INTERCULTURALITY IN . SOCIAL PRACTICES AND MEMORIAL RECONSTRUCTION

Regional conference 22 November 2013, Timişoara AGENDA

Interculturality in Banat. Kirwei - an identity celebration Social practices and memorial reconstruction Case Studies Regional Conference 22nd of November 2013 Central University Library " Eugen Todoran " Lidia Stefanescu Bd. Vasile Pârvan nr. 4A, Timișoara Student Hour Program Place Faculty of Letters, History and Theology 9.00- Registration Library Main 9.30 Entrance 9.30- Field Documentation on Interculturality – discussions Timișoara 12.30 with representatives of minorities in Banat (Serbian The first fieldwork I have attended, aimed to observe the forms community, Ukrainian community, Bulgarian through which the identity and memory of the Banat Germans are still community) preserved. Done during 2012 and 2013, it was the continuation of studies 12.30- Socializing coffee Library Main done 15 years ago, which could be a basis for comparison in analyzing the 13.00 Entrance changes that occur . An element often present in the Germans discourse at that time of how it was and how it is the kirwei. Do they retain the identity 13:00- Library even if the needs of the society are changing continuously ? Does the Kirwei 13.30 Welcome introductions Auditorium change ? Conf. univ. dr. Vasile Docea, Central University Differences between the two villages that represented the field work library „Eugen Todoran”, Manager area are to be observed from their geographical location, in the Banat Dr. Vladimir Vasiljev, Public Library „Zarko mountains or plains. Gărâna ( Caras -Severin ) is one of the villages founded ” Serbija, Manager by the German "Pems " settled in the early 19th century for forestry . Now 13.30- Library there are 23 residents in a zone that has become a tourist one, a holiday 14:30 Keynote speaker Auditorium village. Becicherecu Mic ( Timis County) had a majority population of  Conf.dr. Smaranda Vultur - Interculturality in German ethnics until the mid 20th century, but there were Romanian , Banat. Social practices and memorial Serbian and Hungarian communities too. Ethnic diversity is still preserved , reconstruction but in other quotas. Romanians are the majority in terms of numbers , the other nationalities come down to a few families . 14:30- Lunch & Coffee break Library Office The common element that defines the Germans settled in Banat stays 15:00 the Kirwei. Originally the role was to shape the identity in a multiethnic 15:00- Library area, but there was an interruption in achieving the celebration. It was 17:00 Session Auditorium resumed after 90 years, as a result of community involvement , but it was Lector dr. Simona Adam - Capitalizing the local not enough. Villages with reduced, aged population received support from and regional memorial sources in intercultural those working in Germany, from Romanians , but also from NGOs . Now the education roles of Kirwei are different ; the intercultural character has become Asist.dr. Nicoleta Mușat - „Decât că religia. Tăt dominant. It is also a good opportunity for social integration and also pământ îi” – About differences and afiliations political. Romanians participate actively in the creation of the celebration, in Crivina de Sus they learn about what it meant to be German in this space, so taking the Claudia Rachici, museograph- The image of the role of the transmitter of memory. The Kirwei remains a link with the past, Romanian as seen by the German . Discovery of but it is in constant transformation, a form of adaptation to the needs of the other . society. Lidia Ștefănescu - Kirvai – An identity celebration. Case studies. 17:00- Discussion Library 18:00 Auditorium , traditional costumes, architecture , psychology and lifestyle . Part of the Dear participants , information are refering to facts and descriptions of objects : traditional costumes, customs, dances, architecture, but nothing is shown for the The objectives of cross-border project entitled "The role of libraries in picturesque sake, all the details of life are seen objectively , discovering strengthening regional identity and social cohesion ", implemented by the the value of reality. The image of the Romanians as seen by the Schott Central University Library " Eugen Todoran " in Timisoara, , in brothers does not lead to a conventional one, the Romanian for them is not partnership with the Library " Zarko Zrenjanin " Zrenjanin , , during an idealized or generic characters, but characters that are lively, real . In December 2012 - May 2014 include the organization of several thematic some cases, Arthur not only finds, but also advances hypotheses aimed , not conferences . The first, on " Regional identity and social cohesion " already to justify, but to facilitate the understanding of ethnic traits . held on October 24, 2013 was attended by over 30 experts from France, Although the obvious sympathy do not shields the unconcessive lucidity, Germany, Serbia and Romania, belonging to various subject areas : and stands for the close emotional bond of the Schott brothers to the anthropology, biblioteconomy, history, political science , sociology. people of Vlach , whom they see as a cheerful and hospitable people with men, hardworking women, with a particular social attitude regarding the The second conference , that we are organising on 22 November 2012, is community, with customs, legends and tales referring to the origins of called "Interculturality in Banat. Social practices and memorial peoples and negative parts of which could be understood in terms of reconstruction". This time, we propose an approach of Banat identity from oppressions endured. the perspective of cultural anthropology . Specialists in the field of cultural .Besides the unaltered scheme of the collected tales from villages in Banat, studies ( Smaranda Vultur, Simona Adam, Nicoleta Musat, Claudia Rachici the Schott brothers give us a picturesque and stylish image with personal and Lydia Stefanescu ) highlight through their communications, various touches but alsoa socially and culturally filtered image of the German aspects and implications of cross-cultural identity : the celebration of our intellectuals that lived in middle of the 19th century, a documentary image past practices, educational models, mutual images, traditions and festive of the Vlachs . events. We will publish the papers presented at the two conferences so that their content is accessible not only to participants, but to all those interested in issues of regional identity in general, especially of those regarding Banat .

Vasile Docea Director General of the Central University Library " Eugen Todoran " Timișoara Banat Region - Multiculturality , Ethnic Minorities, Multiconfesionalism

Abstract The Image of the Romanian as seen by the Germans. Vladimir Vasiljev Discovery of the Other. Director Public City Library "Zarko Zrenjanin' Zrenjanin

Claudia Rachici Banat is the region defined by the most diverse cultural, linguistic, national and religious Curator characteristics. In Banat region exist the following national communities: Serbian, Museum Resita Hungarian, Romanian, German, Slovak, Hungarian, Hebrew, Russian, etc. Identities and cultures are visible in space, through architecture and landscape, and time, through different means of artistic creations. Basme valahe ( Romanian title of the work Walachische Märchen ) of Cultural development of Banat could be followed since the prehistoric till modern times Arthur and Albert Schott , appeared in 1845, published by Cotta Publishing (buildings since Neolithic period, churches of all confessions, famous buildings in cities and House of Stuttgart and Tübingen, was included in the European circuit as the main source of information of Romanian folk narratives. This is the first villages, a.s.o). Visual arts were developing since the old times as the need for cultural collection of Romanian folklore, the first work through which the Romanian expression (frescoes, paintings, plastic arts…). In modern times, through galeries, artistic folk epic prose arouses interest of foreigners because it is published in a colonies and different ways of gathering, this kind of art is institutionalized. The literature language of wide circulation . is also very developed, from the oldest books and manuscripts to modern literature. There Of the two authors, Arthur Schott is the collector of stories ( during his is also very developed network of cultural institutions for keeping and protection of years in Banat, in the mountainous area of Almaj mine , ( 1836-1841 and written heritage (libraries, archives, museums, etc). Theatres, choirs and different ethnic 1844-1859 ) as an employee -estate administrator on the Bissingen estate, cultural centres also contribute to the development and promotion of all different Iam village, living also in the Oraviţa mining center ) and Albert Schott traditions in the area of Banat in order to strengthen the social and economic cohesion of historian and lingvist , processes the collected texts by Arthur and brings all communities. the historical, geographical , economic , ethnographic documentations , and paying attention to the Latin origin of the Romanian people and its language and Daco -Roman continuity north of Danube .

Like all travelers, the Schott brothers judge the world in terms of the values of their own world, lies also in the constellation pattern of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm brothers which gives their work a slightly mythologized interpretation, romantic additions and a certain stylistic manner used in playing folk texts. In an age where identity is defined mainly through demarcation of others, labeling underpinned by ignoring qualities and the discovery of , the other " ( which in this case is distinct form an ethnic, linguistic , religious , dressing code, food point of view is part of a another community that does not have the status of civilized and has a different set of features and concepts ) often leads to stereopii , labeling the other as different , different meaning strange" , , , defect " or if the geographical distance criterion appears , they go to clichés , exotic ' or' wild ' . Not applicable to Schott brothers, although outsiders, perceive and accept the difference as motivated. The Schott brothers work opens in the Introduction of Wallachians as a nation with details regarding life in Banat, with the description of dialects „Decât că religia. Tăt pământ îi” – Interculturality in Banat. Social Practices and Memorial About differences and afiliations in Crivina de Sus Reconstruction Abstract Abstract

Nicoleta Muşat Conf.dr. Smaranda Vultur PhD. Univ. assist. Director of the Interdisciplinary Center of Regional Studies Facultatea de Litere , Istorie și Teologie Universitatea de Vest Timişoara

This presentation is based on field research concerning funerary practices, made during 15 to 25 July 2013, with subsequent revisitings during the last two months in the village of Crivina de Sus , Pietroasa The conference that I am proposing is discussing about interculturalism in Comune, Timis County. Banat not as a given fact , but through interrogating the discourse which is constructed in the memory as a lived experience and opportunity for Located at the boundary between the counties of Timis and Hunedoara , reflection. Usually when it is refering to Banat , interculturalism is regarded Crivina de Sus is distinguished by the fact here is the oldest wooden church as a direct consequence of ethnic diversity and, rarely, of religious in Banat, the church dedicated to "St. Parascheva "brought in the village varieties. They discuss it either as a mixture or a conglomeration of many from Ilia , over four centuries ago. A small community of about two diverse ethnic groups ,or of the media and social practices that activates hundred people with interesting life stories , lives in Crivina . The village is ethnic contact more and intercultural dialogue less. The differences divided into Orthodox ( a minority - about 25%) and Pentecostal (majority - between the two theoretical perspectives have implications that require a about 75%) , a fact which led me to believe that the research could be refinement of the concept and oscillate between discussing the difficult, since religion Neoprotestant religion do not like popular beliefs phenomenon of the cultural interference in terms of multiculturalism, the and practices . We found a continuous play of registers, a tacit negotiation interculturality. between the Orthodox rite , the Neoprotestant and the popular ( the latter seems to be in control ) , a dialogue which I consider not only internalized Valeriu Leu saw it as a phenomenon situated in history, speaking of it in ecumenism, but interculturality in its most vivid and expressive form. terms of becoming, of an evolution of the co- existence ( living together in the same space ) to cohabitation ( assuming that living as a way to share The presentation aims to analyze at the discourse level, the relationships common norms and values ) . Field experience shows that sometimes the that are created between community members, whether Orthodox or two models are present together arising directly from opening / closing Neoprotestants, the choices they make, the identities they assume or relationships of the studied communities that structure their relationship decline , depending on the context in which they occur, from the way they regarding the otherness . These show that shapes of the ethnic borders are relate to death and burial. I am interested in Crivina community also often related to identity competitions , but that identity boundaries because I 'd like to know how the representatives of it relates to the culture projections are not necessarily of an ethnic profile . We therefore sought to of the researcher, what type of links the community believes it should address cultural phenomenon from the field to the theory and practice of establish with the researcher. social interactions and to define the areas and ways to produce intercultural dialogue. Our premise is that interculturalism is a larger or more complex phenomenon than interethnic and when we talk about intercultural we operate with a certain concept of culture that is not necessarily focused on the ethnocultural . direct result of the multi-ethnic profile of the region studied ( Banat ) is reflected in the content of the interviews . We wanted to facilitate the youth access to this archive by digitizing Capitalizing the Local and regional Memorial Sources in it. www.memoriabanatului.ro site allows the access to a database that Intercultural Education contains information about each interview in the archive . Interview data sheet includes interview ( date of completion , duration, name of Simona Adam interviewer , information about publishing ) , data about the respondent ( PhD Lecturer year of birth, gender, ethnicity , religion, etc. . ) And then are inventoried Faculty of Letters, History and Theology topics being discussed in the interview and documents attached thereto. West University Timișoara

Recovering the past is a vital part of the process of social change , and the comparative analysis of the various processes and social phenomena allows a deeper understanding of the social reality of the new generation. www.memoriabanatului.ro and www.memoriatimisoarei.ro are sites created by research teams from the University of West, Timisoara within two projects carried out under the coordination of Smaranda Vultur . The two sites represent a bibliographic and documentary source on the theme of history and memory of Timisoara and Banat region , and also a valuable resource for those interested in various aspects of social life : family life, education, ethnic relations , regional history and so on . At the same time , they illustrate how different ethnic and religious communities in Banat have interacted over time , how they built their identity in relation to others and how this model of interculturality, specific for the region of Banat has formed.

Sites make available to a wide audience a rich documentary material . We have proposed in these projects linking online using complex databases of several existing archives in Timisoara : the folklore archive of the West University of Timisoara, Oral History Archive of the" Third Europe " Foundation Timisoara , family archives , and several types of sources of memorial databases : monographs, literary sources , diaries, correspondence , etc. . The oral history sources to which reference is made through websites are owned by the Oral History Archive of the " Third Europe " Foundation in Timisoara. This archive was created from 1997 by a group of students and researchers named the Oral History and Cultural Anthropology Group coordinated By Smaranda Vultur. The archive contains over 1000 hours of recorded interviews as stories of life and 30 interviews conducted about the memory of urban life in Timisoara. To these added interviews taken by students on various topics were added. Archived interviews are transcribed and accompanied by photos and other personal documents . Respondents belonging to several generations ( beginning with those born in the first decade of the twentieth - century) , ethnicities , religions, social strata , etc. . diversity of situations is the very principle of source selection for database and archive that gives the additional value . This diversity , a