Abstract |
The Europeanization Project was on the agenda in Bulgaria
throughout the 20th century. The present day, the beginning of the
21st century, has seen the project's apogee. Our spiritual
integration to the values of the Old Continent, our opening out,
our dialogue, the synchronization of our aims and objectives with
this cultural community while at the same time preserving our
singularity and uniqueness as well as our Bulgarian identity: these
are the processes results of which we need to rethink nowadays as
an integral part of our cultural heritage. It is time for us to
redefine the concepts of native and foreign, of Bulgarian and
universal as more than just a source of conflict. Our road is not
only a result of influences and foreign domination, but also an
inevitable typology of our historical past and our fate as a nation
situated on the crossroads of two continents. Our destiny has known
ups and downs featuring painful crises, big advances and a flurry
of activity making up for the lost years. In the broader context of
our cultural and historical development, the study of the Road to
Europe in the first half of the twentieth century is a perfect foil
for and gives meaning to important processes and typologies. They
take shape mainly in the spheres of our public and spiritual life
through the missionary activity of the Thought Circle and the
magazine they publish, through theatrical performances and
discussions intended to lead to the formation of a new type of art
and the emergence of a new type of audience. Cultural studies shed
new light on significant processes at crucial moments in Bulgarian
history by putting them in a European context and establishing a
dynamic relationship with our development throughout the twentieth
century. In this respect we need to mention the multifaceted
cultural mission of the four members of the Thought Circle, namely
Pencho Slaveykov, Dr Krastev, Yavorov and Petko Todorov. That is
what leads us to believe they were the pioneering builders of
Bulgaria's road to Europe at the dawn of the twentieth century. Key
words: native- foreign, tradition- innovation, Bulgarian -
universal. Trend: Art and Culture- Section- "the Road to
Europe".
|