History of Mentalities

В последние годы у многих людей крепнет ощущение, что в нашей стране всё меняется, не меняясь.
Важно задаться вопросом, какие именно устойчивые особенности традиционного мировоззрения, ментальности, поведенческих стереотипов и реакций, свойственных большинству русских (и многих нерусских) жителей страны, являются определяющими для создания специфической общественно-государственной ситуации, которую мы опять наблюдаем.

Boken, Konkurrerende ideologier i gresk religion før og nå, er en oppfølging av forfatterens tidligere bok om moderne og antikke greske fester. Boken er et produkt av studier i antikkens historie kombinert med egne feltarbeid og antropologiske analyser av dagens middelhavssamfunn.

I boken tas leseren med på feltarbeid på moderne fester i Hellas. Først besøkes grekernes viktigste pilegrimsfest, Panagias (Jomfru Maria) «Innsovning» på den hellige øyen, Tinos, 15. august. Derfra går ferden nordover til kvinnefesten der de feirer jordmoren, Babo i Monokklēsia. Her i Gresk Makedonia besøkes flere karneval, først, Kalogeros, “den gamle, gode mannen”, som er regnmagikeren, jordens elsker. Han feires på Oste Mandag. På Rene Mandag er det Liksombryllup, men dagen før befruktes jorden med fallisk dans i Flambouro. Påskefesten feires i Olympos på Karpathos, der de også feirer Hvite Tirsdag i Den hvite uken. Etter et rituale Hvite Fredag i Akropolis grotten i Athen der folk i omegnen henter hellig vann, går ferden nordover igjen til Gresk-Makedonsk “ilddans”: Anastenariafesten i Agia Elenē, der ofringen av et lam også er inkludert i festen. Deretter overværes et okseoffer under en helgenfest på toppen av Tauros, oksefjellet, på Lesbos der et hesteveddeløp også er viktig.  Endelig går ferden til Eleusis der Panagias “Inntredelse” i tempelet, eller Panagia Mesosporitissa, “Panagia-midt-i-såtiden” feires der korngudinnen Demeter en gang hadde sin helligdom. Fra disse moderne ritualene besøkes antikke paralleller, først og fremst Panathenaia-festen som feiret Athene. Deretter kvinnefestene viet Demeter, Dionysosfestene og endelig ritualet der kvinnene feiret Adonis.

Gjennom å nytte en metode som kombinerer studiet av moderne og antikke kilder, utforsker boken forholdet mellom offisiell og folkekult i dagens og antikkens Hellas, slik det kommer til uttrykk gjennom forholdet mellom konkurrerende ideologier eller forholdet mellom ideologi og mentalitet. Studien relaterer det etnografiske forskningsfokuset til bredere regionale (dvs. Balkansk/mediterran/Midtøsten) forhold og teoretiske problemer, kulturelle identiteter inkludert. I tillegg til studier av samtidig “lived religion” fra forskjellige steder i Hellas, diskuterer boken særlig religion og kommunikasjon både i den moderne og antikke konteksten, siden den religiøse festen utgjør et viktig kommunikasjonsmiddel. Boken trenger dypere ned i gresk kultur, så leseren kan bli kjent med andre sider av Hellas enn det bildet som i dag dominerer nyhetsbildet som følge av den økonomiske krisen landet går gjennom.

Det sammenlignende perspektivet, som en møter i denne boken, er en tematikk med stor relevans både for å forstå Den europeiske union, som ekspanderer østover, og ellers i dagens globale situasjon. Forfatterens studier fra dagens Hellas illustrerer et samfunn som har sine egne logikker. Dette er høyaktuelt i dagens forskning og kommunikasjonsprosessen for øvrig, der globalisering og internasjonalisering er to aktuelle temaer.

Arbeidet har mottatt forfatterstipend fra Det faglitterære fond. Boken kan kjøpes fra forfatteren.

La Época y El Avenir, periódicos de Salónica en judeoespañol, se publicaron durante años como medios de información y de opinión; uno liberal y progresista, otro más tradicional. En el artículo se analizan textos de ambos sobre educación, medicina, religión, etc. que descubren ideologías no tan diferentes en la dicotomía entre modernidad y tradición.

Given their cultural, intellectual, and scientific achievements, surely the Greeks were able to approach their economic affairs in a rational manner like modern individuals? Since the nineteenth century, many scholars have argued that premodern people did not behave like modern businesspeople, and that the “stagnation” that characterized the economy prior to the Industrial Revolution can be explained by a prevailing noneconomic mentality throughout premodern (and nonwestern) societies. This view, which simultaneously extols the “sophistication” of the modern West, relegates all other civilizations to the status of economic backwardness. But the evidence from ancient Athens, which is one of the best-documented societies in the premodern world, tells a very different story: one of progress, innovation, and rational economic strategies. Making Money in Ancient Athens examines in the most comprehensive manner possible the voluminous source material that has survived from Athens in inscriptions, private lawsuit speeches, and the works of philosophers like Aristotle and Plato. Inheritance cases that detail estate composition and investment choices, and maritime trade deals gone wrong, provide unparalleled glimpses into the specific factors that influenced Athenians at the level of the economic decision-making process itself, and the motivations that guided the specific economic transactions attested in the source material. Armed with some of the most thoroughly documented case studies and the richest variety of source material from the ancient Greek world, Michael Leese argues that the evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that ancient Athenians achieved the type of long-term profit and wealth maximization and continuous reinvestment of profits into additional productive enterprise that have been argued as unique to (and therefore responsible for) the modern industrial-capitalist system.

En la escenificación del ritual funerario requería la presencia en torno al cadáver de unos actores bien definidos, cuyos intereses materiales, al margen de consideraciones escatológicas, chocaron de forma permanente. Los protagonistas institucionales de la muerte fueron el clero y las cofradías. El estamento clerical no actuó como un todo homogéneo sino que, por el contrario, manifestó en su seno una fuerte rivalidad. Las cofradías poseían un papel importante pero subsidiario respecto a los profesionales de la salvación.

En este artículo se analizan los conceptos de la muerte bajomedieval, humanista y contrarreformista, la difusión de los modelos de muerte a través de los libros y aquellos aspectos de la mentalidad en tormo a la muerte del siglo XVI en Burgos que permanecen inmutables desde la Edad Media y aquellos en los que se perciben cambios.

In the nineteenth century Iran, taking refuge in the shrines of Shia’s Imam descendants in case of litigation and settlement of disputes was a usual act called "Bast Neshini". Different studies confine the reason for the popularity of this style of objection and resolving disputes only to the Qajar’s ruling system and the loss of a cohesive judiciary. Furthermore, these previous scholarships do not consider other social events related to these forms of objection; and neglect the physical context of these events that can provide a comprehensive explanation. In this article, the two events, firstly taking refuge in the shrines of Imam descendants and secondly making vows there between people, have characterized one unified function termed “Resolving Social Conflicts”. By adopting an interdisciplinary approach and based on historical and material evidence, other main causes of this issue are explained while focusing on one of the major mausoleums of Tehran. Studying the interrelationship between spatial-physical and functional aspects of the shrine unfolds how the Iranians' public mentality of a social institute affected its physical and spatial embodiment in the city; while it shows the counter impact of such spatial manifestation on the shrine’s social institute as well.

Keywords:
Architectural history, History of Mentalities, Urban Sociology, Nineteenth Century Tehran, Spatial Manifestations of Bast, Territory, Shrine of Siyyid Ismail

In the history of the circulation of knowledge certain objects may be considered as paradigmatic of the ways through which information about territories and people was produced. The namban screens and the maps of the Relaciones Geográficas de Indias – RGI, both produced in the second half of the sixteenth century, provide two visual representations of the encounters resulting from the Spanish and Portuguese largescale empires. These two sets of objects brought novelty in the forms of representation of space used, and reflected particular relationships established between Europeans and other cultures. The namban screens represent the nexus between Europe and the Orient; and the maps of the RGI the imperial territories of the Spanish Crown. Together they speak of a significant way of knowing and connecting the entire world. By associating the two instances, I argue that these visual and material objects are documents that allow for a clearer understanding of the early stages of European modernity since they both circulated within a network of data, visual representation, luxury, and power.

Статья посвящена анализу редкого рукописного памятника – дневника петербургского купеческого сына А. Н. Тарасова. Рукопись из фондов Отдела рукописей Российской национальной библиотеки была недавно опубликована. Автор дневника, Алексей Николаевич Тарасов (1827-1867) принадлежал к зажиточному петербургскому купеческому роду. Дневниковые записи охватывают несколько лет – 1848-1851 гг. и содержат описания женитьбы, досуга и увлечений юноши из купеческой среды.Введение в научный оборот этого дневника расширит источниковую базу исследований по истории русского купечества и будет небезынтересно для изучения истории Петербурга.
The article is devoted to the analysis of a rare manuscript - the diary of St. Petersburg merchant son A. N. Tarasov. The manuscript from the collections of the Department of Manuscripts of the National Library of Russia was recently published. The author of the diary, Alexei NikolaevichTarasov (1827-1867) belonged to the prosperous Petersburg merchant family. The diary entries cover several years - 1848-1851. and contain descriptions of the marriage, leisure and hobbies of the young man from the merchant's society. The introduction of this diary into the scientific circulation will expand the sources of research on the history of Russian merchants and will be of interest for studying the history of St. Petersburg.

Politikai kultúra a Horthy-korszak hajnalán
Mentalitástörténeti vizsgálódások Friedrich István politikai
pályájának 1920–1922-es időszakában
(rezümé)
A tanulmány három mentalitástörténeti megközelítés segítségével vizsgálja a Horthy-korszak kialakulási időszakának politikai kultúráját. A vizsgálat fókuszpontja Friedrich István, aki ebben a rövid időszakban, jelentős mértékben meghatározta az ország politikai életét.  A Georges Duby által javasolt metódus, az egyén és a közösség kapcsolatát vizsgálná. Roger Chartier azt elemezte, hogyan járul hozzá az egyén a csoportok identitásának intézményesüléséhez. Arendt Lipsjart meg a különböző politikai szereplők, csoportok kompromisszumra való képességét vagy képtelenségét analizálja. A tanulmány a korszak legfontosabb politikai szereplőinek visszaemlékezésein és naplóin keresztül vizsgálja a korszakot a fenti három megközelítés alapján, mentalitástörténeti szempontból.


Political Culture at the Dawn of the Horthy Era
The Political Career of István Friedrich between 1920 and 1922 from
the Point of View of the History of Mentality
In the article I examine the political culture of the beginning of the Horthy Era with the help of three different methods of the history of mentality. In the focal point of the study stands István Friedrich who significantly defined the political life of the country in this short period.
Georges Duby suggested a method to examine the relations between the individual and the community. Roger Chartier analysed how the individual contributed to the establishment of the identity of a group. Arendt Lipsjart researched the ability or inability to compromise of
different political actors and groups. Therefore, the paper examines the given period through memoires and diaries of its most important politicians with the help of the above approaches.

La investigación sobre identidad y alteridad en la historia es una línea de estudio en pleno desarrollo en la historiografía actual y es a la vez una forma inmejorable de acercarse a un debate de actualidad dentro y fuera de nuestras fronteras: el de la territorialidad española, su origen, su formación y la justificación de las fronteras actuales.
La percepción de los reinos ibéricos como un espacio singular en el medievo europeo ha ocupado a la historiografía clásica desde muy temprano, al famoso debate entre Américo Castro y Claudio Sánchez Albornoz hay que sumarle la fascinación que siempre ha generado la Edad
Media peninsular en el extranjero por su carácter cultural híbrido y de frontera. El objetivo de este congreso es analizar los discursos sobre la identidad, el espacio y la territorialidad de los reinos ibéricos en la Baja Edad Media y a comienzos de la Modernidad. En este sentido este evento aspira por tanto a confrontarse con uno de los principales debates de
la España actual, observando y comparando cómo se percibían las diferencias entre territorios, espacios e identidades dispares en la Península Ibérica a través de los ojos de diferentes tipos de observadores: los nativos de los reinos peninsulares, los viajeros y diplomáticos extranjeros, las minorías religiosas o los exiliados.

in: Alterszäsuren. Zeit und Lebensalter in Literatur, Theologie und Geschichte. Hrsg. v. Th. Fitzon, S. Linden, K. Liess, D. Elm, Bln 2012, 221-235.
Contents:
1. Eutopische Zeitstrukturen
2. Die Dehnung der Lebensmitte (Hesiod)
3. Die Aufhebung der Zeit (Ovid)

J. Golian. Analysis of frequentness of the first names in the denominational different enviroments in 18th and 19th century in the Middle Slovakia. In Changes of Central Europe since the Middle 18th Century to Present. Ostrava 2012, pp. 128-133.

In this paper we analyze the frequency of first names in the Catholic and Protestant parishes. Analysis was built on the study of the baptismal church registers the years 1691 - 1890. For two hundred year period, we devided them into half century stages, were we watched the trends change in the use of forenames in both confessional different parishes in central Slovakia.

Die Studie versucht darzustellen, was für Beweise für die Wirkung der Reformation in frühneuzeitlichen Bürgertestamenten gefunden werden können. Der Ausgangspunkt der Studie wurde hauptsächlich von der Informationsbasis des zweiten Testamentsbuchs der Stadt Pressburg (heute Bratislava in der Slowakei, auf ung. Pozsony) aus den Jahren 1529-1557 und in zweiter Linie von frühneuzeitlichen Testamenten der Stadt Wien gebildet. Der zweite Band vom Protocollum Testamentorum in Pressburg beinhaltet 388 Testamente aus der erwähnten Periode. Vergleichenderweise werden Wiener Testamente auch überprüft, um festzustellen zu versuchen, ob den in den Pressburger Testamenten lesbaren sprachlichen Veränderungen ähnliche Phänomene in den Wiener Quellen erscheinen.

European Iron Age, Roman Empire, and Early Medieval Period; social complexity and cultural entanglement; universal motivational values; power and inequality; ideological discourse; history, politics, and pedagogy of anthropology and archaeology; interdisciplinarity in the social sciences and the humanities.