aktuálne čítanie [SK: current reading]

Prague was pretty back in 2013. 

Now that I spend some of my time (not enough, it feels) reading articles for my thesis, I have come across a lot of interesting texts. There are two academics/writers that I would like to mention here.

Firstly, Jürgen Habermas. Anyone having anything to do with social sciences will have heard about this man, he's one of the most known scholars in Europe today. His theories on the public sphere, democracy and communicative action are fascinating. He also has a great deal to say about the European Union.

Habermas on post-democratic Europe ->
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/nov/10/jurgen-habermas-europe-post-democratic

A comment on Habermas ->  http://www.thenation.com/article/168819/good-european-juergen-habermas

The second person, whose work I have been reading with great interest, is a Czech academic (hence the lovely photo from Prague) called Jiří Přibáň. His work includes topics such as the EU, the constitutional state, rule of law and post-communist Europe. 

An interview with Jiří Přibáň on the state of Europe -> http://www.radio.cz/en/section/books/jiri-priban-europe-needs-more-conflict

Dissertation: the Topic

Natalie wanted me to write a little bit more about my dissertation, so I have decided to dedicate a few posts to it.

I will start by introducing my topic.

Law and Society in Post-Communist Central Eastern Europe: Poland, Slovakia and Russia .

As you know, I’m studying sociology of law at the University of Lund in Sweden. Sociology of law deals with the relationship between law and other institutions and actors in society. I’m personally mostly interested in the interaction between people, law and politics.

When reading an article* written by one of my professors, I stumbled upon the following paragraph;

”The transition from a communist to a capitalist oriented industrial society in Eastern Europe and in the former Soviet Republic represents the same kind of tensions between the old rules of the game and a new play with a new script. These countries might face a situation where the society, the horizontal dimension, has shifted while the legal logic in the vertical dimension has not undergone the same changes.” (p. 20).

And the little nerd in my head rejoiced. Eastern Europe – yay. Former Soviet Republic – yay. This was a way for me to combine the study of the societies I like the most with a nice mix of sociology, some law and some politics. Why keep it simple?

This is a complex topic because on the one hand I need to find out what the people think and on the one hand, I need to know what the law says. And none of these two is simple. But it is very, very fascinating.  Basically – what I want to find out is whether the law fulfills the expectations that society places upon it. The reason I picked these specific countries is that they all share a piece of common history even though they are very different.

Stay tuned for more

 

* Contributions in Sociology of Law: remarks from a Swedish Horizon. Lund Studies in Sociology of Law; 29. Lund: Sociology of Law, Lund University. 2008 – available here https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/publication/1177637

dva dni, tri dni

Two days from now will be the last day of living here in Bratislava. Three days from now I will already be in Stockholm.

The past few days have been hectic, with a lot of packing and goodbyes. I feel overwhelmed and somewhat melancholic. The experience here in Bratislava has been fantastic.

I will probably try to sum up the whole experience in separate posts. However, one thing I can say now already. Since a very young age I have been attracted to Central and Eastern Europe. While living here I have been very much inspired by people and by stories. It’s a different type of inspiration that I ever experienced at “home”. In fact, most of these stories I want to write down.

The name of this blog will probably need to change. The stories will no longer be from Bratislava. Will need to think about that. Any suggestions?

Walking Abroad

So. This is what my facebook status read just a moment ago:

“This morning I woke up with a sudden urge to go abroad. So, after the morning coffee, I put on my running shoes and walked to Austria. It is geeky indeed, but there's just something so very cool about being able to walk abroad (even though it's just around the corner!)” A great walk it was, as well.

Click on photos to make them bigger.

Key Word For Autumn 2012: Change

Autumn 2012 is going to be all about change. No matter how (un)realistic it feels, the truth is that the next two days and three nights will fly because they will be filled with packing, assignments, goodbyes and running around like a headless chicken. No matter how (un)realistic it feels, the city where I wake up on Monday morning will be my home town for the foreseeable future. I will be moving to a country where I’ve only been once. For one day.

Autumn 2012 will be about adjusting to a new country, a new language and a new culture. It will be about getting to know people and new work routines. At the same time, a great deal of  energy and effort will be given to things I know and love – working out, languages, reading and studying. And the travelling – one cannot move to Central Europe without going on trips to all these wonderful places that are right around the corner.

Superficially speaking, autumn 2012 will be colourful. cosy and cool. I’m thinking about silk, wool and leather, red and grey, coffee shops, parks, early mornings, sunshine, hot tea, sarcasm, books in ridiculously great amounts and a lot of philosophising. It should be good!

n. The condition or state in which humans exist in a meaningless, irrational universe wherein people's lives have no purpose or meaning.

The local library deserves a big kiss for making my day on several occasions in the past few weeks. A Yugoslav Nobel laureate in literature, a Russo-Canadian writing about fools, a couple of Czechs writing exciting short stories, and yet another Yugoslav who would have received the Nobel Prize, had he not died before the ceremony.

Each of these books cost me 80 eurocents, although I’m sure they are worth much more since they are bound to, in all their Slavonic absurdity and beauty, provide me with lots of fantastic moments. 
The only downside is that they are all translations, but then again, you can’t have it all, especially not for 4 euro.

C’est l’amour!

Yesterday I took a little trip to the book store to look for something nice to read.It turned out to be a most fruitful journey. Unfortunately. Fnac had almost all the books in the Penguin Central European Classics collection. Meaning that I had a great moment of indecisiveness. Which one to choose when you have about 6-7 central European novels at hand, all of which seem extremely promising. At the end I settled for Life is a Dream, a collection of short stories by Hungarian writer Gyula Krúdy:

Life is a Dream (1931) is Gyula Krudy's magical collection of ten short stories. Creating a world where editors shoot themselves after a hard day's brunching, men attend duels incognito and lovers fall out over salad dressing, Life is a Dream is a comic, nostalgic, romantic and erotic glimpse into the Hungary of the early twentieth century. Focussing on the poor and dispossessed, these tales of love, food, death and sex are ironic and wise about the human condition and the futility of life, and display fully Krudy's wit and mastery of the form. http://www.penguinclassics.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780141193038,00.html

The next time, however, I’ll buy the books online, it'll be cheaper that way.