Kultura
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The Kultura Journal is an international scientific journal for the theory and sociology of culture and cultural policy, which follows culture in the widest sense of the word where science, education and all human activities are taken as its integral part.
It was started in 1968 courtesy to the efforts of Stevan Majstorović, founder of the Centre for Studies in Cultural Development, with the objective to encourage integrative, analytical and critical interpretations of the modern cultural phenomena.
At the time of its establishment, the Kultura Journal was unique in the domain of intellectual thought both in terms of its concept and its design. Since the first issue, i.e. over the fifty years of its existence, Kultura has been and has remained open to creative ideas from the country and the world, as seen from the texts of important foreign authors and contributions from professionals coming from the cultural centres of former Yugoslavia, as well as domestic authors who offered new ideas and approaches to culture. The recognizable design solution of the logo of the journal and its cover page were created by the artist and calligraphist Božidar Bole Miloradović, for the very first number.
As of 1971, the issues were edited thematically, which has been dominant practice to this date, with the aim of enriching certain thematic fields in our cultural and scientific community.
The first Editorial Board of the Kultura Journal consisted of eleven members, led by the Editor-in Chief Stevan Majstorović and Trivo Inđić, as conceptual instigators of the journal which heralded a new orientation in the intellectual field. Members of the Editorial Board were: Slobodan Canić, Dragutin Gostuški, Vujadin Jokić, Danica Mojsin, Mirjana Nikolić, Nebojša Popov, Bogdan Tirnanić, Milan Vojnović and Tihomir Vučković. Over the five decades of the Kultura Journal, editorial boards changed several times.
Kultura is issued every three months (four times a year) and its printing has been financed by the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia since 2001. With support of the competent ministry, all numbers of this journal, from the first to the last issue, were digitalized in 2009. As a result, a DVD containing digital form of the journal, was available with the issue No. 129, titled "Electronic libraries". A few years later, in 2013, Kultura switched to the Cyrillic script, with an important note that it still published in Latin script those authors from the region who originally use Latin script(Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia). With the issue No. 140, on the occasion of marking the 45th anniversary of the Kultura Journal, a special USB was made available, with all the texts from the numbers 1-137. The web page of the Centre for Studies in Cultural Development contains all the texts ever published in any issue of the Kultura Journal over half a century of its existence.
The Department for Registration of Journals of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia, the Kultura Journal was registered in 2005 (when categorisation of scientific journals started) marked as category P53. In 2010,it was registered as category M52 in the group of journals for history, art,history, ethnology and archaeology. At the beginning of July 2012, the journal advanced to the category of national interest, by Decision of the Ministry of education, science and technological development of the Republic of Serbia (M51).
Kultura is regularly deposited with the Repository of the National Library of Serbia, and since 2010, it has been included in the Serbian Quotation Index, where the texts published in Kultura can be found in full digital form. As of 2011, the texts i.e. scientific articles, apart from the regular UDK (universal decimal classification) also carry specific DOI (Digital Object Identifier) codes, that allow for their greater visibility and international indexing under international standards. In the meantime,electronic version of the journal was started i.e. the first steps were made towards electronic edition by CEON (Service for monitoring, measuring and valorisation of scientific journals) through Aseestant electronic editing programme. This has contributed to the quality of published articles, as the editorial board now have at their disposal adequate programmes for text checking in terms of correct citation sand listings of references as well as prevention of plagiarism.
Kultura is regularly delivered to the National Library of Serbia in Belgrade, Belgrade City Library,University Library "Svetozar Marković" in Belgrade, Library of Matica Srpska in Novi Sad, Library of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Belgrade, Library of the Rectorate of the University of Arts in Belgrade, University Library in Niš and University Library in Kragujevac. The Kultura Journalis regularly received by numerous interested institutions of culture (libraries, theatres, museums, culture centres) as well as individuals. The Journal nurtures professional exchanges with many similar institutions and magazines in the country, region and in Europe (Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia,Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany, Switzerland and other countries).
In addition to respecting scientific rules and standards for publishing scientific papers, Kultura has not lost the curiosity or the freshness of an avant-garde magazine dealing with both eternal and very actual topics.
Pages
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- Constantine the Great as a Holy rider-warrior
- In the early Christianity there were many amulets, known as a group of Gnostic amulets, depicting a holy rider-warrior holding a cross-tipped spear piercing the enemy. This motif was usually attributed to Solomon who killed a female demon, but was later associated with Christ, St. George, St. Theodore and other saints. There is also the amulet that shows Emperor Constantine the Great in his victory at Milvian Bridge (Parisinus gr. 510, fol. 440). It can be assumed that the image of Constantine as a holy warrior of the imperial cavalry, before the period of iconoclasm, was even more widespread. However, some variations can be observed in the usual iconography. Also, although Constantine's role in the spread of Christianity and the celebration of the Holy Cross is huge, this symbol is much older and related to the influence of other, older religions and beliefs.
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- Constants of the cultural context and transition
- The transition has changed a lot in Serbia, but there are a number of constants of the cultural context that the transition has not managed to affect. It could even be said that these constants shaped the course of transition. We need to keep in mind the global value orientations that are rooted in the tradition of the social being of the Serbian people, which continually reappear in both old sense and in new forms. In the long term, these constants make any qualitative leaps difficult and give a specific form to modernization trends. These include traditionalism, authoritarianism and their various derivative forms. These are global value orientations that seek to connect the past with the future and thus ensure historical continuity of the society. They shape a society which is internally contradictory and insusceptible to innovation.
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- Construction of political culture from the concept of an ideal woman found in the contemporary women's journals in Serbia
- This paper analyses discourses on an 'ideal woman' in modern Serbia in the manner in which actual political culture is construed from representation of women in various ladies' journals. I have tried to define discourses produced by the Cosmopolitan and Blic Žena, pinpoint differences in the suggested concepts of womanhood and identify the manners in which such discourses and representations of women, their gender roles and relations, coincide with the wider social norms, stereotypes and practices. I have also analyzed the general impression left by these journals trying to categorize them into suggested 'elementary prototypes' as defined by Neda Todorović- Uzelac, primarily the prototypes/models of a traditional woman/female versus a rebelled, liberated woman (a feminist).
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- Construction projects of the architect Nikola Dobrović in Prague (1922-1933)
- Beginnings of the history of construction projects of the architect Nikola Dobrović can and should be observed as an integral part of the complete production of this Yugoslav architect. Still, his earliest or the 'Prague' period carries unique historiographic value in the studies of any and all syntagmas of the later works of Dobrović, which emitted clear massages of the early purist space shaping, extensive aesthetics of the façade canvasses and expressionist moments in shaping such a specific artistic language. His construction works immediately after his studies in Prague and special studies in Paris, which have not yet been fully researched up to this date, are revealed to us in less known archive documents and in relatively well researched technical sources from the period 1922-1933. It is indicative that, in this period, his most important construction projects of the early artistic phase, like the Yugoslav Home of King Aleksandar Karađorđević (1929-1933), have always caused intense attention of the expert and scientific public, both national and international, and especially of the contemporary Check historiographic school of thought. In the context of period studies, open issues impose themselves about the authorization and intensity of professional engagement in designing and about the realization of several buildings within the medical complex of the Masaryk home in Kerch near Prague, which was also topic of some Dobrović's commentaries.
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- Consumer society and fashion
- The aim of this paper is to present the development of the consumer society between the late 19th century and today and to demonstrate the influence fashion has had on the entire process. The first part of the paper offers definitions and arguments concerning the very concept of consumer society. The second part of the paper demonstrates how development of the bourgeois society triggered the need for excessive consumption and all other accompanying social changes in the behaviour of consumers brought on by the new age. The conclusions of the paper involve an argument casting aside the viewpoint that it was actually consumerism that has brought on the democratisation of societies, as well as rejecting the idea that we make free choices when purchasing goods available on the market, while it proves we are under an enormous influence from the environments we originate from and also that our decisions are far from being spontaneous.
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- Consumer society hermeneutics
- In this paper the author analyses the aspects of globalization, culture, identity, consumption, media and culture in the modern consumer society. The values this society imposses by its consumption and market identification define the society as a dominant consumption culture with market as its main characteristic. The consumption is defined as the main spot in the realization and creation of the contemporary, man-of-today identity. The basic problem appears to be the lack of understanding concerning the global aspects of the society we are living in. Gadamer's understanding of hermeneutics as a practical philosophy and Heidegger's definitions of phenomenology from his earlier works may help us in understanding the basic guidelines of the modern society.
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- Contemplation of the religious tolerance in contemporary Serbian and social thought
- Following the dissolution of the SFRY, and in the light of new social circumstances, the religious communities have new social status and new social role; they have come out from the private sphere and found its place in the public one. Religious tolerance is more significant in the context of desecularization of social life, both for the religious communities themselves, and for other social actors and the society as a whole. With this in mind, the goal of this paper is to analyze theoretical views and definitions of the notion of religious tolerance in the papers of domestic authors- philosophers, representatives of social sciences as well as theologians. In addition to the analysis of the impact of social context, the relation between monotheism and in/tolerance is also analyzed, whereas a doctrinaire aspect, i.e. the content of the sacred texts, is contemplated as well. A consideration is given to the possible subjects of the religious tolerance, and a problem of paternalism is pointed out in the speeches on religion stressing the importance of the mutual appreciation and respect among the actors of the dialogue communication. In accordance with the current views on im/possibility of the tolerance among different denominations, that is, religions, due to their different standpoints on the man's path to salvation, emphasize is given to the difference between valuing cognition and valuing an actor - individuals, communities and social groups.
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- Contemporary approaches to the affective examination of well-being
- In this paper, the issues of examining affective well-being in contemporary social research are presented. Affective well-being may be defined as a balance between experienced positive and negative affects. In the first part of the paper, findings on the nature of affects, their mutual association and some cognitive biases related to self assessment of affective experience are presented. Then, the most commonly used measurement methods are chronologically presented and the advantages and disadvantages of each are highlighted. These include measurement instruments containing only one or more items, instruments for measuring the intensity as well as the frequency and the duration of affective experience, instruments based on self-assessments as well as assessments of other people, and subjective as well as some objective measuring instruments. Also, some cases are presented of extensive international researches involving affective well being measurements on nationally representative samples. In the final part, some recommendations for further research as well as concluding considerations are derived.
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- Contemporary aspects of opera staging and the rise of opera director
- With the emergence of the first operas more than four hundred years ago, and their first stagings, has emerged the problem of finding the most adequate staging solutions deriving both from the opera works themselves, and from the style and taste of the epoch, ever since the baroque largely influenced by the audience too. The 20th century introduced significant, even revolutionary changes into opera staging: the interventions of directors ranged from cutting, adaptation, time transposition, to social actualization and innovative visual dimension of opera performances. So, the improvement of opera direction has, on the one hand, instigated the rise of opera stars and performances appealing to the audience, while on the other has been a search for a new, more modern expression, sometimes getting close to the theatre of absurd, static performances or even opera without libretto. More than ever the 20th century opera became accessible to everybody everywhere in the form of live performance as well as a live broadcast of opera spectacles or their filming, that significantly enlarged the number of opera admirers around the world. Two basic claims follow from the mentioned: a) That since a certain exhaustion, evident since 1960s, overwhelms opera authors, opera classics have been adapted to the new audiences; b) That the opera directors have been more and more inclined to a syncretic expression using all available means on the stage (among others: film, video, PC) thus becoming complete authors of a musical-stage spectacle far away from classic opera expression.
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- Contemporary city as a space of spectacle
- The appearance and utilization of cities significantly changed at the end of the 20th century. The city has become an arena which, thanks to the global changes, the IT society and the need for prestige among many cities around the world, as well as different shaping of the norms, culture of behavior and the typification of lifestyles, has been transformed into the urban stage. By increasingly accepting scenographic characteristics, contemporary city has become the space where market ideology directs and determines means of communication, but also the way we perceive things. In the process of the characterization of the contemporary city special place has been dedicated to the relationship between the physical structure of the built environment, theatricality of buildings and the urban spaces, as well as the spectacle and urban and spatial shaping of performing events. However, in order to experience the urban space, we also need the ability to perceive the city scenographically. This is how the spectacle becomes one of the most important elements of the city life and an important factor that characterizes contemporary city.
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- Contemporary fiction in funny costumes
- Even though earlier -works such as John Fowles' The French Lieutenant's Woman or Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea foreshadow current interest in the Victorian period, neo-Victorian fiction has been defined as an independent genre since the 1990s. More than just examples of historical fiction, neo-Victorian novels engage with and (re)interpret the Victorians with a marked self-consciousness. Thus, they perform a double task: in masquerading as Victorian novels, they raise questions about identity and difference between the Victorian period and the present day, shedding light on contemporary issues as well as providing a vehicle for expressing Victorian taboos, or questioning their (our?) values. The recurrent trope of cross-dressing and masquerade can be understood as a reflection of this duality. The aim of this paper, then, is to explore the use of this trope in the novels of Sarah Waters as a metaphor for the status of neo-Victorian fiction in general.
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- Contemporary media as a tool of educational revolution
- When Alvin Toffler published his book ' Future Shock' in 1970s, it was hard to believe his claims that our society is entering an era of change that will completely change the picture of the world. However, technological and information revolution, as the main drivers of development today, not only changed the way we work and create, but the overall picture of social and private life of man from the beginning of the 21st century. Personal computers at work, athome and in the form of phone, iPod, iPhone, iBook, Internet, Skype, IM ( chat), online shopping and learning, online friendship and dating, are just some of the elements of modern life that only a few decades ago were unacceptable, while life today would be unimaginable without them. It is interesting that although these changes are reflected in a number of (or all) aspects of modern life, it seems that( formal) education is not among them. Education systems around the world still reflect the social, historical and economic period in which they occurred- the period of industrial revolution. Understanding of school as a factory is not unknown in the theory and practice of modern education. The paper is intended to refer to the directions of possible changes in educational systems around the world, and the role of modern media in conceptualizing education correspondent to the needs of the 21st century. We want to explore potential and likely scenarios of development of education, which will by using the advantages and opportunities of contemporary media and technology meet the needs of development in the 21st century.