From Performance to Corporeality

Water is an essential natural element, a diverse form with a social character, semantically upgraded in historical and cultural aspects. Its aggregate states are part of its semiotic and abstract construction, reflecting on the artwork of authors in the field of contemporary visual arts. The research is aimed at considering and discussing various works, the realization of which is related to different states of water as a pictorial and conceptually related material.

This paper is a speculative attempt to understand the nature of the ‘psychological’ from the perspective of the ‘social’. Following in the tradition of Wundt’s Volkerpsychologie, we borrow the notion of ‘social character’ from Erich Fromm, and the notion of ‘conventionality’, as constitutive of the ‘social order’, from F. A. Hayek, to arrive at a social understanding of the psychological. From within this social perspective of the psychological, a hermeneutical conception of human science is proposed that interprets the social-psychological as a dialogical relationship between individual-psychological and social-cultural ‘prejudices’.

Compared to the European countries, the sociologic research related to religiousness and religious affiliation ranks Romania among the most religious countries, this aspect being proved also by the active positioning of the Church in society, especially in the public space. The verification of the phenomenon may be done also through our research theme, which has a content focused on social work, whose result may be used accordingly. There are publications in the field of social work also containing chapters about the Church as an institution, describing the specific activities with social character (either of philanthropy, or of empirical assistance, or even professionalised social work). Nevertheless, most papers mention the Church only in the description of some historical aspects of social work in Romania. Our topic is new because a research similar to ours has not been conducted in Romania yet, in our opinion, as in all bibliographic sources used in the writing of our paper he have found no research approaching such topics. The entire scientific endeavour starts from the formal systematic and non-systematic collaboration already existing between Churches and DGASPCs, but in order to scientifically validate this hypothesis we chose to conduct also a quantitative analysis of the data collected through a questionnaire with closed questions. The main purpose of our paper is the highlighting of the specificity of the interaction between the Church and the social work practice in Romania, through the existing partnership links between the State and the Church.

Philosophical hermeneutics is a style of hermeneutics that focuses on the ontology of understanding and interpretation. One of the leading exponents of philosophical hermeneutics is Hans-Georg Gadamer. Gadamer explained that the prejudice and historical aspects that accept the dialectics of the past, the present and the future are crucial in understanding religious language related to COVID-19. This concept then underlies Gadamer’s thoughts on the idea of the fusion of horizon. This idea indicates that understanding religious texts must be done by bringing together the text’s horizon, author and reader to reach a meaningful knowledge in interpreting a text. Suppose this view applies in understanding religious language related to the COVID-19 pandemic protocol. In that case, interpreter must consider all dimensions associated with the social situation to find a substantive meaning and a complete understanding of all dimensions related to the interpreter’s current position to apply the substantive meaning contextually in actual cases.

Building Mid-Republican Rome treats for the first time the development of the Mid-Republican city from 396 to 168 BCE. As Romans established imperial control over Italy and beyond, the city itself radically transformed into the center of the Mediterranean world. The book describes profound changes in terms of new urban architecture and new socioeconomic structures and argues that such developments were in fact closely linked: building Mid-Republican Rome was highly costly, and meeting such costs had significant implications for the structures and institutions of urban society. By viewing building as an historical process, this book brings architectural and socioeconomic developments into a single account of urban change. The author, a specialist in the period’s history and archaeology, assembles an array of evidence, from literary sources to coins, epigraphy, and archaeological remains. Chapters describe the supplies of material and especially labor for urban production. The period saw the decline of architectural production based on obligation and dependency and the rising importance of slavery and an urban labor market. A quantitative model of the costs of the period’s largest monument, the Republican city walls, is contextualized within the flow of labor in the larger productive economy. A new account of Mid-Republican building technology allows for a better understanding of the social character of the city’s builders. The study thus sheds light on a little known but formative period in Rome’s development, while the innovative synthesis of a major Western city’s spatial and historical aspects will hold appeal to a broad readership.

Tattooing is a permanent form of body art applied onto the skin with a decorative ink, and it has been practiced from antiquity until today. The number of tattooed people is steadily increasing as tattoos have become popular all over the world, especially in Western countries. Tattoos display distinctive designs and images, from protective totems and tribal symbols to the names of loved or lost persons or strange figures, which are used as a means of self-expression. They are worn on the skin as a lifelong commitment, and everyone has their own reasons to become tattooed, whether they be simply esthetic or a proclamation of group identity. Tattoos are representations of one’s feelings, unconscious conflicts, and inner life onto the skin. The skin plays a major role in this representation and is involved in different ways in this process. This article aims to review the historical and psychoanalytical aspects of tattoos, the reasons for and against tattooing, medical and dermatological implications of the practice, and emotional reflections from a psychodermatological perspective.

At the present stage of the studies of musical art, more and more attention is paid to the issues of style as an important category of musicology. Style is a multi-level category that is interpreted by scientists from different positions and views. Ambiguity of style predetermines long development of this category, evolution of its perception, emergence of new, modern studies that have become relevant in the scientific space. The purpose of the paper is to reveal the problem of defining the style and the principles of using the term, taking into consideration the historical aspect of understanding this category in musicology. The use of the concept of “style” began with the oratorical art of ancient Greece and can be found in the writings of Aristotle (“Rhetoric”, “Poetics”), in musical art and architecture. Aesthetic treatises of the Renaissance view style as a collection of certain features that make it possible to distinguish artistic phenomena among themselves. However, the term itself is used only in relation to figurative art, painting. The concept of style is becoming more acute on the brink of the historical epochs of the late Renaissance and the Baroque, but is mixed with the category of genre. The need to use the concept of “style” in Art Studies was raised in the musical-historical works of the early eighteenth century. The basics of understanding the style, as a special manifestation of artistic and creative thinking, laid in the era of the Enlightenment, became the basis for most definitions of this concept. Since the 19th century, interest in the style issues has increased, due to the growth of the personal factor in art, the emergence of national schools, including composer schools, in the epoch of romanticism; crystallization of the concept took place, its main meanings were polished. In the first half of the twentieth century there appears a certain number of works, where, to varying degrees, the problem of style is displayed. In the development of style problems important became the achievements of B. Yavorsky and B. Asafiev, who identified the following ways in its study: the scientists are united by the common understanding of style, as the embodiment of musical thinking. The style of B. Yavorsky is connected with the historical and epoch-making value and manifests itself in the entire spiritual culture. B. Asafiev creates a rather original interpretation of the problem of style, the basis of which is the theory of intonation. Realizing the ambiguity of the concept of style, presenting different approaches in understanding the style, its historical aspects and the principles of style analysis, M. Mikhailov gives his own definitions of the concept, revealing its content from different points of view. Thus, the scientist often relates the definition of style with the linguistic aspect and thinking. The concept of style acquired significant development in musicology due to modern interpretations. The category of style class has a fairly long history of formation and has prospects for further research, which is reflected in the nature of perception of the style of different periods of the history of music, individual and national style. Multiple meanings and versatility of the application of the term in musicology indicates broad possibilities of this category, the study of which makes it possible to reveal the essence of many aspects of contemporary art.

There was a period, commencing in the 1880s, when hypnotism and suggestion enjoyed an enormous vogue. From the clinical field it spread to the social sciences, and the essentially social character of hypnotism and suggestibility was stressed by Gabriel Tarde (1884/1912): “Hypnotism is the experimental juncture of psychology and sociology; it shows us the most simplified sort of psychic life which can be conceived of under the form of the most elementary social relation.”

At first, Hermeneutics as an interacting science was only used among the church as a method of Scripture Interpretation, with a standard system or method of hermeneutics. This hermeneutics is often referred to as Traditional Hermeneutics or Biblical Hermeneutics. However, in its development, Hermeneutics came out of biblical studies into the scope of philosophy, art, literature, and history. This hermeneutics is referred to as New Hermeneutics and appears in various variants. The purpose of this article is to introduce the New Hermeneutics system of the Postmodernist era, specifically Hans Georg Gadamer's Hermeneutics, and compare it objectively with the Biblical Hermeneutics System with the standard Grammatical-Historical method, which is often used to interpret the Bible. This study uses the comparative analysis study method to find fundamental similarities and differences between Hans Georg Gadamer's hermeneutic concepts and Biblical hermeneutics. Finally, the author makes conclusions and recommendations for Bible interpreters who are doing hermeneutics.

O presente artigo tem como objetivo identificar na Análise Textual Discursiva (ATD) características e influências teóricas da hermenêutica filosófica. Trabalhamos com a hipótese de que a ATD possa conter em sua metodologia princípios da hermenêutica filosófica. Para alcançarmos a finalidade proposta, retomaremos alguns conceitos da hermenêutica filosófica presente na obra de Hans-Georg Gadamer, a saber: linguagem (logos), mundo de sentido, experiência e diálogo. Com base nestes conceitos, faremos um estudo do artigo de Moraes e Galiazzi intitulado: “Avalanche reconstrutivas: movimentos dialéticos e hermenêuticos de transformação no envolvimento com a Análise Textual Discursiva”. Este escrito relata que o “movimento da ATD é o movimento em direção à hermenêutica, com valorização de pré-compreensões como modos de chegar a entendimentos mais complexos”. O entendimento mais complexo se afasta da proposta reducionista, simplificadora e objetivadora da ciência moderna e pensa uma metodologia sempre em movimento. Aqui encontramos a influência e a aproximação com a hermenêutica filosófica. Palavras-chave: Análise textual discursiva; Diálogo; Hermenêutica filosófica; Linguagem; Método.

This study discusses the differences in interpretation of gender verses in Islam based on the interpretation of Jāmi’ al-Bayān by Imam al-Ṭabarī and Believing Women in Islam by Asma Barlas. The main focus of this study is the analysis of Qs. An-Nisā’ [4]: 1 on the creation of women, Qs. An-Nisā’ [4]: 3 on polygamy, and Qs. An-Nisā’ [4]: 34 on male leadership and nusyuz. This study uses the muqāran (comparative) interpretation method and Hans-Georg Gadamer’s hermeneutic theory to understand the differences in their perspectives in interpreting gender verses. The results of the study show that al-Ṭabarī uses the bi al-ma’tsur interpretation approach based on history and traditional understanding, so that his interpretation tends to be textual and maintains patriarchal norms in gender relations. In contrast, Asma Barlas criticized the approach by using critical hermeneutics to interpret the Qur'an as a book that upholds gender equality and rejects interpretations that support the patriarchal system. Analysis using Gadamer's Fusion of Horizons theory shows that these differences in interpretation are influenced by historical, social, and epistemological factors. Al-Ṭabarī lived in a society that still had a strong patriarchal system, while Asma Barlas interpreted gender verses in a modern academic context with the influence of feminism and critical studies of religious texts. This study concludes that gender interpretation in Islam should not only adhere to a textual approach but also consider social, cultural, and historical aspects to be more relevant to the values of justice and equality in Islam. This study is expected to contribute to the development of gender interpretation studies in Islam and provide new insights into a more inclusive approach to interpreting the Qur'an.

There has been interest in the history of cosmetics for the last several decades. In part, this renewed curiosity is probably due to the revolutionizing natural movement in the cosmetic industry. In this article, we provide an overview of the historical aspects of the use of natural ingredients in cosmetics, which mostly come from botanical and mineral sources. We begin with an introduction to the art and science of cosmetics in the ancient world, which includes accounts of Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek, and Roman cosmetics as well as Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine. These dermatological and cosmetic practices, which were advanced for the time, paved the way for the current revolution of natural ingredients in cosmetic products. Without providing a comprehensive historical account, we surveyed selected cultures during different periods of time to provide some perspective of our current understanding of natural ingredients in cosmetics. Attention is also given to the rich contributions of body art by tribal societies to our knowledge base, especially in the areas of dyes and pigments. Finally, we offer some perspective of natural ingredient cosmetics in the Information Age.

The beginning of the 21st-century in Spain represented a change of paradigm in art's production methods. Digital art not only shaped a new field of aesthetic representation but also meant a lifestyle. This essay tries to make a briefly analyses of the climax that causes such changes. As well as giving visibility to the existence of a new figure of artist commited to the social reality of its surroundings. This shows a reformulation of the term community, so necessary in our days.

This article offers a literary analysis of the historical dimension of Kirsten Boie’s young adult literary work Dunkelnacht (2021). The article first gives a critical assessment of the mostly consensual theories of docufictional narration and historiographical metafiction, then as a second step illustrates the possibility of the aesthetic hybridization of factual and fictional elements for the construction of a contingent narrative world. Following this, the article focuses on the implemented narrative strategies that augment the impression of the construct character of docufiction. The following questions guide the intended analysis using the close reading method: How are historical aspects treated on the level of histoire in Kirsten Boie’s work Dunkelnacht (2021)? How is the historical context illuminated through the representation of the past and the mediation of memory components and aestheticized at the level of discours? What can the art of language and rhetorical figures achieve for the evocation and deconstruction of history (e.g., hybridizations of novelty and reference to facts)? How does the interweaving of content and narratological aspects of factuality and fictionality and of approaching and distancing from reality take place? How are narrative strategies such as intertextual and multi-perspective narration (especially the complexity of contrasting perspectives of the same historical events) used? The focalization is assumed to be the crucial strategy of docufictional narration in Kirsten Boie’s novel Dunkelnacht (2021). Therefore, the analysis considers such levels of focalization as language, ideology, time, space, and perception/introspection. 

The philosophy of Hans-Georg Gadamer interests a wide audience that spans the traditional distinction between European (continental) and Anglo-American (analytic) philosophy. Yet one of the most important and complex aspects of his work - his engagement with German Idealism - has received comparatively little attention. In this book, Kristin Gjesdal uses a close analysis and critical investigation of Gadamer's Truth and Method (1960) to show that his engagement with Kant, Hegel, and Schleiermacher is integral to his conception of hermeneutics. She argues that a failure to engage with this aspect of Gadamer's philosophy leads to a misunderstanding of the most pressing problem of post-Heideggerian hermeneutics: the tension between the commitment to the self-criticism of reason, on the one hand, and the turn towards the meaning-constituting authority of tradition, on the other. Her study provides an illuminating assessment of both the merits and the limitations of Gadamer's thought.