Traditional Slovak Folktales

Traditional Slovak Folktales

Author: David L. Cooper

Publisher: M.E. Sharpe

Published: 2001-05-03

Total Pages: 332

ISBN-13: 9780765632722

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This delightful collection makes the rich but little-known Slovak folk culture available for English-language readers. Most of the fifty tales assembled here from the collections of folklorist Pavol Dobsinsky are translated into English for the first time. The poetic qualities of the originals have been carefully preserved. The general reader will enjoy these tales immensely, and students will find an insightful introduction to the genres of the folktale and the specifics of Slovak tales. For expert readers, all of the tales have been classified according to the Aarne-Thompson index, and many include short commentaries that draw on the work of Viera Gasparikova.


Traditional Slovak Folktales

Traditional Slovak Folktales

Author: David L. Cooper

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-09-16

Total Pages: 506

ISBN-13: 1315291673

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This delightful collection makes the rich but little-known Slovak folk culture available for English-language readers. Most of the fifty tales assembled here from the collections of folklorist Pavol Dobsinsky are translated into English for the first time. The poetic qualities of the originals have been carefully preserved. The general reader will enjoy these tales immensely, and students will find an insightful introduction to the genres of the folktale and the specifics of Slovak tales. For expert readers, all of the tales have been classified according to the Aarne-Thompson index, and many include short commentaries that draw on the work of Viera Gasparikova.


The Taste of Power

The Taste of Power

Author: Ladislav Mňačko

Publisher:

Published: 1967

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Private and public life of a Communist statesman in Czechoslovakia who is entirely corrupted by power.


Slovak American Touches

Slovak American Touches

Author: Toni Brendel

Publisher:

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781932043495

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

A look into the life of Brendel's Slovak family, who settled in Price County, Wisconsin, around the turn of the century. In examining her grandmother's life, Brendel reflects a Slovak family history symbolic of many of the immigrants who came from Eastern Europe.


Culture and Customs of the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Culture and Customs of the Czech Republic and Slovakia

Author: Craig Cravens

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2006-08-30

Total Pages: 217

ISBN-13: 0313045631

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The Czech Republic is a red-hot European destination, and the charms of Slovakia are slowly being discovered by Westerners as well. The two countries share fundamental similarities in language and culture, but they never really managed to create a common national Czechoslovak identity, after being merged in 1918 when the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed. With the lifting of the Iron Curtain in 1989 through the Velvet Revolution and the final breakup of Czechoslovakia in to two countries in 1993, this up-to-date, substantive insight is much needed. This volume overviews the current social, cultural, and political scene of both countries, so that general readers come away with a solid understanding of where the Czechs and Slovaks have been and where they are going. The land, people, and history chapter lays the groundwork for the rest of the narrative. In the chapter on religion and thought, the reasons for the widespread atheism of the Czechs and the contrasting religiosity of the Slovaks are explained. Both peoples are shown to have relaxed attitude toward life and a love of celebrations, with a strong beer culture. The state of women and family and feminism in the post-Soviet era is also discussed and readers will learn about the role of romance novels and the Czech Cosmopolitan. The literature chapter emphasizes the Czech sense of humor and the lack of translations of Slovakian works. The crises in journalism and cinema are other important topics. Finally, the strong traditions of theater and music, which have always been part of the Czech national consciousness, are seen to be as alive and vibrant as in any place in the world.


Modernism: The Creation of Nation-States

Modernism: The Creation of Nation-States

Author: Ahmet Ersoy

Publisher: Central European University Press

Published: 2010-01-01

Total Pages: 497

ISBN-13: 9637326618

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Notwithstanding the advantages of physical power, the struggle for survival among societies is not merely a matter of serial armed clashes but of the nation's spiritual resources that in the end always decide upon the victory. In Europe, there indeed exist independent countries, insignificant from the point of view of the entire civilization, and born by sheer coincidence, yet, this coincidence, this fancy, or diplomatic ploy that created them can just as easily bring them to an end---the nations that count in the political calculations are only the enlightened ones. Therefore, our nation should not merely grow in power, strengthen its character, and foster in people the feeling of love for homeland, but also---inasmuch as it is possible---breath the fresh breeze of humanity's general progress, feed it to the nation, absorb its creative energy. Until now, we have trusted and lived only in the weary conditions, conditions devoid of health-giving elements---now, as a result the nation's heart beats too slowly and its mind works too tediously. We ought to open our windows to Europe, to the wind of continental change and allow it to air our sultry home, since as not all health comes from the inside, not all disease comes from the outside.


Introduction to Slovakia

Introduction to Slovakia

Author: Gilad James, PhD

Publisher: Gilad James Mystery School

Published:

Total Pages: 77

ISBN-13: 486848737X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Slovakia is a landlocked country situated in the heart of Europe, bordered by Austria to the west, Ukraine to the east, Poland to the north, and Hungary to the south. The country has a rich and complex history, having been part of various empires and kingdoms throughout the centuries. Slovakia gained independence in 1993 with the peaceful split of Czechoslovakia. Slovakia has a diverse culture with influences from its neighboring countries and its own unique traditions. One aspect of its culture is folk music, which is still popular today and is often accompanied by traditional dances. The country is also known for its architecture, particularly its historic castles and chateaux that dot the landscape. Slovakia has a mix of natural resources and scenery, such as the Tatras mountains, Slovakia ring, valleys of the Váh and Hron rivers, castles, medieval towns, fortresses and vineyards.


Ethnoculture in the Diaspora - Between Regionalism and Americanisation

Ethnoculture in the Diaspora - Between Regionalism and Americanisation

Author: Anna Brzozowska-kraj

Publisher:

Published: 2020-12-31

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 9788322793671

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Anna Brzozowska-Krajka's Ethnoculture in the Diaspora: Between Regionalism and Americanisation is a pioneering monograph in Polish and American cultural studies. It deals with various aspects of the functioning of Polish immigrants' folk culture in the context of American multiculturalism. This monograph is based on its author's many years of research into the culture of Polish immigrants in the United States, mainly in the areas of metropolitan Chicago and on the East Coast. It defines the significance of the local (regional) cultures of the immigrants' country of origin for shaping their cultural identity under the conditions of diaspora. It indicates various degrees of identification with and distance from the source culture (of the country of origin). The monograph presents, interprets, and theorizes various forms of cultural expression of the Tatra highlander ethnic subgroup (Górals) within American Polonia, of the private and public face of its ethnicity. They include musical, song, and dance folklore, folk rituals (of the liturgical year, family rituals), folk art, folk costume, regional architecture, and ethno-marketing. Ethnoculture in the Diaspora is an essential work for the increasingly important field of folkloristic investigations of diasporic cultures that draw on the application of methods from the anthropology of culture and cultural studies. The study also has diagnostic value in the context of the explosion of ethnicity in the U.S. since the 1960s.


Slovakia - Culture Smart!

Slovakia - Culture Smart!

Author: Brendan Edwards

Publisher: Kuperard

Published: 2011-09-01

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1857335678

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Slovakia has struggled with a low international profile. Often overlooked as the Czech Republic's little sister, it is a young country with an old culture and history, and a people who are proudly Central (not Eastern) European. Although for much of the twentieth century Czechs and Slovaks lived together in one state, there are important differences between them, differences that ultimately contributed to separation in 1993 and the rebirth of a sovereign Slovak state.Generally speaking, the Slovaks are more “Slavic” than the Czechs—their pace of life is slower, and their spare time is more often filled with friends, family, and music. They are known to be resistant to change, yet change has been a constant in the state's short economic and political history—from the fall of communism in the Velvet Revolution of late 1989, to the Velvet Divorce of Czechoslovakia in 1993, to widespread economic diversification, expansion, and global influence, to European Union membership in 2004, and the adoption of the euro in 2009— and they have adapted with quiet optimism.Slovakia has been referred to as the economic “tiger” of Europe, and now that it has EU membership and a healthy industrial economy, Europeans are starting to take notice. Its popularity as a tourist destination has been growing rapidly in recent years. Slovaks call their country the Heart of Europe—a term that describes not only their geography but the Slovak character, which is warm, deeply hospitable, and immensely proud. Visitors who step outside Bratislava's Staré mesto (Old Town) and take the time to explore the country beyond will discover a landscape of plains, meadows, mountains, natural spas, and hundreds of ancient castles, and a people at once modest, stoical, humorous, and responsive.This book captures the essence of what makes the Slovak people unique and explains something of the quirks and memorable aspects of their lifestyle. It opens a window onto their inner world, their customs and celebrations, and describes what to expect and how to behave in different situations. While the country is not without its frustrations for foreigners, most visitors succumb to its charms. Few have left without yearning to return to “the little big country.”