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"In our study we wanted to analyze how the Romanian political activist and ideologist Aurel C. Popovici (1863-1917) perceived liberalism and conservatism, two of the most important ideologies of the nineteenth century. For this purpose, we studied three of his main writings: Principiul de naţionalitate (The Nationality Principle), Statele Unite ale Austriei Mari (The United States of Great Austria) and Naţionalism sau democraţie: o critică a civilizaţiunii moderne (Nationalism or Democracy: a Critical Approach to Modern Civilization). We studied the way in which the renowned Banatian author perceived liberalism, but also the way he percieved several main principles of this ideology: the defense of liberty, the sovereignty of the people, representative government, the refusal of absolutism and pluralism. By analyzing these topics in Aurel C. Popovici's writings, we identified several paradoxes of his thinking, which we tried to explain by appealing to other sources, like personal letters or memoirs belonging to friends or admirers. Keywords: liberalism, conservatism, Aurel C. Popovici, democracy, Austria-Hungary, nationalism "

"Focused on the transmission of books from one generation to another, this study explores the connection between gender and book ownership by attempting to discover whether the 'reading lists' inadvertently compiled by testators for their offspring were informed by gender stereotypes and by specific perceptions of masculinity and femininity. By carefully considering the nature and content of these bequests, this study will try to identify the stereotypes attached to men and women's relation to books and, ultimately, to knowledge and consequently explore the place of books in their lives within the boundaries set by their gender in terms of social roles, access to education and involvement in the public sphere. By analysing the dynamics of bequests involving books, this study aims to explore the complex motives that impacted on testators' decisions, including concern for tradition and heritage. By looking at men and women as both donors and recipients of books, this article would like to identify emergent and possibly gendered reading cultures. Finally, by closely examining the intricacies of bequests recorded in probate inventories, this essay aims to highlight interaction within the family, vertically between generations and horizontally within them. Keywords: books, bequests, gender, generations, reading cultures, social roles, stereotypes."

"The present article discusses food narratives from travelogues written by the Calvinist elite of Transylvania. The paper firstly presents attitudes toward travel and travel writing in 18th-century Transylvania and then offers examples about stories associated with food and foodways. In the first instance, we discussed the attachment of Transylvanians to familiar tastes, then we offered examples of food rejection, either culturally or confessionally motivated. The asymmetrically opposed constructions of these food narratives, the constant distinctions made by the authors between "our" food and "theirs", suggest the importance of food in identity building. In the last part of our paper, we approached the social dimension of food, arguing that we are witnessing a cultural shift and the changing of the existing food regime, processes undergoing due to the increased number of travels, especially to Vienna. Keywords: 18th Century, Transylvania, travelogues, culinary history, food narratives. "

"Inspired by recent historiographical contributions concerning the complex implications of the notion of charisma for the various expressions of fascism, this article attempts to explore some of the main characteristics and functions of charismatic leadership in the case of the Legion of the "Archangel Michael". Drawing upon the classical ideal-typical model developed by Max Weber and building on the conclusions of some of its most significant refinements within the field of fascist studies, the present analysis will provide a brief outlook on the manner in which charismatic authority was theoretically developed in the case of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the founder and ruler of the Legionary Movement. Keywords: fascism, charismatic authority, the Legionary Movement, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu "

"This paper aims to reconstitute the pictorial program of some medieval Saxon churches' sanctuaries, which are Mălâncrav, Curciu, Râşnov and Sibiu, with particular interest on the images regarding the Passion Cycle. The article will try to bring a stylistic and iconographic analysis of the Passion Cycle in the sanctuary, episodes that usually appear on the northern choir wall. Therefore, we aim to highlight the reasons why this Passion narrative was chosen to decorate this part of the sanctuary and what was its role both regarding the place that it occupies, that is near the most sacred place of the church, and also the role it had in the religious services. Given the complexity of the narrative programs and the strong link with the biblical texts, the paintings have a double role, both educational and devotional. Keywords: Passion Cycles, mural painting, fortified churches, iconography "

"The present study focuses on the custom of "Beer", a remarkable event that shaped the evolution of the communities that were part of the Second Romanian Border Regiment at Năsăud, a military unit of the Austrian army in Transylvania between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It focuses specifically on the Şieuţ village and the detailed manner in which this social event was organized by the village's young men between Christmas and the New Year, when young villagers could attend the "Beer", an important occasion for social interaction. This research is based on a series of interviews with active community members from then and now and aims to offer an overview of the custom's meaning and structure. According to tradition, during the Nativity Fast, young men would follow the call of the "bucin" and meet at the house of a host to plan the event. They were assigned the roles of "vătafi" and "colceri" who hired musicians for the event, while the "căprari" were responsible for collecting the traditional pastry received by carol singers. On Christmas Eve, they grouped and went caroling throughout the village. After the Christmas church service, the traditional folk dance ("Beer") started at the host's house. The traditional festive garments, the young men going caroling or the traditional men's folk dance from Şieuţ, included in the UNESCO World Heritage, represent elements of this custom that have survived the passage of time, integrating the traditional into modern life. Keywords: Şieuţ, "Beer", Romanian folk dance, tradition, carol "

"The paper discusses the development of tourism during the Belle Époque in Europe, especially in the Austrian (Austro-Hungarian) Empire, in connection to postcards, a postal product specific to the period. The analysis of the images on the postcards that circulated during the era in question leads to the identification of actual "brands" of the cities and regions of the Empire. Those "brands" are iconic images that the general public and visitors in particular automatically associated with the depicted places. The present paper discusses the cases of Vienna and Budapest, the two capitals of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as well as the cases of cities like Bratislava, Cluj and Salzburg, spa resorts, places on the Adriatic Riviera, tourist places in Semmering and the Tatra Mountains, and those in the region of Tyrol. Keywords: History of tourism, postcards, visual history, 1900, Austro-Hungary "

"Based on fifteen court records from the national Archives of Sibiu and Braşov, dating to 1692-1785, this paper will examine the main characteristics of the individuals that had been involved in witchcraft trials in early modern Transylvania (seventeenth and eighteenth centuries). Furthermore, this study will try to investigate the social mechanisms that encouraged the community to start seeking a scapegoat in order to provide an explanation for misfortunes that occured in everyday life. Taking into consideration the fact that regional historiography showed little interest in the social dimension of witchcraft accusations, the present study will attempt to explore the social context for the trials, while contending with the well-known stereotypes about witches. Key Words: witch, social tension, scapegoat, Transylvania"

"This article presents the two forms of perfection of students in the medical higher education of Cluj County, the resident and non-resident medical studentships which were introduced in the Faculty of Medicine from Cluj in the interwar period continuing with certain interruptions in the first Communist Age. The article illustrates how the position of intern and extern physician could be filled in, in medicine. The social mark was the one that differentiated the medical examination in the Communist Age from the one from the interwar period. The social mark represented the social community activity of the student regarding the involvement of the student in various cultural and sanitary activities or voluntary work. The weight of this social mark was equal to the other specialized subjects from the examination. Under this social mark the Communist regime could mask the sanctioning of the political past and the poor political orientation of the students. Key words: resident medical studentship, non-resident medical studentship, medical higher education, medical education in Cluj county, professional training and perfection, students, Communism. "