Paper short abstract:

The aim of this paper is to analyze some forms of interactions and their influence on the exchange of cultures and practices, which finally lead to the syncretism of Christianity and traditional cults in Gaul, Portugal and Britain from 4th to 7th century.

Paper long abstract:

The arrival of the Christianization in the Roman world was not a uniform process and Christianity in many cases had to adapt to the environment which it entered, which often entailed the embracement of local habits. In every place, however, it caused a sort of a clash between cultures and worldviews. It is known that the relations between Christians and pagans have always been marked by misunderstandings and intolerance. The possibility of exchange has almost never been propagated, although performed, in a way that despite the reprimands of the ecclesiastical councils, legal codes and sermons of priests and bishops, the cultural interaction persisted. The aim of this paper is to analyze some forms of interactions and their influence on the exchange of cultures and practices, which finally lead to the syncretism of Christianity and traditional cults. I shall provide some examples of how the interaction and exchange gave rise to some practices and beliefs that recall traditional and pagan religions, and how this practices could be interpreted as an example of the power and strength of tradition. The study will focus on the following regions: southern Gaul, southern Britain and Portugal from 4th to 7th century.

Paper short abstract:

By the 18th century, whales were the subject of news appearing in Lisbon newspapers and pamphlets as local curiosities. This was an efficient way of communicating concepts of the natural world, conducted from the periphery to the center of Europe and directed to distinct audiences.

Paper long abstract:

News about exotic large marine animals started to spread around Europe since the second half of the 16th century. These, containing both written and visual information, were typically included in encyclopedias and treaties, but also in pamphlets that easily moved from one person to another, disseminating the available information through distinct means of communication and to different audiences. By the 18th century, both as part of newspapers and pamphlets, information about strange natural events were amply printed and translated in several vernacular languages. These became increasingly of great interest to common people and not only to scholars, naturalists or collectors. Printed news included records and rare occurrences of local and exotic fauna. The analysis of Portuguese sources contributed with good examples of such events, firstly published in Portugal and then copied and translated to other vernacular tongues. It is the case of a fin whale stranded in the Tagus estuary (Lisbon) reported in the "Gazeta de Lisboa" (January 1723) with a detailed description of the specimen, accompanied by an illustration of the whale with its measures, which was afterwards translated and printed in a German pamphlet. The title of both is similar, even though the German illustration is rather different from the Lisbon illustration. Here, the transfer of natural history accounts and communication of new concepts of the natural world was conducted from the periphery to the center of Europe. Generally, these took part of news nets of knowledge, were executed by distinct actors and directed to several audiences.

Paper short abstract:

The present work will examine some German iconographic sources of the 16th century, which contain New World primate portraits. Their cultural and symbolic value and their contribution to the knowledge of Renaissance natural sciences will be discussed.

Paper long abstract:

As a fundamental aspect of the imaging of Renaissance courts, exotic animals from the New Indies became in the 16th century object of intense trade and luxurious goods for European courts. As revealed by many iconographic sources, owning and collecting exotic pets was part of the tradition of the Habsburg court and of other German wealthy citizens. Although this fact is well known, the study of the animal species imported, their cultural and symbolic value and the contribution they gave to natural science of the 16th century, have not been sufficiently studied. For instance recent data show that New World primates seem to have been very common in Renaissance courts. They were high value specimens and immediately became frequent subject for artworks. Many of these monkeys' portraits reveal to be the first scientific representations of many species. Important artists, such as Albrecht Dürer, Hans Burgkmair, Cranach the Elder among others, took part to the realization of important works were New World primates are portrayed and have a specific meaning. See for instance The Triumphal Arch, the Large Triumphal Carriage and the Book of Hours of the Emperor Maximilian the first. The aims of the present work is to show and discuss some iconographic sources that, though very famous, were not examined by this point of view and to show the imaging of these creatures in these various media, their impact on Renaissance culture and, their contribution to the European history of zoology.

Paper short abstract:

Through the present proposal we would like to test if the tradition regarding the existence of a large household, with numerous members, can be proved in the case of Budești village, located in the central part of Transylvania.

Paper long abstract:

A concrete form of studying the lives of the people from the past, their behavior and the social realities can be obtained through a closer analysis of the family and household. This project proposal represents our intention of conducting a demographic research, which will picture aspects related to the structure of the Romanian household from Transylvania's past (early 20th century).

Many works created until now supported the idea of the predominance of large households with numerous members in Transylvania, during the 18th-19th centuries, even affirming that there was a tradition of such kind. Some foreign researchers have long associated the Romanian family with the Balcanic zadruga, another traditional type of family.

Through this project proposal we aim to test if the large household tradition with numerous members is indeed a valid detail in the case of Budești village, located in the central part of Transylvania. We would like to investigate if such a tradition really existed, especially considering that, during this period, Transylvania made significant steps towards modernization from an economic and social point of view.

We intend to verify these aspects starting from the data collected from the printed household records, belonging to the Budești community of 1901. Also known as "nominal conscription of the souls", these registers were made of several "family sheets".

Because these sources offer information about the household, we consider that using them will help us to find precise answers concerning the preservation or not of some traditions regarding the family and household in Transylvania.

Paper short abstract:

Our study aims to understand how the encounter of Portuguese with a mythic species occurred - the aquatic mammal manatee - by analysing the knowledge transfer from local people and the level of that cultural encounter, including the perceptions towards the species and its economic value.

Paper long abstract:

At the light of the Portuguese Expansion in the South Atlantic, the knowledge about a New World has undoubtedly constituted a strong stimulus not only to see the world in a new geographical and cultural dimension, but also - in describing the novelty, exoticism, beauty and strangeness of nature - to appreciate its value as an economical source. A mythic creature, the aquatic mammal manatee (Trichechus inunguis Natterer 1883), is an outstanding example, present in several references with different nomenclatures, between the fear and the exploitation. Our aim was to understand how the discovery of a new species implies a cultural and knowledge transfer and what is the level and depth of that cultural encounter. In our study, we collected information from travel literature books, letters from missionaries and Portuguese explorers, chronicles, scientific treaties, illustrated broadsheets, leaflets and images of new and exotic elements in naturalist records, sailors' reports on marine creatures, folklore sources and literature. We analysed local myths and first perceptions, descriptions of its anatomy and behaviour, culinary usage, and fishing methods both locally and during voyages, by the eyes of Portuguese navigators, chroniclers, traders, missionaries, officials, soldiers and scholars. We divided the collected information in four "type of data" based on the content - descriptions, travel relations, fisheries and relation with human cultures. Our preliminary conclusions point to a connection and overlap of the different type of information, exalting the knowledge transfer among local people and the Portuguese, and an overture to experience a different culture.

Paper short abstract:

In recent years, a new phenomenon is taking place in the education system. This is the growing integration of the Arab female teachers in schools in the Jewish sector. These teachers are primarily engaged in teaching subjects such as Arabic, English, Science and Mathematics. This study presents the complex story of these teachers who are regarded as part of the emerging Arab middle class in Israel.

Paper long abstract:

The Arab female teachers allow the establishment of contact and cooperation arenas between Jewish and Arab groups; therefore, this study was designed to reveal the emergence of a new contact-scene, which takes place in Jewish schools, thus providing a glimpse into a new discourse and cultural worlds emerging from the Arab sector in the last decade.

The interpretation of the findings relied primarily on two theoretical analysis; first, the Contact Theory as the starting point for understanding interaction between actors through the formation of a new contact scene. Second, integrating the Contact theory with Politics of Identity, which developed as part of the contact’s impact. The research methodology is qualitative. 11 In-depth interviews were conducted and filmed using a video camera.

Paper short abstract:

Portuguese literature participates in the shared interest in the poetry of the Far East, as it happened in other European literary traditions. This process is introducing new ways of understanding poetic writing, which require the kind of systematic reading that this research tries to provide.

Paper long abstract:

Throughout the twentieth century, Portuguese literature participated in the shared interest in the poetry of the Far East. But a more consistent and far reaching influence, namely of the Japanese tradition of the haiku, can only be traced from the 1980's up until this day and age. This subtle and gradual process is changing our conception of poetic tradition. The inclusion of certain formal aspects of Chinese and Japanese poetry manifests itself at least at two levels: in the anatomy and graphic design of the books; and in the structure of its poetic compositions. Focusing on books published in Portugal in the last thirty years, we'll find elements that confirm the close link between the poetic and the pictorial dimensions that exists in the aesthetic ideals of departure. The labour of editing is sensitive to the fact that in the classical poetry of the Far East the word is inseparable from its visual expression. As regards to the theoretical basis that nourishes the poems, the similarities between the Chinese and the Japanese aesthetic thoughts seem even more constant and direct. The content of the works reveals a strong affinity to the philosophical principles of Zen and Taoism; the poems correspond to various traits of these poetics, particularly the haiku (conciseness, objectivity, a preference for nouns, the surprising conclusion or the suppression of subordinate sentences). This dynamic is embodied in hybrid works that turn the word into a matter going through other forms of expression, which are not exclusive to poetry.

Paper short abstract:

The social and historical realities through societies are quite diverse and there are many cultural differences between countries. An exchange program provides a social relation of cultural reciprocity, growth and respect among people of different realities.

Paper long abstract:

The approach of this work will focus on the experience the authors recently had while Brazilian undergraduate students on an international mobility program in Portugal.

We shall present the main perceptions acquired during this experience, taking into account the double face of exchange that is configured both on reciprocity of academic knowledge and professional growth, but mainly on the contribution of training and personal construction as social beings in an environment, which is politically, economically and culturally different from our homeland. We believe that learning the customs, traditions and the language differences of another country means much more than the simple exchange of knowledge, but most of all, it means to aggregate values and personal growth. Living with differences is learning to respect and understand that we are a possble culture among many other possible cultures.

Another important aspect to be highlighted is that this exchange of knowledge, not only enables growth for those who are moving abroad, but also for those who receive a foreigner student. So we want to put in account both our vision and experience as exchange students, and also the views and experiences of who constantly receive students from all over the world.

To conclude, taking part of an exchange is to learn to live with differences and grow with them, once the integration with aspects of the culture and local lives raises the possibility to be no longer just a citizen of a nationality, but a citizen the world.