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This digital document is an article from Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 3342 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Intended to provide a comprehensive description of the enterprise of education both within the United States and throughout the world. Articles offer a view of the institutions, people, processes, and products found in educational practice. ... Read more

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Bruno Stefan's book is one of the first and most detailed accounts in English of the challenges involved in integrating a post communist prison system in the European Union. The author has personally interviewed over several years hundreds of prisoners, guards, administrators and their families. The resultis a one of a kind detailed account of daily life in Romanian prisons. ... Read more

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Among the first anthropologists to work in Eastern Europe, Katherine Verdery had built up a significant base of ethnographic and historical expertise when the major political transformations in the region began to take place. In this collection of essays dealing with the aftermath of Soviet-style socialism and the different forms that may replace it, she explores the nature of socialism in order to understand more fully its consequences. By analyzing her primary data from Romania and Transylvania and synthesizing information from other sources, Verdery lends a distinctive anthropological perspective to a variety of themes common to political and economic studies on the end of socialism: themes such as "civil society," the creation of market economies, privatization, national and ethnic conflict, and changing gender relations.Under Verdery's examination, privatization and civil society appear not only as social processes, for example, but as symbols in political rhetoric. The classic pyramid scheme is not just a means of enrichment but a site for reconceptualizing the meaning of money and an unusual form of post-Marxist millenarianism. Land being redistributed as private property stretches and shrinks, as in the imaginings of the farmers struggling to tame it. Infused by this kind of ethnographic sensibility, the essays reject the assumption of a transition to capitalism in favor of investigating local processes in their own terms. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

"What Comes Next?" Isn't Pretty
As Karl Marx noted originally, "islands of socialism cannot exist in a sea of capitalism". Marx, Lenin, Djilas, Marcuse, and some others have explained why this was so. In What Was Socialism, and What Comes Next?, anthropologist Katherine Verdery explains how and why the Soviet bloc socialist experiment failed in general terms and in sharp narrative detail.

As the system of state socialist governance began to disintegrate in the late 80's says Verdery, the first casualties were the classic Marxist-Leninist theoretical constructions about the role of vangardist cadres, production, the true meaning of economic and political liberty, and the role of the state in society. Verdery gives careful and detailed explanation of this conflict of theory with practice.

Verdery creates her own nomenclature for her explanations of these processes and their actors in the decline and fall of state socialism in Russia and the rest of the Soviet bloc. For example:

"Entrepratchiks" explains Verdery, are well connected party members who collude with managers and bureaucrats who gamed the reformist programs of the late 80's for their own pecuniary and political gain [page 33]. A useful term has been coined here.

"Etatization" says Verdery, are "ways in the which the Romanian state [in this case] seized time from the purposes which many wanted to pursue", by means such as creating shortages of electricity, food, consumer goods (and so which required long waiting in queues), and irregular transportation and work hours [page 40].

"Bourgeoiscracy": "All across the former Soviet bloc entrepratchiks have consolidated their advantage [when reformist policies were instituted in the late 80's] by using Communist Party-based political connections and political office to gain [personal] control of wealth and resources" [page 196].

The classically trained Marxist bureaucrats and party leaders, says Verdery, could find no answers or solutions for their problems in the copious literature of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and the rest. Theories could not be made into useful guidebook for a successful and just society. Their theories could not be reified. Theory had conflicted with reality, and as always, reality won [page 229].

The failure of land reform, the dehumanizing effects of state capitalism, and the total inability to eliminate (or even reign in) corruption in the Communist Party and the bureaucracies all led to the demise of the Soviet bloc states reports Verdery.

As for the "what comes next?" part of Verdery's book title, the pessimistic answer on her part is feudalism, albeit with a more modern face. In other words, a devolution from state socialism that bypasses liberal democracy and market capitalism and reverts to a form of high-tech modern peonage in which most people are locked into a society based on land tenure, wage slavery, and rule by local strongmen based upon violence and force and all the rest of the inequities that such a system necessarily entails [page 205].

An aspect of Verdery's work in this book that I didn't like is that at different points in her narrative she goes off on feminist gender theory inspired rants that diminish and distract from her other wise trenchant observations and which reduce the power of her work; Verdery should have left all this out. Should readers be interested in this though, they will find numerous feminist theory bon mots liberally sprinkled throughout the text and there is a whole chapter on feminist criticism of Soviet bloc state socialism included as well [Chapter 3, pages 62-83].

On the whole this is a very readable work on the decline and fall of Marxist-Leninist style state socialism in Eastern Europe, and it deserves serious consideration from social and political theorists.

specificity and generalizations all in one package
Katherine Verdery's use of her experience in Romania as the basis for generalizations on 'actually existing socialism' and 'what comes next' left me skeptical at first.However, after more serious study this books constitutes one of the seminal works for study of this region. ... Read more

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The Location of Romanian houses and churches within the landscape connected to a mysterious chemistry of the souls of this Latin people from the Orient that perceives nature as a prolongation of culture and the sacred as a starting point towards the profane into which it really descends. It is only here of the entire universe of Orthodox architecture, here in Romanian culture, that we find the large porches of the rustic house or the open porches of the lordly houses and churches practically embracing the gardens, the orchards, the fields, the ponds, the rivers, and the forests.A multimedia spectacular! A true cultural exploration via a multimedia production! CD-ROM "to Romanian traditional habits", in collaboration with the Romanian Cultural Foundation (production at this Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Washington). ... Read more

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In December 1989, more than 1000, most of them very young people, died in a belated children's crusade to overthrow Ceau?escu's tyranny. They were the unwanted children of the 60s and 70s, the true children of the Revolution, who had now turned against their spiritual father.Had the system failed to brainwash them? ... Read more

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This is a collection of studies of the experiences, portrayals and representations through the eyes of writers, dramatists, artists and policy-makers based in French-speaking areas.

This book also is of interest to observers of the French language and those requiring information about the culture, history and the politics of Francophone countries. ... Read more

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This assesses the development of the mass media since the Romanian Revolution in December 1989 and the media's impact on cultural development, the public sphere, civil society and democracy. It controversially claims that Romania's failure to experience a thoroughgoing enlightenment project in its entire history remains a major obstacle for producing democratic ownership of the media and democratic development of society. Analysing both the print and broadcast media and their respective effects on development, the book also discusses the effects of Romanian law on media and societal development, ethics and media responsibilities. It concludes, however, that far from having an absolutely negative impact on Romanian post-communism, the media has helped produce a contradictory empirical form that equally contains positive moments in terms of subjective cultural development. ... Read more

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Transylvanian mystique and legendary hauntedness surround the most infamous of Bram Stoker's protagonists, forming a legacy that allows the myth to continue into modern times, maintaining a cultish following, yet broadening to a general fascination.Intrigued by evil and gore, Stoker developed a literary presence that effortlessly translated to screen by the likes of Murnau, Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, and Francis Ford Coppola.Dracula became such an obsession as it embodied a taboo subject matter: the desire for blood and sex.Filled with extraordinary pictures of the Count, his literary companions, and the movie idols, this is a treasure only to be read by daylight! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Fact, Supposition, or Flight of Fancy? Find Out Here.
For fans and scholars of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" who don't know what to make of the abundance of contradictory and possibly fanciful information about Stoker and his novel that is floating around, Elizabeth Miller offers a solution. "Dracula: Sense and Nonsense" attempts to address, piece by piece, the pervasive unreliable information about "Dracula" that has been passing as fact for the past few decades.

Miller doesn't challenge interpretations of the novel in this book, only outright errors and unsubstantiated propositions. Each piece of "information" that Miller has identified as a misconception is quoted, then followed by an explanation of the error and the facts of the matter, when they are verifiable. Much of the misinformation about "Dracula"'s origins can be cleared up by referring to Stoker's Working Notes for the novel, housedin the Rosenbach Museum & Library's collection in Philadelphia. Miller makes extensive use of the Notes and has also done impressive detective work tracking down sources of misconceptions. "Sense and Nonsense" addresses misinformation and unsupported supposition from a variety of scholarly and popular books on "Dracula", as well as the occasional documentary film.

"Dracula: Sense and Nonsense" is organized into 6 chapters, each of which addresses a different topic of misinformation: "The Sources for Dracula", "Stoker and the Writing of Dracula", "The Novel", "The Geography of Dracula", and "Vlad the Impaler". Miller feels a particular need to dispel the popular idea that Stoker's Count Dracula character was based on the 15th century Wallachian Prince Vlad "Dracula" Tepes. The last chapter is a "Source Alert", in which Miller critiques a number of works of "Dracula" scholarship -annotated editions, bibliographies, biographies, and miscellaneous studies- in terms of their accuracy and value to researchers.

"Dracula: Sense and Nonsense" is readable, interesting, and probably essential to obsessed "Dracula" fans. It's great to get the facts and to know their sources, which Miller documents meticulously. You may agree or disagree with some of the suppositions that have been made about the novel, but at least now you will know where they came from. Considering the ever-increasing popularity of all things Dracula in the popular press and academia, and all of the hype that comes with it, this book is indispensable.

The facts on the Count...
Elizabeth Miller's latest book is a welcome relief for people like myself who are continually annoyed by the unsubstantiated theories and just plain incorrect facts that have (and continue to be) passed off and have become generally accepted as "facts" over the years. In Dracula: Sense And Nonsense, Miller (to use her own words) "...challenges dozens of errors and misconceptions about Bram Stoker and his famous novel..."

The book is divided into five main chapters which cover: the sources for the novel, Stoker's writing of his classic, the novel itself, the geography covered in the book and Vlad the Impaler. A sixth chapter covers the strengths and weaknesses of other (non-fiction) books that deal with the novel Dracula in some form (bios of Stoker, studies of the novel, etc.) Each chapter is also extensively annotated.

In each of the first five chapters, Miller quotes an error or misconception surrounding the chapter subject, gives the source for the quote and then presents her evidence as to why the quote is "poppycock" (one of my favorite expressions used in the book).

Ms. Miller sprinkles some welcome humor into the book with her initial reaction(s) against given quotes. Also, you can tell that every explanation was carefully and thoroughly researched. One comes away with an immense respect for the time, effort and thought that she put into presenting her case. Her writing is succinct and scholarly, although never written above the heads of her readers.

To truly appreciate the importance of this book, a little explanation is in order. Bram Stoker kept an incredibly comprehensive record concerning the origins and sources for the writing of Dracula, many times known as his "working notes and papers". These notes were discovered in the Seventies. Thus, to establish any true facts concerning the novel, one need only look at the novel itself and Stoker's notes. Any information or "facts" that do/did not make use of these notes (since their discovery), can truly only be considered theories or assumptions.

In debunking the myths and errors related in her book, Miller uses Stoker's notes as her evidence. If the proof for one of the quoted "facts" cannot be found within said notes, Miller (correctly) identifies it hearsay, improbable, misinformed, or just plain incorrect.

Of the many inaccuracies Miller corrects, perhaps no other will cause more controversy than her severing the ties between the fictional Count and the real-life Vlad Tepes. According to the author, Stoker merely borrowed the name Dracula and any statement of fact that Stoker based his vampire Count (or even had much knowledge) on the bloodthirsty Vlad is irresponsible. Many more deep-seated, but less shocking assumptions and beliefs will likely be shattered by this book.

This won't be an easy book for many devoted fans of the novel. Old established beliefs can be hard to shake and many may simply dig in their feet and refuse to accept Miller's rebuttals. But serious fans of the novel owe it to themselves to give this book a reading. Miller only presents the best possible evidence: what Stoker himself wrote concerning the origins of his book. If it isn't in the notes, where's the proof?

The Nitpicker's Guide to Dracula
With all the fiction masquerading as fact in the world of Dracula studiesand the unsubstantiated rumors about what Bram Stoker knew and didn't know,Miller's book should be required reading for any "serious Draculascholar." There is much unreliable information about the novel"Dracula" and its author and Miller's book is about questioningthe assumptions of many of the most relied-upon "Dracula" works.Miller argues that there is an "anything goes" attitude toward"Dracula," as though the novel is not worth seriousconsideration. She contradicts this argument and manages (with much humor)to weed through many popular misconceptions and trace them to theirsources, refuting them most convincingly. From the idea that Dracula cannotwalk around in daylight to the notion that Stoker's novel was inspired by anightmare to the belief that Stoker based many elements in his novel onactual people and places to the linking of Count Dracula and Vlad Dracula,Miller explores a wide variety of mistakes, rumors and misleadingstatements. Miller points out that a statement of fact regarding the novel,or its author, requires proof to support it. Her's is the scientificapproach to Dracula studies: if it isn't in Stoker's Notes, you have toprove it some other way. If you cannot do this, you should not state anargument as a fact. Bravo! Through more than two hundred pages, Millertakes us on a journey of discovery and we find that anyone researchinginformation about Dracula must be aware that the source they rely on may beriddled with inaccuracies. With a copy of Miller's book at your side,however, you can approach these sources with a critical eye and avoidperpetuating the nonsense. This is a wonderful book, extremely wellresearched and a great resource for anyone interested in"Dracula." ... Read more

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The study combines the debate on regionalisation with transformation research. It regards the formation of regional actors and institutions not primarily from the perspective of formal organisational structures, but also a consequence of the macro-political transformation regime and region-specific opportunity structures. ... Read more

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massive restructuring of industry and identity
In eastern Europe after the fall ofcommunism, many regions had to remake their economies and indeed their identities. The book studies these efforts and their results. Many difficult issues arose, like privatisation of formerly state-owned companies and industries. There was also now a need to attract foreign investment.

Mixed up with all this was the idea of regional identities. Some portions of the book hark back to a pre-World War 1 era, in an effort to find a 'golden age' of cultural achievements. Hence, some countries like Hungary saw efforts to embrace the memories of Habsburg rule. Another contentious subject covered is homogeniety versus diversity. Was one better than the other? ... Read more

Product Description
The study combines the debate on regionalisation with transformation research. It regards the formation of regional actors and institutions not primarily from the perspective of formal organisational structures, but also a consequence of the macro-political transformation regime and region-specific opportunity structures. ... Read more