres souvenirs et oublis dans le contexte de la forme choisie

Agnes Heller and "Everyday Revolutions"

A biographical and philosophical portrait of the Hungarian philosopher Agnes Heller

The Nazi-Soviet Pact of August 23, 1939: When Did Stalin Decide to Align with Hitler, and Was Poland the Culprit?

This is a book chapter written by Anna M. Cienciala in Ideology, Politics and Diplomacy in East Central Europe

Let The People Sing? Irish Rebel Songs, Sectarianism, and Scotland’s Offensive Behaviour Act

Irish rebel songs afford Scotland's Irish diaspora a means to assert, experience and perform their alterity free from the complexities of the Irish language. Yet this benign intent can be offset by how the music is perceived by elements of Scotland's majority Protestant population. The Scottish Government's Offensive Behaviour Act (2012) has been used to prosecute those singing Irish rebel songs and there is continuing debate as to how this alleged offence should be dealt with. This article explores the social function and cultural perception of Irish rebel songs in the west coast of Scotland, examining what qualities lead to a song being perceived as ‘sectarian’, by focusing on song lyrics, performance context and extra-musical discourse. The article explores the practice of lyrical ‘add-ins’ that inflect the meaning of key songs, and argues that the sectarianism of a song resides, at least in part, in the perception of the listener

Polish mathematicians and mathematics in World War I: Part II. Russian Empire

In the second part of our article we continue presentation of individual fates of Polish mathematicians (in a broad sense) and the formation of modern Polish mathematical community against the background of the events of World War I. In particular we focus on the situations of Polish mathematicians in the Russian Empire (including those affiliatedwith the University of Warsaw, reactivated by Germans, and the Warsaw Polytechnics, founded already by Russians) and other countries.In the second part of our article we continue presentation of individual fates of Polish mathematicians (in a broad sense) and the formation of modern Polish mathematical community against the background of the events of World War I. In particular we focus on the situations of Polish mathematicians in the Russian Empire (including those affiliatedwith the University of Warsaw, reactivated by Germans, and the Warsaw Polytechnics, founded already by Russians) and other countries. Polscy matematycy i polska matematyka w czasach I wojny światowej. Część II. Cesarstwo Rosyjskie Abstrakt W drugiej części artykułu kontynuujemy przedstawianie indywidualnych losów matematyków polskich (w szerokim sensie) oraz kształtowanie się nowoczesnego polskiego środowiska matematycznego na tle wydarzeń pierwszej wojny światowej. W szczególności skupiamy się na sytuacji matematyków polskich w Cesarstwie Rosyjskim (także tych związanych z reaktywowanym przez Niemców Uniwersytetem Warszawskim i utworzoną jeszcze przez Rosjan Politechniką Warszawską) i innych krajach

Holy War: The Romanian Army, Motivation, and the Holocaust, 1941-1944

This dissertation explores the motivation of Romanian soldiers in combat and committing atrocities against Romanian Jews and Soviet civilians. While there has been some investigation into the Romanian Army’s operations and its participation in the Holocaust the topic remains largely unexamined, despite Romania being the most important Nazi-allied army on the Eastern Front and the greatest independent perpetrator in the Holocaust after Nazi Germany. This dissertation argues that Romanian officers and soldiers were highly motivated in combat on the Eastern Front by nationalism, religion, anti-Semitism, and anti-communism. These things united Romanians of all classes to support a “holy war” to defend Romania from the alleged threat of “Judeo-Bolshevism.” The Romanian Army reinforced soldiers’ motivation through propaganda, coercion, and remuneration. Romanian soldiers were primarily motivated by intrinsic factors to fight, although extrinsic factors became more important to persuading soldiers to keep fighting as the war on the Eastern Front dragged on. The same factors motivated officers and soldiers to carry out atrocities, primarily against Jews, but also partisans, prisoners of war, and civilians in the Soviet Union. The Romanian Army was deeply complicit in Hitler’s war of annihilation. This dissertation fills an important gap because the current consensus, based primarily on German impressions and a highly sanitized nationalist narrative, claims that Romanian officers were Francophile, thus only reluctant allies of the Germans, and Romanian soldiers were simple peasants, therefore allegedly quickly demoralized due to insufficient motivation. Both assertions are propped up by a narrow approach focusing on the Romanian Army’s combat operations on the front line. In contrast, this dissertation examines Romanian interwar society that shaped the motivation of soldiers, while at the same time expanding the scope to include soldiers’ role in the Holocuast, to argue that the Romanian Army had much greater motivation to fight the Soviets and participate in Nazi anti-Semitic policies than previously believed. This dissertation does not forget to address the motivation of women providing military service as well as ethnic, religious, and racial minorities who fought in the Romanian Army during the Second World War