Резюме: Sociology is always at least two things at once. It is both an idealistic exercise and a realpolitik enterprise, involving both high-minded aspirations and down-and-dirty game-playing. Sociology is constantly caught between its intellectual aspirations, which often have liberatory intents to demonstrate how the world works and to speak truth to the powerful who generally do not want to hear uncomfortable truths, and its academic actualities, of careers, funding regimes, and governmental interference. It also routinely engages in massive and ceaseless self-criticism, and it regularly crucifies certain personages of the past of the discipline, while also resurrecting others. Above all, sociology is a metaphorical science. It needs metaphors to be able to name things that can then be studied, and the chosen metaphors will in turn influence how those things are to be inquired into. The problem is that once fresh metaphors can harden into clichés, standardised thinking is encouraged, and vital aspects of experience are lost to view. This paper considers these dangers and what to do about them.

Abstract: Sociology is always at least two things at once. It is both an idealistic exercise and a realpolitik enterprise, involving both high-minded aspirations and down-and-dirty game-playing. Sociology is constantly caught between its intellectual aspirations, which often have liberatory intents to demonstrate how the world works and to speak truth to the powerful who generally do not want to hear uncomfortable truths, and its academic actualities, of careers, funding regimes, and governmental interference. It also routinely engages in massive and ceaseless self-criticism, and it regularly crucifies certain personages of the past of the discipline, while also resurrecting others. Above all, sociology is a metaphorical science. It needs metaphors to be able to name things that can then be studied, and the chosen metaphors will in turn influence how those things are to be inquired into. The problem is that once fresh metaphors can harden into clichés, standardised thinking is encouraged, and vital aspects of experience are lost to view. This paper considers these dangers and what to do about them.

Резюме: This article discusses some theoretical issues concerning the close relationship between media, art, and culture, using the privileged view of memory. In particular, the aim is to present a socio-anthropological analysis of the relationship between media and individual and social memory, which highlights the fundamental role played by art, understood in a broad sense as an “agency of cultural mediation”, able to objectify, fix and extend the social memory allowing its consolidation in the present and its projection into the future. A particular look will be given to the original relationship between artistic objects, magic, and religion, to present a possible parallel reading of the social meaning attributed to the media also in contemporary societies. Art, like the media, performs a socio-anthropological function of building a relational bridge between yesterday and today, between the living and the dead, between the physical and the immaterial world, and between the visible and the invisible. In this, art and the media are “cultural agencies”, capable of conveying identity, meaning, expectations, and hopes. This matrix can explain the trend, even in contemporary society, to attribute to the media, especially the digital ones, a magical, spiritual, and quasi-religious relevance and power. A trend which, among other things, questions the alleged secularisation of contemporary Western societies.

Abstract: This article discusses some theoretical issues concerning the close relationship between media, art, and culture, using the privileged view of memory. In particular, the aim is to present a socio-anthropological analysis of the relationship between media and individual and social memory, which highlights the fundamental role played by art, understood in a broad sense as an “agency of cultural mediation”, able to objectify, fix and extend the social memory allowing its consolidation in the present and its projection into the future. A particular look will be given to the original relationship between artistic objects, magic, and religion, to present a possible parallel reading of the social meaning attributed to the media also in contemporary societies. Art, like the media, performs a socio-anthropological function of building a relational bridge between yesterday and today, between the living and the dead, between the physical and the immaterial world, and between the visible and the invisible. In this, art and the media are “cultural agencies”, capable of conveying identity, meaning, expectations, and hopes. This matrix can explain the trend, even in contemporary society, to attribute to the media, especially the digital ones, a magical, spiritual, and quasi-religious relevance and power. A trend which, among other things, questions the alleged secularisation of contemporary Western societies.

Резюме: With reference to 81 film reviews written by critics from the US, the UK, Australia, Ireland, India, Canada, Cyprus, China and Singapore, this article examines the critical reception of Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York during a time when his private life was under renewed scrutiny. It contributes to cultural sociological debates on taste and aesthetic value by examining various dimensions of the critics’ evaluative judgements, drawing attention to field-specific aesthetic criteria, which refer to the state of play in the field of cinema, and ethical or value-oriented judgements, which have their origin beyond this field and refer to allegations against him. But the article does more than this: In adapting insights from Georg Simmel’s notion of objective culture, the analysis of the reviews, many of which are negative, alludes to a temporal dimension, drawing attention to the aesthetic value that has accumulated to Allen’s work over the decades, deriving from institutional cultural capital, countless positive reviews and the utterances of fans. The article offers insights into the critical reception of the film in the moment and the longer game of aesthetic value accrual but also highlights the uncertain future of this body of aesthetic value, especially given the allegations against Allen.

Abstract: With reference to 81 film reviews written by critics from the US, the UK, Australia, Ireland, India, Canada, Cyprus, China and Singapore, this article examines the critical reception of Woody Allen’s A Rainy Day in New York during a time when his private life was under renewed scrutiny. It contributes to cultural sociological debates on taste and aesthetic value by examining various dimensions of the critics’ evaluative judgements, drawing attention to field-specific aesthetic criteria, which refer to the state of play in the field of cinema, and ethical or value-oriented judgements, which have their origin beyond this field and refer to allegations against him. But the article does more than this: In adapting insights from Georg Simmel’s notion of objective culture, the analysis of the reviews, many of which are negative, alludes to a temporal dimension, drawing attention to the aesthetic value that has accumulated to Allen’s work over the decades, deriving from institutional cultural capital, countless positive reviews and the utterances of fans. The article offers insights into the critical reception of the film in the moment and the longer game of aesthetic value accrual but also highlights the uncertain future of this body of aesthetic value, especially given the allegations against Allen.

Резюме: The paper analyses the results of a survey conducted in January–February 2023 as an online questionnaire among members of the Bulgarian film community. It aimed to measure the attitudes of filmmakers from different professions towards gender inequality in the Bulgarian film industry. The content of the questionnaire and its format were based on a similar survey conducted by the European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA). Of interest were the subjective attitudes of the participants, so no prior knowledge of existing data related to the topic was required. The total number of respondents to the questionnaire was 132. Of these, 85 were women, and the remaining 47 were men. Representatives of all major film professions, including film critics, participated in the survey. The analysis of the results revealed the national specificity of the problem, presented in this paper from a European comparative perspective and in comparison with other national studies on gender inequalities. The main takeaway was that it was the responsibility of the state institutions (in this case, the National Film Centre) to secure gender equality in creative and professional development.

Abstract: The paper analyses the results of a survey conducted in January–February 2023 as an online questionnaire among members of the Bulgarian film community. It aimed to measure the attitudes of filmmakers from different professions towards gender inequality in the Bulgarian film industry. The content of the questionnaire and its format were based on a similar survey conducted by the European Women’s Audiovisual Network (EWA). Of interest were the subjective attitudes of the participants, so no prior knowledge of existing data related to the topic was required. The total number of respondents to the questionnaire was 132. Of these, 85 were women, and the remaining 47 were men. Representatives of all major film professions, including film critics, participated in the survey. The analysis of the results revealed the national specificity of the problem, presented in this paper from a European comparative perspective and in comparison with other national studies on gender inequalities. The main takeaway was that it was the responsibility of the state institutions (in this case, the National Film Centre) to secure gender equality in creative and professional development.

Резюме: Out of a long-standing interest in the perception of public art, a lockdown project involving students, and an ongoing quest for data-visualisation tools, a project was born. After collecting information about more than 250 monuments from across Romania and creating a digital interactive pilot map of the ones in Cluj-Napoca, reaching some interesting (yet not altogether surprising) conclusions there was a desire to compare and contrast how Romania’s monuments fare in comparison to those of other countries in the region. This is a particularly useful exercise considering the rather superficial yet well-known similarities of the former Communist Bloc paralleled with the many cultural, ethnic, and religious differences and nationalistic discourses of the countries involved. The crowdsourcing call for monuments profited from Erasmus+ mobilities and conferences in the region as well as from Contested Histories – an initiative of the EuroClio network, albeit with variable degrees of success. As a 2-in-1 approach, surveys were also designed to find out more about people’s preferences when it comes to public monuments and their current use in contemporary everyday life. By dipping into pedagogy, Digital Humanities, and sociological methods this project seeks to unveil both the desirable and the less fortunate narratives of art in public spaces.

Abstract: Out of a long-standing interest in the perception of public art, a lockdown project involving students, and an ongoing quest for data-visualisation tools, a project was born. After collecting information about more than 250 monuments from across Romania and creating a digital interactive pilot map of the ones in Cluj-Napoca, reaching some interesting (yet not altogether surprising) conclusions there was a desire to compare and contrast how Romania’s monuments fare in comparison to those of other countries in the region. This is a particularly useful exercise considering the rather superficial yet well-known similarities of the former Communist Bloc paralleled with the many cultural, ethnic, and religious differences and nationalistic discourses of the countries involved. The crowdsourcing call for monuments profited from Erasmus+ mobilities and conferences in the region as well as from Contested Histories – an initiative of the EuroClio network, albeit with variable degrees of success. As a 2-in-1 approach, surveys were also designed to find out more about people’s preferences when it comes to public monuments and their current use in contemporary everyday life. By dipping into pedagogy, Digital Humanities, and sociological methods this project seeks to unveil both the desirable and the less fortunate narratives of art in public spaces.

Резюме: Scholars of cultural globalisation overwhelmingly agree that cultural exchanges, albeit asymmetrical and sometimes contested, have increased during the last four decades. Literature is by no means the exception and with the increase in translations, there has been a growing interest on behalf of scholars and policy makers in understanding the mechanisms and the actors behind literary circulation. This study builds on some of the previous research about translators’ habitus, routines and job satisfaction and expands on the existing literature by presenting empirical data on the common dispositions, routines, ethos and problems shared by European literary translators. This analysis draws from the social movements’ literature, particularly from the concept of ‘radical habitus’ to theoretically frame the findings. The study presents the shared characteristics and also explores how the structural positions of source and target language, market sizes, and cultural policies also shape the conditions under which translators work. Based on 69 semi-structured interviews with European writers, translators, publishers, literary agents and consultants, this paper sheds light on the figure of the literary translator: their status in the field, their struggles, strategies and mechanisms for accumulating capital. The analysis suggests that the figure of the translator is regarded as a highly educated individual whose high cultural capital is not matched by their (relatively low) financial capital. The activity of translators was often located at an intersection between artistic creation, literary expertise and cultural mediation and it was defined as a challenging and important job but also one which faces threats from the market and technology.

Abstract: Scholars of cultural globalisation overwhelmingly agree that cultural exchanges, albeit asymmetrical and sometimes contested, have increased during the last four decades. Literature is by no means the exception and with the increase in translations, there has been a growing interest on behalf of scholars and policy makers in understanding the mechanisms and the actors behind literary circulation. This study builds on some of the previous research about translators’ habitus, routines and job satisfaction and expands on the existing literature by presenting empirical data on the common dispositions, routines, ethos and problems shared by European literary translators. This analysis draws from the social movements’ literature, particularly from the concept of ‘radical habitus’ to theoretically frame the findings. The study presents the shared characteristics and also explores how the structural positions of source and target language, market sizes, and cultural policies also shape the conditions under which translators work. Based on 69 semi-structured interviews with European writers, translators, publishers, literary agents and consultants, this paper sheds light on the figure of the literary translator: their status in the field, their struggles, strategies and mechanisms for accumulating capital. The analysis suggests that the figure of the translator is regarded as a highly educated individual whose high cultural capital is not matched by their (relatively low) financial capital. The activity of translators was often located at an intersection between artistic creation, literary expertise and cultural mediation and it was defined as a challenging and important job but also one which faces threats from the market and technology.

Резюме: The university has traditionally been a cornerstone of a nation’s artistic and cultural life through its education of professional artists and cultural workers, the bildung of an interested audience capable of apprehending its products, and functioning as a hotbed of avant-garde cultural appropriation and experimentation. In the last twenty years, this role has been challenged by an increasing and more socially varied recruitment of students, a changing educational landscape, massive university reforms and the digitalisation of cultural goods. How has this changed students’ relationship with the world of art and high culture? Using a series of surveys from the second largest city in Norway in 1998 (N=1113), 2008 (N=1223) and 2020 (N=1589), the analysis paints a broad picture of the importance of social class to understand students varying integration into the cultural field (their culturalisation). The results suggest that students’ educational mobility and cultural lifestyles are increasingly weighted down by their social inheritance. At the same time, they appear increasingly detached from the national field of art and its products.

Abstract: The university has traditionally been a cornerstone of a nation’s artistic and cultural life through its education of professional artists and cultural workers, the bildung of an interested audience capable of apprehending its products, and functioning as a hotbed of avant-garde cultural appropriation and experimentation. In the last twenty years, this role has been challenged by an increasing and more socially varied recruitment of students, a changing educational landscape, massive university reforms and the digitalisation of cultural goods. How has this changed students’ relationship with the world of art and high culture? Using a series of surveys from the second largest city in Norway in 1998 (N=1113), 2008 (N=1223) and 2020 (N=1589), the analysis paints a broad picture of the importance of social class to understand students varying integration into the cultural field (their culturalisation). The results suggest that students’ educational mobility and cultural lifestyles are increasingly weighted down by their social inheritance. At the same time, they appear increasingly detached from the national field of art and its products.

Резюме: Roundtable Discussion, which took place in the Symposium “New Perspectives and Interventions: The State of Play in Cultural Sociology and Sociology of The Arts”, at Sofia University on September 2nd, 2023.

Abstract: Roundtable Discussion, which took place in the Symposium “New Perspectives and Interventions: The State of Play in Cultural Sociology and Sociology of The Arts”, at Sofia University on September 2nd, 2023.

Резюме: A Review of the Book of Anna Lisa Tota Eco-words. The Ecology of Conversation, London: Routledge, 2023

Abstract: A Review of the Book of Anna Lisa Tota Eco-words. The Ecology of Conversation, London: Routledge, 2023

Abstract: This study employs an innovative approach to untangle the intricate web of science dialogue in Bulgarian online forums, providing insights into the societal patterns that influence these discussions. Using advanced topic modelling techniques, we meticulously map the dominant topics that emerge from Bulgarian online forum discussions, revealing how science is intertwined with the everyday lives and interests of the population. Our research extends beyond the digital domain a representative survey to explore the socio-demographic nuances of the individuals involved in these science conversations. By categorising participants according to their birth cohort, we explore generational perspectives on science. Similarly, we dissect the discourse through the prism of social class, describing how education, income, and occupation shape engagement in scientific dialogue. Trust in institutions emerges as a key axis in our analysis, shedding light on how different levels of trust in societal structures influence the nature and tone of scientific discussions. We also explore the ideological underpinnings of these conversations, examining how personal beliefs and values steer the discourse in different directions. Through a comparative analysis using pseudo-R-squared values, we delineate the explanatory power of each factor – birth cohorts, social class, trust in institutions, and beliefs providing a nuanced understanding of the forces that animate science dialogue in Bulgarian online forums. Our findings not only provide a detailed view of the current state of science communication in Bulgaria but also illuminate the broader societal dynamics at play. By linking online discussions on science with demographic realities, this study contributes valuable insights into the complex interplay between science communication, public engagement, and societal factors, paving the way for informed strategies to promote a more enlightened and inclusive science discourse in Bulgaria.

Резюме: The article discusses the relationship between the researcher’s external (ethical) and applied (internal/emic) positions towards the subject of the study based on the introduction of the so-called (educational) design research from a theoretical-methodological perspective. Regardless of the researcher’s aim and in that case, dual roles – the scientific-cognitive viewpoint (theoretical) and the practical-applied one – complement one another. In design research, as an epistemological genre, these two viewpoints are taken simultaneously throughout the research. The key features are, first and foremost, the dual aim and the ongoing ad hoc updates in the decisions; second, the iterative nature of the process; and third, the ongoing involvement of the researcher as a practitioner with a specific assignment and the frequent direct engagement of stakeholders from the practice field (education) in the research procedures and analysis. This introduction of Educational Design Research and its methodological specifics is based on the author’s experience within a three-year doctoral study with the methodology implemented for the first time in Bulgaria in the context of higher education with a brief discussion of procedures or results.

Abstract: The article discusses the relationship between the researcher’s external (ethical) and applied (internal/emic) positions towards the subject of the study based on the introduction of the so-called (educational) design research from a theoretical-methodological perspective. Regardless of the researcher’s aim and in that case, dual roles – the scientific-cognitive viewpoint (theoretical) and the practical-applied one – complement one another. In design research, as an epistemological genre, these two viewpoints are taken simultaneously throughout the research. The key features are, first and foremost, the dual aim and the ongoing ad hoc updates in the decisions; second, the iterative nature of the process; and third, the ongoing involvement of the researcher as a practitioner with a specific assignment and the frequent direct engagement of stakeholders from the practice field (education) in the research procedures and analysis. This introduction of Educational Design Research and its methodological specifics is based on the author’s experience within a three-year doctoral study with the methodology implemented for the first time in Bulgaria in the context of higher education with a brief discussion of procedures or results.

Резюме: The article traces the organisational dynamics that arise when a new outcome-reporting method is introduced in a membership-based organisation supporting vulnerable informal workers. First, the text clarifies Ricardo Wilson-Grau’s approach and the CLEAR approach to describing results in a framework for representing organisational actions. The article then explores how Luc Boltanski’s concept of “critical judgement” contributes to understanding the challenges inherent in this process. The text emphasizes the importance of critical dispositions and analysis of results, in the sociological perspective of emancipation. Through Boltanski’s ideas, the third part considers the results of participant observation illuminating how organizational members justify their actions to conceptualize, plan and report them as outcomes. Boltanski’s concept helps to understand impact holistically, beyond the result as a completed task (output, i.e. a manufactured product, a printed brochure, an organised event etc.) to the manifestation of a change for the target groups of organizational efforts. An emancipatory perspective shifts the focus from individual effort to actual change for the common good, presenting obstacles and opportunities.

Abstract: The article traces the organisational dynamics that arise when a new outcome-reporting method is introduced in a membership-based organisation supporting vulnerable informal workers. First, the text clarifies Ricardo Wilson-Grau’s approach and the CLEAR approach to describing results in a framework for representing organisational actions. The article then explores how Luc Boltanski’s concept of “critical judgement” contributes to understanding the challenges inherent in this process. The text emphasizes the importance of critical dispositions and analysis of results, in the sociological perspective of emancipation. Through Boltanski’s ideas, the third part considers the results of participant observation illuminating how organizational members justify their actions to conceptualize, plan and report them as outcomes. Boltanski’s concept helps to understand impact holistically, beyond the result as a completed task (output, i.e. a manufactured product, a printed brochure, an organised event etc.) to the manifestation of a change for the target groups of organizational efforts. An emancipatory perspective shifts the focus from individual effort to actual change for the common good, presenting obstacles and opportunities.

Резюме: My observations of the school environment as a student, later as a parent and a teacher have provoked various questions. How do social and political changes affect children’s school behaviour? What are the reasons for the significant differences between the generations before and after the Millennium? Who is responsible for the future of generations? Searching for answers to these questions coincided with the launch of ChatGPT – the first Open AI model. As an example of authority without responsibility, it is used in this article to test its responses to the question “Who is responsible for the future of education?”. These responses are compared to data and conclusions from recent reports by the OECD, World Bank and UNICEF and examined through Hannah Arendt’s perspectives on the crisis in education. Although her observations are based on the educational system in the USA about 70 years ago, they reveal the reasons for many existing issues in the field and provide sources for a critical reflection on them. Such a reflection is essential to build connections between generations, between humans and technologies, and between the past and the future of the world.

Abstract: My observations of the school environment as a student, later as a parent and a teacher have provoked various questions. How do social and political changes affect children’s school behaviour? What are the reasons for the significant differences between the generations before and after the Millennium? Who is responsible for the future of generations? Searching for answers to these questions coincided with the launch of ChatGPT – the first Open AI model. As an example of authority without responsibility, it is used in this article to test its responses to the question “Who is responsible for the future of education?”. These responses are compared to data and conclusions from recent reports by the OECD, World Bank and UNICEF and examined through Hannah Arendt’s perspectives on the crisis in education. Although her observations are based on the educational system in the USA about 70 years ago, they reveal the reasons for many existing issues in the field and provide sources for a critical reflection on them. Such a reflection is essential to build connections between generations, between humans and technologies, and between the past and the future of the world.

Резюме: This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly discussion on the importance and practical applicability of social justice perspectives when studying the effects or outcomes of modern higher education. It analyses context-specific experiences and perceptions of higher education students through Axel Honneth’s more general notion of misrecognition and Miranda Fricker’s concept of epistemic injustice. Data comes from semi-structured interviews with a cohort of full-time first-year students in medicine and pedagogy at three Bulgarian higher education institutions and complementary academic staff accounts of student experiences. The analysis reveals patterns of academic structure and practice as linked to misrecognition or dysfunctional relations of recognition as well as to instances of systemic testimonial and hermeneutical disrespect or injustice. Selected experiences are discussed from the critical perspective of both theories in order to identify and characterise potential deficiencies, interventions needed in the higher education institutions’ organisational and institutional environment, or the conditions they provide for student self-formation.

Abstract: This article aims to contribute to the ongoing scholarly discussion on the importance and practical applicability of social justice perspectives when studying the effects or outcomes of modern higher education. It analyses context-specific experiences and perceptions of higher education students through Axel Honneth’s more general notion of misrecognition and Miranda Fricker’s concept of epistemic injustice. Data comes from semi-structured interviews with a cohort of full-time first-year students in medicine and pedagogy at three Bulgarian higher education institutions and complementary academic staff accounts of student experiences. The analysis reveals patterns of academic structure and practice as linked to misrecognition or dysfunctional relations of recognition as well as to instances of systemic testimonial and hermeneutical disrespect or injustice. Selected experiences are discussed from the critical perspective of both theories in order to identify and characterise potential deficiencies, interventions needed in the higher education institutions’ organisational and institutional environment, or the conditions they provide for student self-formation.

Резюме: The processes of disaffection with mainstream politics and the rise of radical nationalist parties (2007–2017) created political opportunities for the emergence of anti-gender campaigns in Bulgaria. They unfolded in two stages: during the first stage, with the attacks against the Istanbul Convention in 2018, a discursive change was in effect that opened political opportunities for new conservative politics; while during the second stage, with the attacks against the National Strategy for the Child in 2019–2020, new actors emerged mobilizing around conservative values in the form a grassroots movement. Political figures with strong institutional positions engineered the anti-gender discourse and formulated a program aiming to construct a new normality around “the sanctity of the family”. In resonance with the political discourse, a grassroots movement appeared in 2019. Dismantling the welfare state and backsliding in family-orientated institutional policies also provoked resistance.

Abstract: The processes of disaffection with mainstream politics and the rise of radical nationalist parties (2007–2017) created political opportunities for the emergence of anti-gender campaigns in Bulgaria. They unfolded in two stages: during the first stage, with the attacks against the Istanbul Convention in 2018, a discursive change was in effect that opened political opportunities for new conservative politics; while during the second stage, with the attacks against the National Strategy for the Child in 2019–2020, new actors emerged mobilizing around conservative values in the form a grassroots movement. Political figures with strong institutional positions engineered the anti-gender discourse and formulated a program aiming to construct a new normality around “the sanctity of the family”. In resonance with the political discourse, a grassroots movement appeared in 2019. Dismantling the welfare state and backsliding in family-orientated institutional policies also provoked resistance.

Резюме: Without vulnerabilities in the labour market, there will be no possibilities for their exploitation. Labour exploitation has gained more popularity in recent years in Europe. This article explores the vulnerabilities which lead to labour exploitation and aims to systemise them and make them more visible for further use in the prevention effort in this field. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with low-skilled Bulgarian migrants in EU countries and expert interviews with relevant stakeholders.

Abstract: Without vulnerabilities in the labour market, there will be no possibilities for their exploitation. Labour exploitation has gained more popularity in recent years in Europe. This article explores the vulnerabilities which lead to labour exploitation and aims to systemise them and make them more visible for further use in the prevention effort in this field. The analysis is based on qualitative interviews with low-skilled Bulgarian migrants in EU countries and expert interviews with relevant stakeholders.

Резюме: A Review of the Book of Nadège Ragaru, “And So the Bulgarian Jews Were Saved…”. A History of Knowledges About Holocaust in Bulgaria, Sofia: Critique and Humanism Publishing House, 2022, 514 pp., in Bulgarian

Abstract: A Review of the Book of Nadège Ragaru, “And So the Bulgarian Jews Were Saved…”. A History of Knowledges About Holocaust in Bulgaria, Sofia: Critique and Humanism Publishing House, 2022, 514 pp., in Bulgarian