Original scientific paper
ABOUT THE MUTUAL DEPENDENCE OF SOCIO-CULTURAL CHANGE IN EASTERN AND WESTERN EUROPE
Josef LANGER
Abstract
This contribution deals with the interdependence of Eastern
and Western Europe in the present historical developments.
It emphasizes the importance to distinguish analytically
between the social and the cultural. Pointing out an
increasing neglect of the social in theory and research
particularly with respect to the post-communist societies of
Eastern and East-Central Europe. As social structure is the
one element which has been changing the fastest in these
societies, the theoretical insights about its relation to culture
are most significant. Given this point of the theoretical
approach it becomes obvious that every assumption of a
more or less coherent Central European culture or from
another point of view post-communist mind must be
misleading. Behind both one can suspect a too holistic
understanding of culture. If we, however, assume that every
cultural pattern requires certain socio-structural support, the
post-communist situation appears rather as a set of different
cultural dimensions than a cultural system homogeniously
organized around coherent principles.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
20421
URI
Publication date:
31.12.1998.
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