The wave of revolutionary uprisings in a series of Arab countries in 2010/11 also encouraged a number of minorities in the MENA region to take to the streets and raise their voices against discrimination and marginalization. Parts of Kuwait’s stateless Bidun were among the subalterns who now began to call for their civil rights as long-term residents of the country. The protests began in 2011, were upheld sporadically until 2014, and resurfaced in mid-2019 following the suicide of a young Bidun. After a brief look at the historical background and context, this contribution will focus on the mobilization and activities of pro-Bidun organizations in recent years (2011–2014/15, 2018–19/20) and ask whether there are signs of a broader alliance between Bidun and Kuwaiti citizens to counter the increasingly authoritarian, anti-democratic governmental policies. It will be argued that as from 2018/19, a rapprochement of positions can be discerned. However, the year 2020 brought a new setback.
The aim of the paper is to analyze the political trajectory of changes in Saudi Arabia during the reign of Prince Muhammad Ibn Salman and the effects it has on the traditional and conservative values of the Saudi kingdom. The point of reference for the prince’s reform policy is the Vision 2030 project of changes announced in 2016, which aims to maintain a balance between modernization, including economic reforms, privatization and cultural initiatives, on the one hand, and Islam and political authoritarianism on the other. The structure of my article is built around the hypothesis that assumes that the reformist policy of Muhammad Ibn Salman is aimed at improving the economic and social conditions of Saudi Arabia in order to obtain social legitimization and loyalty and in the long term to ensure regime survival and its stability. I have posed three research questions which are as follows: 1) Can traditionalism and modernization be combined? 2) What is the impact of the authoritarian regime on modernization policy? 3) How has the relationship between the political authority and the Wahhabi establishment changed?
This paper comments on two Mesopotamian bricks belonging to collections of the Asia and Pacific Museum and the National Museum in Warsaw. Both bricks bear cuneiform inscriptions. The first was fashioned during the reign of the Ur king Amar-Suen (c. 2046–2038 BC) while the second is to be dated to the reign of the Neo-Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (858–824 BC). They commemorate building projects commissioned by these two Mesopotamian kings.
The Arab Republic of Egypt – the most important Middle Eastern Arabic country, is one of the oldest countries in the world, believed by some to be the cradle of civilization. Patriotic songs are very popular in it. They can be heard in times of peace and when the country may be facing some difficulties. They are shown on television, played on the radio, broadcast during official ceremonies, and used in social media, coffee shops, and weddings. In recent years, there has been something of a phenomenon around songs titled Taḥyā Maṣr. Notwithstanding the main messages – for Egypt to “live long” and show the artist’s love for their country – other messages and differences in how the singer expresses their love can be found. An analysis of six songs released in the years 2013–2018 under the same title, Taḥyā Maṣr, will be presented in this article. Any clear distinctions between them and the reasons for their being made under the same title will be shown.
In and around the 13th century, two eastern authors describe the island of Sicily from different perspectives but with the common purpose of linking it to the Arab and Islamic world it had belonged to. Both describe the place with varied images which combine the real physical aspects with fantasy, and which show natural landscapes, both urban and rural, dominated by the presence of the great volcano. The study of this island using its landscapes as a key allows us to investigate the ideological processes of the authors who describe it. Al-Qazwīnī and Al-Harawī undertake a literary itinerary in which the images of idealization and Islamization or sanctification of the island are crystallised.
Mining industry is an important sector that produces materials for other industries, also plays an important role in economic and social development, especially in a developing country like Vietnam. However, mineral mining can destroy the environment and deplete resources over time. The biggest challenge for state managers is to balance the conflict between the mining planning, development planning of other economic sectors and environmental issues. One of the solutions is to replace backward, manual extraction tools with the application of the modern computer (Modernize government administration). In Viet Nam, at present, the provincial management agency of mines faces up with difficult problems such as: backward management method, lowly informative level, not using the current data effectively, even some areas can manage data well but can hardly and lowly share them, the current softwares are mainly document management, most of maps are stored on paper, digital map manage is not really cared. The traditional procedure and technology needs to be innovated by the way of enhancing to synthetically manage mineral resources, this can advance speed and quality of data processing, reduce the burden on employees and raise the level of office automation. The article uses the open code ASP.NET combined with GIS (Geographic Information Systems), based on the mineral economic development planning map in Tuyen Quang province, tools for editing, storing and extracting informaion are built detailedly for activities in mines from the beginning to the end of mining process. As a result, managers and authorities can easily search information for their work.
Since 1987, the poets Teresa Ferenc and Zbigniew Jankowski have been gradually donating their substantial archives containing personal documents, diplomas and honourable mentions, photographs, hand-written versions of their published works, notes with ideas concerning changes to their works, correspondence, and press cuttings from the period between the 1940s until the beginning of the 21st century, to the collections of the Gdansk PAN Library. At the moment, the Manuscripts Workshop keeps about 600 manuscript accession units; the most recent materials date to 2016. The extensive correspondence of both poets may become a source material for research into the history of Polish literature in Pomerania in the second half of the 20th century. It makes up one of the most sizeable epistolary materials in the letter collections kept by the Library. Among the correspondents of the Sopot poets there are names who have found a perpetual place in the canon of Polish literature, such as Anna Kamieńska, Tadeusz Różewicz, Wisława Szymborska and Fr. Jan Twardowski.
For the Gdansk Library, participation in the Nights of Museums is an effective way of execution of its didactic and science-promoting goals defined in its mission. The interesting main themes, presentation of the library’s rich collections, as well as the involvement of the organisers and the participating staff members all translated into the success of the nine editions of the event between 2011 and 2019. Their subsequent main themes were: A night with Johannes Hevelius from the treasury of the Gdansk Library, Fashion for books – fashion in books, Horror in the library, The world of the library on one night, Taking a book to further than the horizon, The Library as a Garden, Gedanum domus nostra – Our home – Gdansk, In mari vita tua – In the sea is your life, Genius – on the 500th death anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci. During the past Night of Museums, visitors to the Library were most impressed by the displays in the Reading Room of Historical Collections. Such presentations are sometimes the only opportunity to have a close contact with valuable manuscripts, old printed books, prints, and other special collections, and to hear competent staff members talking about them. Regular attractions of the Night of Museums included displays referring to the theme of the event in the exhibition room and a sale of library publications in the hall of the historical building at ul. Wałowa 15. The subsequent organisers of the project, also in cooperation with other cultural institutions from the Tri-City, each time enriched the programme with fascinating talks, thematic workshops, and even concerts. During the subsequent editions of the Night of Museums, the Gdansk Library hosted an average of 670 visitors, which testifies to the value of this tool of promotion of the library.
Stanisław Hebanowski (1912–1983) was a well-known theatre director and translator of plays. At the age of 57 years, he moved to Gdansk, which marked the beginning of his most prolific artistic creativity and the period of some of his greatest achievements in the Polish theatre. Hebanowski’s collection of books, which, in the representative part of 4,000 volumes, made its way to the Gdansk Library, reflects its owner’s broad, not only theatrical, interests. Almost all the books are signed and provided with ordering numbers and letter markings indicating their belonging to a particular section – according to the author’s language or the topic of a given item. The provenance of the books is indicated by markings and annotations of their previous owners: apart from gifts and items purchased in second hand and ordinary bookshops in Gdansk, Krakow, Lwow, Poznan and Warsaw, the collection also includes books originating from theatres in Gdansk, Lodz and Poznan, and school libraries in Krakow and Tarnogora, university libraries from Krakow and Poznan, monastery libraries from Kolomyia and Stanislawow, and a public library in Rzeszow, along with ones previously belonging to various individuals. Some of the books from Hebanowski’s library – printed texts of theatre plays – include numerous annotations made by their owner – testimonies to the director’s preparation for the staging of the appropriate drama.
Gottfried Schwartz (1716–1777), a Mayor of Gdansk, was a wealthy manufacturer of silver wire, interested in art and science. He gathered precious collections of paintings and scientific instruments. He also collected objects made from porcelain, ivory and bronze and owned one of the most substantial collections of numismatic items in the city. In his testament drawn up in 1776, Schwartz bequeathed to Academic Gymnasium of Gdansk and the Library of the City Council of Gdansk both his numismatic collection, consisting of 3000 coins and medals, and his numismatic book collection including 110 items. The catalogue of this book collection, which is currently kept by Gdansk Library, is reconstructed in this paper. Schwartz’s numismatic books were thematically connected with the contents of the owner’s numismatic collection – the interrelation between the book items and the coin and medal holdings is clearly noticeable. On the basis of information on the contents of the lost collection we may presume that each type of numismatic items corresponded to some studies from the book collection.
The medieval manuscripts of St. Mary’s Church Library ( Biblioteka Mariacka) are the oldest part of the collections of the Gdansk Library, with some items dating back to the 12th century. In view of their topics and history, they provide a priceless testimony to the history of Pomerania. The value of the manuscripts lies not only in their contents and ornamentation, but also in the fact that they include parchment documents bound by Gdansk bookbinders, which have survived in an excellent condition. The uniqueness of the collection was confirmed by the missal Missale secundum notulam dominorum Teutonicorum (Ms. Mar. F 332) being entered on UNESCO’s “Memory of the World” Polish National Register in 2016. After 1921, not a single study discussing the provenance of books kept in St. Mary’s Church Library was written. This paper is an attempt to partially fill in the gap – to indicate the scribes and owners of the most valuable manuscripts. Among the latter, special attention should be devoted to clergymen connected with St. Mary’s church: Andreas Slommow, Heinrich Calow, and Johannes Zager, a lawyer Nicolaus Velan, and a scribe Johannes Rasoris from Nidzica. For the purposes of this article, books kept by the Library were divided into sections: theology, philosophy, law and medicine; manuscripts related to the Teutonic Order were also given a separate section. Such a division may help the readers use the library holdings. The text also discusses the most important wartime losses.
The statutes of the community Association for the Establishment and Maintenance of Early Childcare Facilities ( Verein zur Errichtung und Erhaltung von Klein-Kinder-Bewahr- Anstalten) dating to 1870 underlines the goal behind the activity of the organisation: the provision of appropriate day care to children aged from 2 to 7 years during the time when their unwealthy parents work. In compliance with the guidelines of the authorities of the Association, the staff of the facilities shaped the moral attitudes of the children, educated them, taught them hygiene habits, and provided them with a good start to subsequent stages of their school education by conducting classes. Towards the end of the 1860s, the four Facilities – located in the Old Town (as of 1839), in the Lower Town (as of 1844), in the Old Suburbs (as of 1848) and on the edge of the Main Town (as of 1858) – provided care to about 700 little children. The Association activated the inhabitants of Gdansk – not only the ones actively participating in the work of the organisation, but also the ones providing financial support and support in kind. What should be stressed is the involvement of women in the activity: they were not only members of the Association, but, in line with the 1870 Statutes – which was exceptional in the social realities of the time – could sit on the Governing Council ( Verwaltungs-Rath), and even (in one case) on the Board ( Vorstand).
This paper presents information on printed lists of Gdansk officials, which were published in 1741–1810 under the title Das itzt-lebende Dantzig… and Das jetzt-lebende Dantzig… (as of 1764). The author’s findings indicate that they were not published in 1742, 1745, 1747, 1749–1751, 1753 and 1793–1808. Detailed studies also allowed to determine the price at which these materials were sold, although the number of copies published still remains unknown. The author briefly discusses the contents of Das itzt-lebende Dantzig…, which was each time presented on about 100 pages. Inside, the readers could find the full names of Gdansk mayors, councillors, judges, representatives of the Third Order as well as the city military, religious, and school authorities. The source in question is one of the most important publications allowing supplementation of biographical data of Gdansk citizens living in the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century.
The article attempts to present the functioning of the Gdansk Library under the patronage of the Polish Academy of Sciences. As of 1 January 1955, the scientific department of the Municipal Library in Gdansk was taken over by the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the thus established separate institution received new statutes regulating the activity of the Library and the scope of the development of its collections. Until the four-hundredth anniversary of the Gdansk Library (the establishment of Bibliotheca Senatus Gedanensis), descriptions of the history of the Gdansk PAS Library were mainly based on reports drawn up by the heads of the institution. It is on their basis that one may trace the difficult space and storage and warehouse conditions in which employees of the Library carried out their statutory tasks, with the constantly growing collections and the increasing load of services. The paper also reports the scientific works of employees of the Library as well as the editorial activity of the institution, including works documenting the collections of the Library. An important way of familiarising the general public with knowledge on the Gdansk Library and its collections was through exhibitions and displays organized by employees of the information and special collections departments.
On 9 April 1945, Polish authorities officially took over one of the most valuable library holdings in Europe collected at the Danziger Stadtbibliothek (previously Bibliotheca Senatus Gedanensis). The most important tasks included the protection of the building and the bringing back of the most valuable items which towards the end of the war were taken away from Gdansk. They were found in the cellars of the Old Town Hall, in the Malbork Castle, and in the Pelplin Seminary. The team of devoted librarians headed by dr. Marian Pelczar, director, spent the first year of their work on the tidying of the interior of the building, cleaning and shelving the relocated book collections and safeguarding the abandoned libraries in Gdansk and in its vicinity. Despite the extremely difficult conditions, it was as early as on 22 June 1946 that the readers and Polish science were provided with access to the Library’s resources which, in particular as regards Polonica, to that date were little known to scholars, not only Polish ones. The tasks of the reborn Municipal Library were determined in its Organisational Charter adopted by the College of the City Board on 25 April 1946. The facility had a double nature: it functioned both as an educational library (the centre of a network of public reading rooms and libraries) and a scientific library (which included an information and bibliography centre). These two directions of activity determined the history of the Library until the end of 1954, when its scientific department was taken over by the Polish Academy of Sciences, and the educational one was merged with the Provincial Library.
The engraving presenting a view of the interior of the Library of the Council of the City of Gdansk was made in 1687 – just like the other 56 engravings showing the city in Reinhold Curicke’s work Der Stadt Dantzig historische Beschreibung (Amsterdam and Gdansk 1687). The author of the article analysed the view in terms of its style, technique and iconography. Reaching back to 1596, she presented the circumstances in which the Library of the Council of the City of Gdansk was established in its initial location, referring to the political situation in the Commonwealth after Sigismund III Vasa, a supporter of the counter-reformation directed at the Protestant Gdansk, ascended to the throne. Analysing the artistic value of the view on the interior of the Library, the author accentuated the appropriate decorum, differentiating the engraving in question from Curicke’s other illustrations forming a part of his work. According to the author, the above resulted from the fact that the city authorities wanted to highlight the role of child-rearing, education and science in the development of Gdansk. The message was expressed in a baroquising style allegorizing the image of science. It is this intention which makes the view of the interior of the Library different from the other realistic views of the structures, fragments of the city and suburban areas of Gdansk.
The article presents a selection of 15th century printed matters on the topic of broadly understood medicine, which are currently kept by the Gdansk PAS Library. They testify to the Gdansk culture in the area of the knowledge on health and hygiene in the 15th century and in a slightly later period. The majority of the said printed matters originate from the collections of Gdansk church libraries, while the presence of items of other origin (private owners) makes it possible to trace the road medical incunabula came to Gdansk to finally find their way to the resources of the Gdansk library. The author of the article explains the modesty of the Gdansk medical literature resources with the fact that there was not a single university functioning in the city by the River Motlawa in the early modern period. The presence of this kind of incunabula in church libraries and private collections of books indicates that the knowledge they contained was applied for personal use rather than in professional medical practice, although some of the items in question originate from book collections belonging to doctors.
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