Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai
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FAITH AND RECONCILIATION: COMPARATIVE INSIGHTS FROM SOUTH AFRICA AND RWANDA
Get PDFThis article examines the role of faith leadership and religious institutions in post-conflict reconciliation, using South Africa and Rwanda as comparative case studies. It highlights how the moral authority, credibility, and ethical integrity of church leaders can significantly influence post-conflict social reconstruction and healing. In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, guided by the moral leadership of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, exemplified how faith-informed approaches, grounded in restorative justice and the principle of ubuntu, can foster dialogue, forgiveness, and national reconciliation. In contrast, in Rwanda, churches were implicated in the 1994 genocide, undermining their legitimacy and limiting the effectiveness of faith-based reconciliation efforts. The reconciliation processes of South Africa and Rwanda underscore the potential of faith leadership in guiding societies through division and trauma
Muscle, Femininity, and Stigma: A Feminist Exploration of Women’s Bodybuilding
Get PDFBecoming a bodybuilder does not ‘naturally’ correspond to the social expectations traditionally directed towards women. The discipline demands extensive training and other lifestyle commitments in building a muscular female body. Drawing on personal experiences, this project explores key dimensions of a journey through the world of bodybuilding. Utilizing a feminist approach and the concept of stigma, the study focuses on the emotional and physical labour involved in developing a muscular physique while simultaneously navigating the socio-cultural expectations attached to femininity. This article centres on a three-year period and includes insights gained from a European competition’s Figure and Physique divisions. Central to this exploration is the tension between constructing a muscular body and negotiating the challenges of being a woman in the male-dominated subculture of bodybuilding.
Article history: Received 2025 August 18; Revised 2025 September30; Accepted 2025 October 10;Available online 2025 November 20; Available print 2025 November 3
Long-form Journalism Funding. Theoretical Frames and the Perspective of Media Literacy as Asset. Case Study: Legal Structures of Award-winning Newsrooms in Romania in 2023 and 2024
Get PDFFinancial challenges are not, as literature shows, new lenses when it comes to media. Media landscape has experienced many struggles over the years and while it is diverse and pluralistic in Romania, funding perspectives are still limited. This article aims to understand the legal architecture and financial framework upon which Romanian newsrooms operate and, in particular, if there is or not a discrepancy between award-winning media outlets and high-reach media outlets. Using theoretical frameworks such as the media enterprise concept, journalism as public good, media literacy, and areas of concern for journalism industry as identified in the specialized literature, we conduct a comparative case study of the Superscrieri Award winners (2023, 2024) and the most accessed media outlets as Digital News Report indicates (2023, 2024). Observations show that while non-profit organizations (associations and foundations) are the most dominant among award-winning media outlets, commercial for-profit organizations (SRLs and SAs) are prevalent among readerships. There is hardly any crossover between the two categories, with Libertatea (2023, 2024) and HotNews (2024) being on both lists. Operational and taxation differences highlight the structural vulnerabilities; while NGOs are tax exempt, they are dependent on donors and grants; commercial enterprises are linked to market dependence, being subjects to different taxation. This preliminary study shows that the choice of legal from has an impact on the possibility of producing awarded long format journalistic productions, being linked to operational potential as well as editorial identity
PERSPECTIVES REGARDING THE QUARTET IN THE WORKS OF GIUSEPPE VERDI
Get PDFIn speech, the meaning of words dictates the intonation of a sentence, while the musical phrase within an opera is shaped according to this natural inflection. Thus, musical ideas and phrasing remain simple, yet expressive and natural. This gives vocal music a distinct advantage over instrumental music, as opera singers are better able to fulfil the composer’s intentions. The score of Giuseppe Verdi’s String Quartet in E minor (1873) contains precise performance indications that shape the ethos of the work. For instance, the marking incalzando refers not only to an acceleration of tempo but also to an agitated state of mind. Although Verdi’s only purely instrumental composition, the quartet synthesizes the full orchestral and vocal apparatus of an entire opera within the medium of four string instruments. Moreover, through indications such as incalzando, morendo, dolcissimo, and leggierissimo, the work conveys the same emotional states that in opera are communicated by means of stage design, costumes, characters, their interactions, and the expressive power of words set to music. While Verdi’s contribution to the chamber music repertoire is relatively limited, he is the composer of some of the most celebrated vocal quartets in opera, as well as the renowned Messa da Requiem. The present paper examines the vocal quartet from Rigoletto alongside the String Quartet in E minor, highlighting their distinctive features and exploring the similarities that reveal Verdi’s operatic conception of the quartet
ARTISTIC RESEARCH AND THE DOCUMENTATION OF SOCIAL CRISES: POSTHUMANIST APPROACHES TO COLLECTIVE AFFECTIVE STATES IN WARTIME MUSIC
Get PDFTraditional research methods often struggle to capture embodied, affective, and relational layers of experience emerging during crises such as war. Arts-based research and artistic research offer practice-led epistemologies aligned with posthumanist praxis. This article examines how artistic research can document and transform collective affective states in crisis, using the author’s composition Wartime Reflections II. Resonances as a case study. A practice-led inquiry integrates the score, composer’s notes, and documentary elements (voice messages, textual fragments). The analysis employs “musical lenses” (form, rhythm, dynamics, timbre, polyphony/harmony) and draws on theories of collective affect (Durkheim), anticipatory grief (Rando), resilience (Masten, Ungar), learned helplessness (Seligman), despair (Freud, Kierkegaard), communitas (Turner), and moral elevation (Haidt). The resulting five-part model—Premonition, Resilience, Exhaustion, Despair, Uplift—shows how music functions not only as representation but as method for structuring and sharing crisis experience
THE SYMPHONY CONCERT AS MARKETING PRODUCT
Get PDFAfter having historically been reluctant to embrace marketing beyond mere advertisement, considering it incompatible with the artistic mission, symphony orchestras are having marketing as an integral part of their operations. With marketing scholars increasingly working with non-profit organizations, the field of arts marketing has also developed. Marketing theories are applied to the symphony orchestra, taking into account its characteristics. The study focuses on how the 4 Ps theory of the marketing mix is applied to the live symphony concert as a product. After examining the concert program itself emphasizing the importance of the way the repertoire is presented, we detail various elements of the augmented product, focusing on program notes (including digital offerings) and pre-concert talks
TRANSYLVANIAN MUSICAL MANUSCRIPTS: HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL SOURCES FROM THE 17TH–19TH CENTURIES
Get PDFThe collection-type musical manuscripts preserved in Transylvania between the 17th and 19th centuries represent a significant yet insufficiently studied source for the history of music in Central and Eastern Europe. They document the coexistence of European art music with local aristocratic and folk traditions, reflecting the region’s complex cultural, social, and confessional landscape. Transylvania’s musical manuscripts from the 17th–19th centuries offer a fascinating glimpse into the region’s rich cultural and musical life. Preserving works by Western European composers, anonymous local authors, and traditional peasant music, they reveal the coexistence of aristocratic and folk traditions. While some collections have been published, many remain largely unexplored, highlighting the need for further study to appreciate the full scope of Transylvania’s diverse musical heritage. This article examines four representative sources: the Sfântu Gheorghe manuscript (1757), which integrates Western European chamber works with Hungarian and Polish dances; the manuscript of Count László Székely (1744), marked by Viennese galant idioms; the Miss Mihály manuscript (1689), containing instrumental, keyboard, and religious repertoire; and the Târgu Mureș manuscript, which combines Viennese Classical piano works with Hungarian songs. By addressing largely unpublished sources, this study seeks to contribute to the systematic recognition of Transylvanian manuscripts as a distinctive corpus within the broader European musical heritage
A Possible Ambivalence in Plato’s Approach to Mimesis and Poetry
Get PDF This paper explores the complexity of Plato’s approach to mimesis and poetry, focusing on his critique in Republic Books II, III, and X. While Plato dismisses poetry as ethically and epistemologically flawed, his arguments reveal a deeper tension between philosophy and artistic representation. Through an analysis of Plato’s tripartite division of reality, the critique of imitation, and the ethical concerns surrounding poetry’s influence, the paper examines whether his rejection of art is absolute or if it leaves room for an alternative poetic function. Drawing on Stephen Halliwell’s interpretation, the study highlights how Plato’s stance is shaped by a broader philosophical concern with truth, knowledge, and the role of art in society. The analysis considers whether Plato’s discussion of mimesis is not merely an attack on art but part of a larger philosophical negotiation over the intersection of aesthetics, morality, and epistemology
The Original Truth of Understanding and Taking Action: Gadamer on Plurality and Solidarity
Get PDFStarting from his conception of an original “extra-methodical” truth, of which one can gain experience through art, history, and philosophy, Gadamer enhances the fore-predicative dimension of knowledge. In his opinion, the awareness of our “pre-judices” – the voice of tradition –, reached through interpretation, opens up to the otherness of the other and increases friendship as well as solidarity. By defining hermeneutics as practical philosophy thanks to a re-working of Aristotle’s concept of phrónesis, Gadamer starts up a “rehabilitation of practical philosophy”. This “recovery” contributed to overcoming the world crisis in the mid-twentieth century and could still orient a “life together” within today’s ethical and political frameworks
“IT’S QUICKLY OVER AND EASILY ACCESSIBLE”: SOCIOLOGICAL INSIGHTS INTO NON-INVASIVE AESTHETIC SURGERY AMONG WOMEN IN CROATIA
Get PDFAesthetic surgery is a global phenomenon, with millions of users worldwide. This study explores the sociological dimensions of non-invasive aesthetic procedures, based on semi-structured interviews with 18 women in Croatia who have undergone such treatments, primarily dermal fillers and Botox, most commonly applied to the face area. The analysis identified a range of motivations, including dissatisfaction with body image, the desire to reduce visible signs of ageing, enhance appearance, and improve quality of life. For some, exposure to social media, particularly Instagram, and global celebrity culture served as inspiration. However, most participants framed their decisions in terms of personal aspirations for self-enhancement rather than conformity to dominant beauty ideals. Body image prior to the procedures ranged from negative to positive. Most participants reported increased satisfaction following treatment, and many noted that their appearance became a frequent subject of social commentary, revealing the potential for stigma directed at those who engage in aesthetic modification. Nearly all expressed interest in further procedures, whether to maintain current results or pursue new goals. These findings suggest that aesthetic surgery is a complex phenomenon in which the body becomes a site of transformation and potential, shaped by late modernity’s emphasis on self-actualisation and the body as an ongoing identity project