Razvan Paraianu | G.E. Palade UMPhST of Targu Mures (original) (raw)
Books by Razvan Paraianu
Papers by Razvan Paraianu
Revista istorică, 2024
Following the Soviet model, scientific research in Romania was centralized and rigorously planned... more Following the Soviet model, scientific research in Romania was centralized and rigorously planned under the auspices of the new Romanian People's Republic Academy, which was established under the authority of the Council of Ministers in 1949. The official propaganda stated that the "new intellectual" must be "at the service of the people," that he or she must fight for the "great ideals of humanity", without being "subservient" to capitalist circles with their imperialist, militaristic, and fascist interests. In the "name of the people", intellectuals were deployed in the so-called world campaign for peace and in the offensive of Soviet science, which was described by the propaganda as the most advanced science in the world. After Stalin's death, engaging with new Soviet policy, Gheorghiu-Dej's regime had to skillfully navigate the country between the Scylla of de-Stalinization and the Charybdis of de-Satellization. This time, the intellectuals were used for the revalorization of the cultural heritage and for the creation of a cultural diplomacy to promote a new political identity for Socialist Romania. During this period, the re-institutionalization of some intellectuals who were marginalized or persecuted during the Sovietization of the country began, more specifically people who had previously been described as "bourgeois intellectual"; were practically resocialized in the new order. In the name of Romania's independence, these old-school intellectuals were forced to collaborate with the new regime in order to find a new sense of cultural identity, despite the harassment caused by the Party or the Secret Police. While serving the regime's purpose, they were also the bearers of a cultural legacy from the old regime, which was tacitly disseminated but never openly discussed at the time. This mixture of new and old ideas shaped the profile of Romanian intellectuals in socialism. The interpretation proposed in this paper covers four stages, namely a period of "simulated change," then one of transforming the intellectuals into a teleocracy, with the aim of obtaining the country's independence from Moscow, followed by a period of "latent learning," but also one of tacit knowledge, characterized by the recovery of some intellectuals from the interwar period, and finally a period of self-marginalization marked by the neo-totalitarianism of Ceaușescu's regime. Next, I will argue that this interpretation can lead to a better understanding of the socialist Romanian culture as it evolved in the last decades of the communist regime.
Studia Universitatis Petru Maior. Historia, 2010
Traditionally, lawyers used to be active in militant politics because the nature of their profess... more Traditionally, lawyers used to be active in militant politics because the nature of their profession assured them certain independence. This was particularly true in Transylvania at the end of 19th century when the governmental attempts to solve the problem of nationalities put a pressure on most employees in the public institutions. Their knowledge of juridical system made them a valuable asset for the national movement. However, about the political crisis of 1910, the public image of the Romanian lawyers was seriously injured in a debate over the character and usefulness of these people within the national movement. The following article analyses the context and the implications of these debate. Far from being a local political dispute, this change in attitude of public opinion is inscribed within a broader phenomenon which is a shift from an argumentative type of discourse toward a rather lyrical one, a discourse that organizes rather the feelings than the reasons of the audience. This shift of the political culture in the beginning of the twentieth century was possible because of the increasing role played by important journalists in public issues and their ability in addressing a wider audience. In the last instance, “the national poet” was opposed to the lawyer, as an epitome of the true leader. This article explores as well the way in which writers claim for leadership, under the circumstances of 1910 debate, and the role ascribed by them to their militant literature.
Studii şi materiale de istorie contemporană (SMIC), 2023
Once Romania came under the influence of the Soviet Union, the new regime established in 1948 was... more Once Romania came under the influence of the Soviet Union, the new regime established in 1948 was integrated into the diplomatic system created by the Kremlin. The party-state in Bucharest participated in youth festivals, the world women's movement, intellectuals' conferences, the Christian Peace Movement, and particularly the World Peace Congress. All of these events served as propaganda instruments to discourage a more assertive Western anti-Sovietism. Since 1954, Khrushchev initiated a shift in Soviet policy, one focused on peaceful coexistence rather than confrontation between the two formerly irreconcilable political camps. The Romanian People's Republic, along with other state socialist countries, emulated this novel approach in Moscow. The article explores the impact of the new course on Romania’s cultural diplomacy in the late 1950s and the early 1960s. To establish credible diplomatic efforts, there was a need to rethink socialist culture and revalue the pre-communist heritage. This new culture was based on the Leninist principle of “the new culture, national in form, socialist in content”. It signaled that the regime had moved beyond de-Stalinization, and now possessed internal legitimacy that no longer relied on the presence of Soviet troops in the country. However, this socialist culture drew inspiration from postwar autochthonized Bolshevik (Stalinist) nationalism. The medieval tradition rediscovered by Soviet cultural studies (such as Dmitry Likhachev, Viktor Lazarev, or Boris Rybakov) fueled anti-Soviet sentiments in Bucharest, leading, by 1964, to a significant distancing from Moscow. This article traces the diplomatic efforts of the Romanian People's Republic during this period of latent learning of the new rules of the political game within the socialist camp.
Studii şi materiale de istorie contemporană (SMIC), 2021
In 1965, at the 9th Congress of the Romanian Communist Party, Nicolae Ceauşescu was appointed Gen... more In 1965, at the 9th Congress of the Romanian Communist Party, Nicolae Ceauşescu was appointed General Secretary. He was the youngest party leader among brotherly socialist countries. He immediately got the attention of the public opinion, affirming that the role of the nation was not over. He proclaimed the nation the foundation for the future socialist society. It was the beginning of Ceauşescu’s régime, a period dominated by the overrepresentation of the socialist nation within official and public discourse. One particular trait of Ceauşescu’s understanding of the nation was its homogeneity. It was this homogeneity that shaped his perspective about social progress in Romania and, later, caused much harm to the social fabric of the country. The article explores the beginning of this theory of a homogenous society as the ideal endpoint of the social révolution as it had been envisioned by the party officiais. The theory affected not only the Romanian society but the Communist Party as well. It was designed to remove différences between villagers and city dwellers, between workers and intellectuals and, eventually, between party members and the rest of the people. It was this homogeneity that gave the unmistakable stifling air of the last decade of the Romanian socialist régime.
Anuarul Institutului de Cercetări Socio-Umane" …, 2010
" Blood and homeland": eugenics and racial …, 2007
Page 361. Culturalist Nationalism and Anti-Semitism in Fin-de-Siecle Romania Rdzvan Paraianu Duri... more Page 361. Culturalist Nationalism and Anti-Semitism in Fin-de-Siecle Romania Rdzvan Paraianu During the nineteenth century, European thought was deeply influenced by a new heuristic notion used in most of the human sciences at the time. ...
Nation-Building and contested identities: Romanian …
Dimitrie Cantemir: Fürst der Moldau, Gelehrter, …, 2008
Page 219. Razvan Pârâianu (Bucureşti) DimitrieCantemir. Cultură, umanism şi educaţie socialistă D... more Page 219. Razvan Pârâianu (Bucureşti) DimitrieCantemir. Cultură, umanism şi educaţie socialistă Dimitrie Cantemir nu a fost niciodată un personaj deosebit de popular al istoriografiei române înainte de al doilea război mondial. ...
![Research paper thumbnail of Literatura patriotica de inspiratie socialista [Patriotic Literature of Socialist Inspiration]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/1874846/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Initially written in 1881 by Nicolae Gane, Stejarul din Borzesti was rewritten by Eusebiu Camilar... more Initially written in 1881 by Nicolae Gane, Stejarul din Borzesti was rewritten by Eusebiu Camilar in 1954 and became one of the most popular historical short stories in Romania. It was included in most literary textbooks or curriculum since its first publication. This short story is relevant for the cultural policy of the communist regime in 1954 and the present article analyses the reasons why today, after the 1989 Revolution, after the 1999 education reform, and after NATO and EU integration, a pupil in the third grade is compelled to read this story. In the followings, there will be analyzed the political context under which this short story was written, the cultural policy in which it was inscribed, the way in which children literature was integrated in the official culture of the regime, and the way in which a new historical identity was built for the young generation and why such texts survived the post-communist period until today.
In conclusion, the Romanian communist regime, after a period of severe cultural purge, attempted to create of a “new culture” suited for the “new man,” the builder of socialism, a sense of identity which was equally based on national independence and class struggle, the former being preponderant. This ideological effort was performed through supporting a new literature whose directions and principal themes were inspired by the party policy, rewriting some of previous texts in the light of the new ideological imperatives, retrieving the classics of Romanian literature on the ideological criteria, retranslating the great works of universal literature and reinterpreting according to the same criteria. Camilar’s short story is a good example of this attempt of recasting and reinterpreting of Romanian culture and history as a struggle of the ordinary men for independence.
Traditionally, lawyers used to be active in militant politics because the nature of their profess... more Traditionally, lawyers used to be active in militant politics because the nature of their profession assured them certain independence. This was particularly true in Transylvania at the end of 19th century when the governmental attempts to solve the problem of nationalities put a pressure on most employees in the public institutions. Their knowledge of juridical system made them a valuable asset for the national movement. However, about the political crisis of 1910, the public image of the Romanian lawyers was seriously injured in a debate over the character and usefulness of these people within the national movement. The following article analyses the context and the implications of these debate. Far from being a local political dispute, this change in attitude of public opinion is inscribed within a broader phenomenon which is a shift from an argumentative type of discourse toward a rather lyrical one, a discourse that organizes rather the feelings than the reasons of the audience. This shift of the political culture in the beginning of the twentieth century was possible because of the increasing role played by important journalists in public issues and their ability in addressing a wider audience. In the last instance, “the national poet” was opposed to the lawyer, as an epitome of the true leader. This article explores as well the way in which writers claim for leadership, under the circumstances of 1910 debate, and the role ascribed by them to their militant literature.
Revista istorică, 2024
Following the Soviet model, scientific research in Romania was centralized and rigorously planned... more Following the Soviet model, scientific research in Romania was centralized and rigorously planned under the auspices of the new Romanian People's Republic Academy, which was established under the authority of the Council of Ministers in 1949. The official propaganda stated that the "new intellectual" must be "at the service of the people," that he or she must fight for the "great ideals of humanity", without being "subservient" to capitalist circles with their imperialist, militaristic, and fascist interests. In the "name of the people", intellectuals were deployed in the so-called world campaign for peace and in the offensive of Soviet science, which was described by the propaganda as the most advanced science in the world. After Stalin's death, engaging with new Soviet policy, Gheorghiu-Dej's regime had to skillfully navigate the country between the Scylla of de-Stalinization and the Charybdis of de-Satellization. This time, the intellectuals were used for the revalorization of the cultural heritage and for the creation of a cultural diplomacy to promote a new political identity for Socialist Romania. During this period, the re-institutionalization of some intellectuals who were marginalized or persecuted during the Sovietization of the country began, more specifically people who had previously been described as "bourgeois intellectual"; were practically resocialized in the new order. In the name of Romania's independence, these old-school intellectuals were forced to collaborate with the new regime in order to find a new sense of cultural identity, despite the harassment caused by the Party or the Secret Police. While serving the regime's purpose, they were also the bearers of a cultural legacy from the old regime, which was tacitly disseminated but never openly discussed at the time. This mixture of new and old ideas shaped the profile of Romanian intellectuals in socialism. The interpretation proposed in this paper covers four stages, namely a period of "simulated change," then one of transforming the intellectuals into a teleocracy, with the aim of obtaining the country's independence from Moscow, followed by a period of "latent learning," but also one of tacit knowledge, characterized by the recovery of some intellectuals from the interwar period, and finally a period of self-marginalization marked by the neo-totalitarianism of Ceaușescu's regime. Next, I will argue that this interpretation can lead to a better understanding of the socialist Romanian culture as it evolved in the last decades of the communist regime.
Studia Universitatis Petru Maior. Historia, 2010
Traditionally, lawyers used to be active in militant politics because the nature of their profess... more Traditionally, lawyers used to be active in militant politics because the nature of their profession assured them certain independence. This was particularly true in Transylvania at the end of 19th century when the governmental attempts to solve the problem of nationalities put a pressure on most employees in the public institutions. Their knowledge of juridical system made them a valuable asset for the national movement. However, about the political crisis of 1910, the public image of the Romanian lawyers was seriously injured in a debate over the character and usefulness of these people within the national movement. The following article analyses the context and the implications of these debate. Far from being a local political dispute, this change in attitude of public opinion is inscribed within a broader phenomenon which is a shift from an argumentative type of discourse toward a rather lyrical one, a discourse that organizes rather the feelings than the reasons of the audience. This shift of the political culture in the beginning of the twentieth century was possible because of the increasing role played by important journalists in public issues and their ability in addressing a wider audience. In the last instance, “the national poet” was opposed to the lawyer, as an epitome of the true leader. This article explores as well the way in which writers claim for leadership, under the circumstances of 1910 debate, and the role ascribed by them to their militant literature.
Studii şi materiale de istorie contemporană (SMIC), 2023
Once Romania came under the influence of the Soviet Union, the new regime established in 1948 was... more Once Romania came under the influence of the Soviet Union, the new regime established in 1948 was integrated into the diplomatic system created by the Kremlin. The party-state in Bucharest participated in youth festivals, the world women's movement, intellectuals' conferences, the Christian Peace Movement, and particularly the World Peace Congress. All of these events served as propaganda instruments to discourage a more assertive Western anti-Sovietism. Since 1954, Khrushchev initiated a shift in Soviet policy, one focused on peaceful coexistence rather than confrontation between the two formerly irreconcilable political camps. The Romanian People's Republic, along with other state socialist countries, emulated this novel approach in Moscow. The article explores the impact of the new course on Romania’s cultural diplomacy in the late 1950s and the early 1960s. To establish credible diplomatic efforts, there was a need to rethink socialist culture and revalue the pre-communist heritage. This new culture was based on the Leninist principle of “the new culture, national in form, socialist in content”. It signaled that the regime had moved beyond de-Stalinization, and now possessed internal legitimacy that no longer relied on the presence of Soviet troops in the country. However, this socialist culture drew inspiration from postwar autochthonized Bolshevik (Stalinist) nationalism. The medieval tradition rediscovered by Soviet cultural studies (such as Dmitry Likhachev, Viktor Lazarev, or Boris Rybakov) fueled anti-Soviet sentiments in Bucharest, leading, by 1964, to a significant distancing from Moscow. This article traces the diplomatic efforts of the Romanian People's Republic during this period of latent learning of the new rules of the political game within the socialist camp.
Studii şi materiale de istorie contemporană (SMIC), 2021
In 1965, at the 9th Congress of the Romanian Communist Party, Nicolae Ceauşescu was appointed Gen... more In 1965, at the 9th Congress of the Romanian Communist Party, Nicolae Ceauşescu was appointed General Secretary. He was the youngest party leader among brotherly socialist countries. He immediately got the attention of the public opinion, affirming that the role of the nation was not over. He proclaimed the nation the foundation for the future socialist society. It was the beginning of Ceauşescu’s régime, a period dominated by the overrepresentation of the socialist nation within official and public discourse. One particular trait of Ceauşescu’s understanding of the nation was its homogeneity. It was this homogeneity that shaped his perspective about social progress in Romania and, later, caused much harm to the social fabric of the country. The article explores the beginning of this theory of a homogenous society as the ideal endpoint of the social révolution as it had been envisioned by the party officiais. The theory affected not only the Romanian society but the Communist Party as well. It was designed to remove différences between villagers and city dwellers, between workers and intellectuals and, eventually, between party members and the rest of the people. It was this homogeneity that gave the unmistakable stifling air of the last decade of the Romanian socialist régime.
Anuarul Institutului de Cercetări Socio-Umane" …, 2010
" Blood and homeland": eugenics and racial …, 2007
Page 361. Culturalist Nationalism and Anti-Semitism in Fin-de-Siecle Romania Rdzvan Paraianu Duri... more Page 361. Culturalist Nationalism and Anti-Semitism in Fin-de-Siecle Romania Rdzvan Paraianu During the nineteenth century, European thought was deeply influenced by a new heuristic notion used in most of the human sciences at the time. ...
Nation-Building and contested identities: Romanian …
Dimitrie Cantemir: Fürst der Moldau, Gelehrter, …, 2008
Page 219. Razvan Pârâianu (Bucureşti) DimitrieCantemir. Cultură, umanism şi educaţie socialistă D... more Page 219. Razvan Pârâianu (Bucureşti) DimitrieCantemir. Cultură, umanism şi educaţie socialistă Dimitrie Cantemir nu a fost niciodată un personaj deosebit de popular al istoriografiei române înainte de al doilea război mondial. ...
Initially written in 1881 by Nicolae Gane, Stejarul din Borzesti was rewritten by Eusebiu Camilar... more Initially written in 1881 by Nicolae Gane, Stejarul din Borzesti was rewritten by Eusebiu Camilar in 1954 and became one of the most popular historical short stories in Romania. It was included in most literary textbooks or curriculum since its first publication. This short story is relevant for the cultural policy of the communist regime in 1954 and the present article analyses the reasons why today, after the 1989 Revolution, after the 1999 education reform, and after NATO and EU integration, a pupil in the third grade is compelled to read this story. In the followings, there will be analyzed the political context under which this short story was written, the cultural policy in which it was inscribed, the way in which children literature was integrated in the official culture of the regime, and the way in which a new historical identity was built for the young generation and why such texts survived the post-communist period until today.
In conclusion, the Romanian communist regime, after a period of severe cultural purge, attempted to create of a “new culture” suited for the “new man,” the builder of socialism, a sense of identity which was equally based on national independence and class struggle, the former being preponderant. This ideological effort was performed through supporting a new literature whose directions and principal themes were inspired by the party policy, rewriting some of previous texts in the light of the new ideological imperatives, retrieving the classics of Romanian literature on the ideological criteria, retranslating the great works of universal literature and reinterpreting according to the same criteria. Camilar’s short story is a good example of this attempt of recasting and reinterpreting of Romanian culture and history as a struggle of the ordinary men for independence.
Traditionally, lawyers used to be active in militant politics because the nature of their profess... more Traditionally, lawyers used to be active in militant politics because the nature of their profession assured them certain independence. This was particularly true in Transylvania at the end of 19th century when the governmental attempts to solve the problem of nationalities put a pressure on most employees in the public institutions. Their knowledge of juridical system made them a valuable asset for the national movement. However, about the political crisis of 1910, the public image of the Romanian lawyers was seriously injured in a debate over the character and usefulness of these people within the national movement. The following article analyses the context and the implications of these debate. Far from being a local political dispute, this change in attitude of public opinion is inscribed within a broader phenomenon which is a shift from an argumentative type of discourse toward a rather lyrical one, a discourse that organizes rather the feelings than the reasons of the audience. This shift of the political culture in the beginning of the twentieth century was possible because of the increasing role played by important journalists in public issues and their ability in addressing a wider audience. In the last instance, “the national poet” was opposed to the lawyer, as an epitome of the true leader. This article explores as well the way in which writers claim for leadership, under the circumstances of 1910 debate, and the role ascribed by them to their militant literature.
![Research paper thumbnail of "Young Man Goga” [Tânărul Goga]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/634917/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](About the end of the century, a generation of young people witnessed a series of cultural mutatio... more About the end of the century, a generation of young people witnessed a series of cultural mutations that altered the traditional ways of thinking society. Modernity, urban life, social immobility, political corruption, populism, militant literature, cultural nationalism, revolutionary art, etc. were quite a few ingredients of their experience. Ready to challenge the world view inherited form their parents, eager to ask for a more prominent role and leadership, they enrolled themselves in new cultural currents and political movements disseminating an illiberal and eventually authoritarian ethos in the name of their people. This happened all over Europe in the last decades of nineteenth century. In Transylvania, this generation experienced a particularly painful experience due to the specific mixture of ethnic and social cleavages, of liberalism and corruption, of political passivism and cultural radicalism. This paper analysis the literary beginnings of Octavian Goga, e prominent figure of this generation who was considered a symbol of the new aspirations nurtured by the young people in the first years of the twentieth century. It argues that the enthusiasm of the young generation for new forms of expressing themselves about the current public issues of the time was deeply rooted in a crisis of identity, which was solved in a manner that offered the fertile soil for radical ideologies and extreme movements of the next decades.
![Research paper thumbnail of Cultura şi biopolitica în România [Culture and Biopolitics in Romania]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/634921/thumbnails/1.jpg)
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The exhibition on "Science and Ethnicity: Anthropological Research in Romania during the 1930s" w... more The exhibition on "Science and Ethnicity: Anthropological Research in Romania during the 1930s" will run in Bucharest between 25 March and 1 July 2018. The exhibition includes Romanian anthropological material alongside samples of the Austrian and Saxon research carried out in the Banat and Transylvania. It is for the first time that these materials are presented to the Romanian public.