A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture
A Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture

Author: Robert Elsie

Publisher: NYU Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 9780814722145

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In some senses, Albania is a living museum of the past. Originally a small herding community in the most inaccessible reaches of the Balkans, the presence of Albanians in southeastern Europe has been documented for over a thousand years. Albanian traditional folk culture, which evolved over centuries of relative isolation, is surprisingly rich. Yet despite recent events this culture remains little known to the Western world. Due to the lasting effects of a half century of Stalinist dictatorship, very few individuals even in Albania know much about their own popular traditions. The Dictionary of Albanian Religion, Mythology, and Folk Culture makes available for the first time a wealth of knowledge about Albanian popular belief and folk customs. Alphabetical entries shed light on blood feuding, figures of Albanian mythology, religious beliefs, communities, and sects, calendar feasts and rituals, and popular superstitions, as well as birth, marriage, and funeral customs, and sexual mores. This unique volume will stand as the standard reference work on the subject for years to come.

Historical Dictionary of Albania
Historical Dictionary of Albania

Author: Robert Elsie

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2010-03-19

Total Pages: 663

ISBN-13: 081087380X

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Albania is not well known by outsiders; it was deliberately closed to the outside world during the communist era. Now it has thankfully become free again, its borders are open and it can be visited, and it is increasingly integrating with the rest of Europe and beyond. Unfortunately, Albania has had its share of problems in the post-communist era; it's a land of destitution and despair, thanks in part to the Albanian mafia, which has turned the country into one of blood-feuds, kalashnikovs, and eternal crises. Yet, Albania is, in essence, a European nation like any other and will soon, it is to be hoped, advance and take its proper place in Europe and the world. The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Albania relates the history of this little-known country through a detailed chronology, an introduction, a bibliography, appendixes, and over 700 cross-referenced dictionary entries on significant persons, places, and events; institutions and organizations; and political, economic, social, cultural, and religious facets.

Historical Dictionary of Kosovo
Historical Dictionary of Kosovo

Author: Robert Elsie

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2010-11-15

Total Pages: 453

ISBN-13: 0810874830

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As the seventh and probably last state to arise from the ruins of the former Yugoslavia, Kosovo is the newest country in Europe. For centuries, Kosovo, also known as Kosova, was part of the Ottoman Empire, and for most of the 20th century, it was a province of what was once Yugoslavia. After the military conflict in 1998-1999 and a period of administration by the United Nations, Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on February 17, 2008. Focusing not only on Kosovo's turbulent recent years, the second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Kosovo also relates the country's rich culture and long history. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 400 cross-referenced dictionary entries on significant persons, places, and events; institutions and organizations; and political, economic, social, cultural, and religious facets. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Kosovo.

The Columbia Guide to the Literatures of Eastern Europe Since 1945
The Columbia Guide to the Literatures of Eastern Europe Since 1945

Author: Harold B. Segel

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 692

ISBN-13: 9780231114042

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The Iron Curtain concealed from western eyes a vital group of national and regional writers. Marked by not only geographical proximity but also by the shared experience of communism and its collapse, the countries of Eastern Europe--Poland, Hungary, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, and the former states of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and East Germany--share literatures that reveal many common themes when examined together. Compiled by a leading scholar, the guide includes an overview of literary trends in historical context; a listing of some 700 authors by country; and an A-to-Z section of articles on the most influential writers.

Religious Identity and Cultural Negotiation
Religious Identity and Cultural Negotiation

Author: Jenny McGill

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2016-07-22

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1498290124

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Given increasing global migration and the importance of positive cross-cultural relations across national borders, this book offers an interdisciplinary and intercultural exploration of identity formation. It uniquely draws from theology, psychology, and sociology--engaging narrative and identity theories, migration and identity studies, and the theologies of identity and migration--and builds on them in an unprecedented study of international migrants to construct an initial theology of Christian identity in migration. New sociological research describes the social construction of religious, ethnic, and national identities among non-North American evangelical graduates who entered the United States to pursue advanced academic studies from 1983 to 2013. It provides an intercultural account of Christian identity formation in the context of migration, transnationalism, and globalization. It ultimately argues that an integral component of Christian identity-making involves the concept of migration, of movement, toward a transformation.

Albanian Identities
Albanian Identities

Author: Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9780253341891

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The contributors to this study critically de-construct Albanian myths and offer insights into Albanian history and politics. They conclude with contemporary Albanian critiques of the origins and functions of Albanian politics and ideologies.

Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore
Encyclopedia of Beasts and Monsters in Myth, Legend and Folklore

Author: Theresa Bane

Publisher: McFarland

Published: 2016-05-22

Total Pages: 428

ISBN-13: 147662268X

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"Here there be dragons"--this notation was often made on ancient maps to indicate the edges of the known world and what lay beyond. Heroes who ventured there were only as great as the beasts they encountered. This encyclopedia contains more than 2,200 monsters of myth and folklore, who both made life difficult for humans and fought by their side. Entries describe the appearance, behavior, and cultural origin of mythic creatures well-known and obscure, collected from traditions around the world.

Ismail Kadare
Ismail Kadare

Author: Peter Morgan

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-05

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 1351562002

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Ismail Kadare has experienced a life of controversy. In his own country and internationally he has been both acclaimed as a writer and condemned as a lackey of the Albanian socialist dictatorship. Coming of age after occupation and war, Kadare (b. 1936) belonged to the first generation of new Albanians. In a land where writers were routinely imprisoned, Kadare produced the most brilliant and subversive works to emerge from socialist Eastern Europe. His work brings to an end the century whose literary beginnings were marked by the terror to which Kafka gave his name. The inaugural award of the International Man-Booker Prize for Literature in 2005 marked an important milestone in the global recognition of Kadare. Ironic, multi-layered and imaginative, Kadare's writing is profoundly opposed to ideology. Through critical analysis of a representative selection of Kadare's works, Peter Morgan explains for a wide audience how Kadare survived and wrote in the repressive Albanian Stalinist environment. Peter Morgan is Professor of European Studies at the University of Western Australia.

Celebrating Life Customs around the World [3 volumes]
Celebrating Life Customs around the World [3 volumes]

Author: Victoria R. Williams

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2016-11-21

Total Pages: 1427

ISBN-13: 1440836590

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This book documents hundreds of customs and traditions practiced in countries outside of the United States, showcasing the diversity of birth, coming-of-age, and death celebrations worldwide. From the beginning of our lives to the end, all of humanity celebrates life's milestones through traditions and unique customs. In the United States, we have specific events like baby showers, rites of passage such as Bat and Bar Mitzvahs and "sweet 16" birthday parties, and sober end-of-life traditions like obituaries and funeral services that honor those who have died. But what kinds of customs and traditions are practiced in other countries? How do people in other cultures welcome babies, prepare to enter into adulthood, and commemorate the end of the lives of loved ones? This three-volume encyclopedia covers more than 300 birth, life, and death customs, with the books' content organized chronologically by life stage. Volume 1 focuses on birth and childhood customs, Volume 2 documents adolescent and early-adulthood customs, and Volume 3 looks at aging and death customs. The entries in the first volume examine pre-birth traditions, such as baby showers and other gift-giving events, and post-birth customs, such as naming ceremonies, child-rearing practices, and traditions performed to ward off evil or promote good health. The second volume contains information about rites of passage as children become adults, including indigenous initiations, marriage customs, and religious ceremonies. The final volume concludes with coverage on customs associated with aging and death, such as retirement celebrations, elaborate funeral processions, and the creation of fantasy coffins. The set features beautiful color inserts that illustrate examples of celebrations and ceremonies and includes an appendix of excerpts from primary documents that include legislation on government-accepted names, wedding vows, and maternity/paternity leave regulations.

Albania
Albania

Author: MaryLee Knowlton

Publisher: Marshall Cavendish

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 148

ISBN-13: 9780761418528

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Presents an overview of the history and culture of the people of Albania.