Victor Neumann – författare

"My perspective is that of a phenomenologist and specialist in French and Spanish cultures. As such, the book left a special impression on me: Neumann does not limit himself to the mentioned areas of Europe, but understands the continent in its entirety, that is, ‘West’ and ‘East’ as a whole." — World Complexity Science AcademyThe Renaissance, the Reformation, the Enlightenment - these seismic developments in Western thought were not confined to Italy and her near neighbours, but were paralleled across the vast and culturally diverse territory stretching from Vienna to Constantinople. Drawing on an array of sources, many of which were little-known before he made this ground-breaking study, Victor Neumann charts the development of Eastern European thought and its literary and artistic expression from the Middle Ages to the modern age. First published, to great acclaim in Romania in 1991, this newly revised, updated and illustrated edition has been published as Neumann's home city of Timișoara prepares to receive visitors from across the world as European Capital of Culture, and at a time when the question of what it means to be European is being debated more than ever.

"Starting from the history of concepts, Victor Neumann shows how the variety of connotations associated with the ideas of 'nation' and 'people' have been circumscribed in south-eastern Europe, holding back the region over many decades. More important, with erudition and seriousness of purpose, he mounts a defence of a notion of identity that is neither fixed nor monocultural, and proposes a legal definition of 'nation' that can resist exclusivist or racist versions. In an age when counter-rational fantasies about identity seem to be prevailing, when many seem unaware of or have forgotten where such thinking leads, Neumann's is a much-needed voice of reason." — Dan Stone, Professor of Modern History, Royal Holloway, University of LondonWith a focus on the origins and evolution of political identity, this book explores the way different linguistic communities have defined kin, ethnicity, citizenship and the nation. As Neumann traces the transition over the last two centuries of European history, from the medieval to the modern age, he pays particular attention to the idealistic philosophies that have influenced the intellectual landscape and political discourse of European regions today, and which have intensified the division between East and West in terms of cultural norms, legislation and administration.

The theoretical analyses and interpretations contained in the studies of this volume focus on key-concepts such as: politics, politician, democracy, Europe, liberalism, constitution, property, progress, kinship, nation, national character and specificity, homeland, patriotism, education, totalitarianism, democracy, democratic, democratization, transition. The essays unveil specific aspects belonging to Romania's past and present. They also offer alternative perspectives on the Romanian culture through the relationship between the elite and society, and novel reflections on the delayed and unfinished modernization processes within the society and the state. The editors articulate the results coming from various sciences, such as history, linguistics, sociology, political sciences, and philosophy with the aim that the past and present profiles of Romania are better understood.