Key Concepts Of Romanian History

The theoretical analyses and interpretations contained in the studies of this volume focus on key-concepts such as: politics, politician, democracy, Europe, liberalism, constitution, property, progress, kinship, nation, national character and specificity, homeland, patriotism, education, totalitarianism, democracy, democratic, democratization, transition. The essays unveil specific aspects belonging to Romania?s past and present. They also offer alternative perspectives on the Romanian culture through the relationship between the elite and society, and novel reflections on the delayed and unfinished modernization processes within the society and the state. The editors articulate the results coming from various sciences, such as history, linguistics, sociology, political sciences, and philosophy with the aim that the past and present profiles of Romania are better understood.

There is a considerable difference between real history and discourse history - this book stems from this idea. The author points out that history is constantly reconstructed, adapted and sometimes mythified from the perspective of the present day, of present states of mind and ideologies. Boia closely examines the process of historical culture and conscience in nineteenth and twentieth century Romania, particularly concentrating on the impact of the national ideology on history. Based upon his findings, the author identifies several key mythical configurations and analyses the manner in which Romanians have reconstituted their own highly ideologized history over the last two centuries. The strength of History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness lies in the author's ability to fully deconstruct the entire Romanian historiographic system and demonstrate the increasing acuteness of national problems in general, and in particular the exploitation of history to support national ideology.

The theoretical analyses and interpretations contained in the studies of this volume focus on key-concepts such as: politics, politician, democracy, Europe, liberalism, constitution, property, progress, kinship, nation, national character and specificity, homeland, patriotism, education, totalitarianism, democracy, democratic, democratization, transition. The essays unveil specific aspects belonging to Romania's past and present. They also offer alternative perspectives on the Romanian culture through the relationship between the elite and society, and novel reflections on the delayed and unfinished modernization processes within the society and the state. The editors articulate the results coming from various sciences, such as history, linguistics, sociology, political sciences, and philosophy with the aim that the past and present profiles of Romania are better understood.

Presentations of National Cultures. Fifty-one texts illustrate the evolution of modernism in the east-European region. Essays, articles, poems, or excerpts from longer works offer new opportunities of possible comparisons of the respective national cultures, from the different ideological approaches and finessing projects of how to create the modern state liberal, conservative, socialist and others to the literary and scientific attempts at squaring the circle of individual and collective identities.

The volume provides a comprehensive, yet brief, analysis of the evolution of Romanian history and civilization from the first century BC to the present. Its principal attraction to readers is the conceptual and analytical approach designed to provide an intelligent, yet scholarly, overview of Romanian history, and a clear understanding of the problems facing the country, rooted in that history, in the post-communist period of transition of the 1990s and, most likely, also in the new millennium.

Based on the idea that there is a considerable difference between reality and discourse, the author points out that history is constantly reconstructed, adapted and sometimes mythicized from the perspectives of the present day, present states of mind and ideologies. He closely examines historical culture and conscience in nineteenth and twentieth century Romania, particularly concentrating on the impact of the national ideology on history. Boia's innovative analysis identifies several key mythical configurations and shows how Romanians have reconstituted their own highly ideologized history over the last two centuries. The strength of History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness lies in the author's ability to fully deconstruct the entire Romanian historiographic system and demonstrate the increasing acuteness of national problems in general, and in particular the exploitation of history to support national ideology.

A comprehensive and engaging new history charting Romania's development over 2000 years from its establishment to the present day.

One of the greatest challenges during the enlargement process of the European Union towards the east is how the issue of the Roma or Gypsies is tackled. This ethnic minority group represents a much higher share by numbers, too, in some regions going above 20% of the population. This enormous social and political problem cannot be solved without proper historical studies like this book, the most comprehensive history of Gypsies in Romania. It is based on academic research, synthesizing the entire historical Romanian and foreign literature concerning this topic, and using lot of information from the archives. The main focus is laid on the events of the greatest consequence. Special attention is devoted to aspects linked to the long history of the Gypsies, such as slavery, the process of integration and assimilation into the majority population, as well as the marginalization of Gypsies, which has historic roots. The process of emancipation of Gypsies in the mid-19th century receives due treatment. The deportation of Gypsies to Transnistria during the Antonescu regime, between 1942-1944, is reconstructed in a special chapter. The closing chapters elaborate on the policy toward Gypsies in the decades after the Second World War that explain for the latest developments and for the situation of this population in today's Romania.