5/1/2020

Volume 5, number 1, Spring 2020


Editorial board
pp. 1-2 Full text (PDF)

Contents
pp. 3-4 Full text (PDF)


RESEARCH


ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ROMANIAN SOCIALISM. A CASE STUDY

Alina BRANDA

pp. 5-20   | Full text (PDF) | DOI: 10.23740/TID120201

This paper aims to analyze mainly how and why Western anthropologists conducted fieldwork in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. What motivated their particular research interest in this part of Europe, how they understood these societies and socialist systems, what specific factors made possible and facilitated the fieldwork they had conducted in difficult times. These are the main research questions addressed in this paper. Specifically, I refer to their work carried out in the 1970s-1980s in Romania. In particular, I aim at analyzing the works of three reputable US specialists in the field, who manifested a research interest, and conducted fieldwork especially (but not exclusively) in different rural settlements of this country. The paper attempts to identify the ways in which the Romanian socialism is understood in its peculiarities by these notable anthropologists, analyzing their studies as results of intensive fieldwork. Their works, published initially in English, in the USA, were translated into Romanian in the post 1989 decades, being received with high interest by “local specialists,” as well as by the broader public. They are present in representative anthologies on socialism and postsocialism, as valuable contribution to the understanding of these periods. Despite all these, comprehensive analysis of their contributions is still lacking, as well as the comparative frames meant to facilitate the identification of both specificities and recurrences in their works, in the ways they viewed the impact of socialisms on various, studied communities. It is a necessary and useful task to revisit their works (as well as the works of other anthropologists who conducted fieldwork in Romania and broader, in Eastern Europe) to understand in depth their views, their meanings and relevance in that particular context and afterwards, as well as their contribution to the Anthropology of Socialism and Postsocialism. Through this, other fields and topics are opening to the analysis, such as the contribution and particular roles of the Anthropology of Socialism and Postsocialism in structuring the Anthropology of Europe, as it is configured nowadays.

FOOD IN TOURISM. RELEVANT RESEARCH ANGLES AND TOPICS

Kinga Xenia HAVADI-NAGY

pp. 21-36  | Full text (PDF) | DOI: 10.23740/TID120202

In the last decades, local food grabbed the attention of policymakers, advisors, entrepreneurs, and researchers worldwide. Food turned into an emerging topic in relation with tourism and leisure activities, due to its versatility: it offers means for local and regional development, it has potential to strengthen identity and enable the preservation of cultural heritage, traditional skills and products, it is a strong educational and knowledge transmission tool, and it is suitable for destination development. Performing a content analysis of a selected international and Romania related literature, this paper sums up the main topics and angles of research conducted globally on the complex topic of food tourism, but also points out some of the subjects addressed in the Romanian context. The aim of the study is to shed light on the foci of current research regarding food tourism and to see to which extent is the Romanian research in this field up to date. The list and the depicted topics are not necessarily exhaustive, yet they surely integrate the most relevant research themes and actual available results. As main conclusion, we can assert that the rich and manifold surveys reflect the high interest in food tourism, and that this subject is an emergent topic in the Romanian research community.

VISUAL IMAGERY AND CONSTRUCTION OF TERRITORIAL IDENTITY THROUGH ICONIC BUILDINGS. CASE STUDY: THE ROMANIAN ATHENAEUM, BUCHAREST

Florentina-Cristina MERCIU, Oana-Ramona ILOVAN, Andreea-Loreta CERCLEUX

pp. 37-67  | Full text (PDF) | DOI: 10.23740/TID120203

The built heritage, through the multiple meanings it associates (oldness, architectural, aesthetic, symbolic, authenticity), is characterized by uniqueness and irreversibility, being frequently related to the cultural and implicitly tourist image of cities. Due to the seniority of architectural heritage and the special relations established with the place and people, under the direct influence of the socio-cultural and political factors, it ensures the accumulation of symbols that codify the urban space. As a result, heritage buildings are associated with elements of territorial identity. Visual imagery is used as an argument to support the process of selecting significant buildings for local / national culture. These are promoted among the general public. Most of the time, the selection process aims at identifying representative buildings, a process that registers the influence of socio-cultural and politic factors. This article focuses on the socio-cultural evolution of the Romanian Athenaeum, a symbolic building of the Romanian culture. Based on a rich background of historical illustrations and recent observations, the authors analysed the symbols associated with the Romanian Athenaeum, in various historical periods. The authors used a sample of picture postcards with representations of the Athenaeum and interpreted the information they provided. The key results show the cultural role of the Athenaeum for the capital city, Bucharest, and its relation with the political factor, as this building was selected as the host for important political events with a deep historical charge, most often having the support of national authorities. In the course of time, the Athenaeum was represented constantly in picture postcards, as cultural building symbol and tourist attraction, due to its unique characteristics which emphasize its role as element of urban identity for Bucharest. At the same time, the interpretation of visual imagery allowed the decoding of the symbols and identification of the identity narrative and politics built around the Athenaeum, which, through the interactions generated by the socio-cultural and political plans, confer it the quality of symbolic building for the national and European culture.

USING G.I.S. PRODUCTS FOR ANALYSING THE POTENTIAL OF PRACTISING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AND DEVELOPING ZECE HOTARE VILLAGE

Alina TODERAȘ

pp. 68-98  | Full text (PDF) | DOI: 10.23740/TID120204

Zece Hotare village (Bihor County, Romania) is part of the disadvantaged areas category, being a former mining village, due to the exploitation of bauxite and clay resources. Today, its socio-economic situation is precarious, the economic sector being poorly developed, and the population is constantly declining. At present, it is an agricultural and forestry village. One of the solutions that could lead to achieving a balance and improving the economic situation and maintaining the existing population in the village, would be to capitalize on local resources by practicing rural tourism, in particular agritourism. Although recreational tourism is sometimes practised, agritourism is currently non-existent within the area. However, by practicing agritourism, the specific values, customs and traditions would be promoted. This study aims to propose and analyse possible options for the development of rural tourism, mountain tourism, ecotourism, agritourism, and cycling tourism, as well as which activities should be undertaken to practise these forms of tourism and to attracting tourist flows towards Zece Hotare village. Some of the proposals for tourism development in Zece Hotare provided in the study are as follows: construction of boarding houses; presentations addressed to locals about what the practice of agritourism involves, in order to observe their degree of openness and availability to contribute to practicing this form of tourism as hosts; creating thematic paths for picking medicinal plants; creating a cycle tourist route that includes a tour of the hamlets in the village; building boutiques where locals can sell their products, such as honey, bakery products, woven and embroidered clothes, wooden objects, etc.; arranging places for camping, arranging places for leisure activities, and others.

GENERAL FEATURES OF ROAD CRASHES IN CLUJ COUNTY, ROMANIA. SPATIALITY AND CAUSALITY

Vasile ZOTIC, Diana-Elena ALEXANDRU, István-Oliver EGRESI

pp. 99-123  | Full text (PDF) | DOI: 10.23740/TID120205

Road crashes have become a serious issue, and their negative impact, both socially and economically, has been subject to policies and programmes worldwide as well as a research topic for numerous studies in various fields. The present study aims to identify and demonstrate the persistence of certain features related to the occurrence and location of road crashes in Cluj County, Romania, which is a territory recording a constant high road crash incidence in the last decade. We used descriptive statistics to illustrate the key features of road crashes occurring in urban and rural areas, by road type, within the administrative territory of Cluj County, Romania. The analysis was focused on four main aspects: causes, effects in terms of persons injured and deaths, occurrence by road type, and location within and outside urban areas. The years 2019, 2009, and 2018 were considered as reference moments for the values recorded for all indicators in the analysis. Results showed a general trend of decrease in road crash incidence in 2019 compared to 2009, which was also confirmed by the absolute and relative increase in the period 2018-2019. The most significant decrease was found in the number of deaths, especially in the case of road crashes occurring on national roads and urban streets, where the incidence is still quite high. However, when ranked considering the number of crashes caused, we noted the persistence of certain categories of triggering factors for the high incidence of road crashes related to both drivers and pedestrians. Road safety is very much related to the behaviour of all participants in traffic and not so much to the road infrastructure and quality, although road capacity may be a triggering factor for drivers’ behaviour. Further measures are needed to enhance road safety and meet the European target of halving the road crash number and fatalities until 2020 and in the next decade.

BOOK REVIEWS


STTEPING THROUGH THE TACTILE-KINAESTHETIC PERCEPTION OF ARCHITECTURAL SPACE

Percepția tactilo-chinestezică a spațiului arhitectural [The Tactile-Kinesthetic Perception of Architectural Space] / Alexandra VIȘAN

Reviewed by Paul MUTICĂ

pp. 124-127 – | Full text (PDF) | DOI: 10.23740/TID120206


REVEALING THE UNTOLD SIDE OF INDUSTRIAL SOCIALISM IN ROMANIA: PRACTICES, DISCOURSES AND PERCEPTIONS

Planning Labour. Time and the Foundations of Industrial Socialism in Romania / Alina-Sandra Cucu

Reviewed by Ioana Alexandra CIUPE

pp. 128-133 – | Full text (PDF) | DOI: 10.23740/TID120207


Reviewers for research papers and book reviews in Vol. 5, no. 1, Spring 2020
pp. 134