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Papers by Andrei Călinoaia

Research paper thumbnail of Romantic Reconfigurations of Gender: Ethical and Power Inversions between Femininity and Masculinity in Percy Shelley's "The Cenci"

Journal of Student Research in Languages and Literatures, 2020

In analyzing one of the most important plays of English Romanticism written by a male playwright,... more In analyzing one of the most important plays of English Romanticism written by a male playwright, "The Cenci," by Percy Shelley, the present paper focuses on the gender dynamics portrayed in it and how they constitute an innovation in the gender power structures in literature. The paper compares the ethical representation of Beatrice Cenci and the Count, the two antithetical figures defining the play. It argues that Beatrice is portrayed as a revolutionary female figure that successfully challenges the patriarchal order and holds the moral upper hand. Notably, the paper focuses on this representation in the larger context of both Romanticism and Gender Studies.

Research paper thumbnail of Musical Cosmogony: The Creation of Tolkien's World

E Fructu Arbor Cognoscitur: Studii de anglistică și americanistică ale studenților și masteranzilor din Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine (2010-2017), 2020

This paper aims to analyze Tolkien’s fantasy mechanism of creation, in terms of both the intra- a... more This paper aims to analyze Tolkien’s fantasy mechanism of creation, in terms of both the intra- and the extradiegetic process which we witness in his legendarium. Tolkien’s mythical universe is intradiegetically created through music, a complex and unique fantasy cosmogonical process. We will be taking a look at both the structure of this episode as it is described in "The Silmarillion" (as well as briefly summarizing the cosmogonical process described there) and making an intertextual comparison to other myths of creation. A brief analysis of Tolkien’s sources of inspiration will also be made, which will reveal part of his motivation for writing his fantasy stories.

Research paper thumbnail of The Dialectics of Certainty and Uncertainty in the Encounter with the Radically Other in "Hamlet" and "Macbeth"

Journal of Philology and Intercultural Communication, Vol. VII, no. 1, 2023

Shakespeare’s plays, stemming from a radically different epistemology, show us a distinct concern... more Shakespeare’s plays, stemming from a radically different epistemology, show us a distinct concern with the supernatural as a fundamental condition of human existence. Therefore, the paper analyses how Hamlet and Macbeth, his two most important protagonists, approach the supernatural, starting from the way in which the certainty/uncertainty dialectics influences their conscious (rational) and pre-conscious (pre rational) reaction. It will also consider the role of these attitudes in determining the narratives.

Research paper thumbnail of Digitality and Reinterpretation: Shakespeare between Postmodernist Revisions and Pop Culture Adaptations in Ryan North's "To Be or Not To Be"

Perspectives on Shakespeare in Europe's Borderlands, 2020

The arrival of the digital age has altered our conception of art and of its relation with consume... more The arrival of the digital age has altered our conception of art and of its relation with consumers. In the context of consumerism, maximized interactivity, and greatly enhanced individual agency, the literary canon has been largely revised and adapted to fit the cultural demands of new audiences. Due to the centrality recently given to pop culture, video games have become a hallmark of the contemporary cultural landscape, as they provide a greater degree of consumer agency in the creative artistic process. The present chapter will focus on a video game adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, To Be or Not To Be, which, despite being a small indie project, has achieved financial success by responding to recent cultural demands. Spurred by the postmodern quest to reconfigure art into a playful, self-reflexive parody, the video game has de-canonized Shakespeare, allowing players to indulge in choosing narrative pathways radically different from the source play, in an extremely intricate structure whose recipe for success will be studied in the following paper.

Research paper thumbnail of East-West Colonial Encounters: Centrality and Marginality in British Travel Writing on Romania and Romanian Travel Writing on Britain in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century

MA Graduation Thesis

This MA graduation thesis studies the image of Romania and of Eastern Europe projected by Victori... more This MA graduation thesis studies the image of Romania and of Eastern Europe projected by Victorian travelers to the Romanian Principalities and the image of Victorian Britain projected by Romanian travelers in the first half of the nineteenth century. Incorporating the theoretical contributions of scholars such as Maria Todorova, Larry Wolff, Milica Bacić-Hayden, and Edward Said, along with those of scholars in the fields of imagology and travel writing, the paper thematically analyzes a plethora of primary sources, proposing that the two afore-mentioned images are based on mirroring discourses of opposite power statuses. In this context, it studies how British projections of the Romanian Principalities have shaped Romanians' autoimage and identity, up to this day, and it argues that this Balkanist discourse of Eastern Europe as essentially semi-barbaric, semi-civilized, and semi-rational also played a role in the legitimation of the Victorian hegemonic discourse. Similarly, the thesis argues that Romanians' heteroimage of Victorian Britain helped shape their autoimage as barbarous, uncivilized, and essentially backward from all points of view.

Research paper thumbnail of Civilization Confronted with the Wilderness of Europe: Dracula and the Balkans

East-West Cultural Passage Journal, 2019

Based on Maria Todorova's concept of Balkanism as the Eastern European variation of Orientalism, ... more Based on Maria Todorova's concept of Balkanism as the Eastern European variation of Orientalism, the paper investigates how Dracula, the novel by Bram Stoker, is an embodiment of Late Victorian colonialist attitude towards Romania and the Balkans. By selecting and discussing fragments from the novel, it presents the ramifications of this attitude and how it is affected by and, in turn, affects the wild-civilized essentialist dichotomy between West and East. Accordingly, the paper also points out the influence the novel has had on the external perception of Romania in the West, arguing that its profoundly negative connotation is a mark of an overarching Othering of and epistemic violence against Eastern Europe.

Research paper thumbnail of Romantic Reconfigurations of Gender: Ethical and Power Inversions between Femininity and Masculinity in Percy Shelley's "The Cenci"

Journal of Student Research in Languages and Literatures, 2020

In analyzing one of the most important plays of English Romanticism written by a male playwright,... more In analyzing one of the most important plays of English Romanticism written by a male playwright, "The Cenci," by Percy Shelley, the present paper focuses on the gender dynamics portrayed in it and how they constitute an innovation in the gender power structures in literature. The paper compares the ethical representation of Beatrice Cenci and the Count, the two antithetical figures defining the play. It argues that Beatrice is portrayed as a revolutionary female figure that successfully challenges the patriarchal order and holds the moral upper hand. Notably, the paper focuses on this representation in the larger context of both Romanticism and Gender Studies.

Research paper thumbnail of Musical Cosmogony: The Creation of Tolkien's World

E Fructu Arbor Cognoscitur: Studii de anglistică și americanistică ale studenților și masteranzilor din Facultatea de Limbi și Literaturi Străine (2010-2017), 2020

This paper aims to analyze Tolkien’s fantasy mechanism of creation, in terms of both the intra- a... more This paper aims to analyze Tolkien’s fantasy mechanism of creation, in terms of both the intra- and the extradiegetic process which we witness in his legendarium. Tolkien’s mythical universe is intradiegetically created through music, a complex and unique fantasy cosmogonical process. We will be taking a look at both the structure of this episode as it is described in "The Silmarillion" (as well as briefly summarizing the cosmogonical process described there) and making an intertextual comparison to other myths of creation. A brief analysis of Tolkien’s sources of inspiration will also be made, which will reveal part of his motivation for writing his fantasy stories.

Research paper thumbnail of The Dialectics of Certainty and Uncertainty in the Encounter with the Radically Other in "Hamlet" and "Macbeth"

Journal of Philology and Intercultural Communication, Vol. VII, no. 1, 2023

Shakespeare’s plays, stemming from a radically different epistemology, show us a distinct concern... more Shakespeare’s plays, stemming from a radically different epistemology, show us a distinct concern with the supernatural as a fundamental condition of human existence. Therefore, the paper analyses how Hamlet and Macbeth, his two most important protagonists, approach the supernatural, starting from the way in which the certainty/uncertainty dialectics influences their conscious (rational) and pre-conscious (pre rational) reaction. It will also consider the role of these attitudes in determining the narratives.

Research paper thumbnail of Digitality and Reinterpretation: Shakespeare between Postmodernist Revisions and Pop Culture Adaptations in Ryan North's "To Be or Not To Be"

Perspectives on Shakespeare in Europe's Borderlands, 2020

The arrival of the digital age has altered our conception of art and of its relation with consume... more The arrival of the digital age has altered our conception of art and of its relation with consumers. In the context of consumerism, maximized interactivity, and greatly enhanced individual agency, the literary canon has been largely revised and adapted to fit the cultural demands of new audiences. Due to the centrality recently given to pop culture, video games have become a hallmark of the contemporary cultural landscape, as they provide a greater degree of consumer agency in the creative artistic process. The present chapter will focus on a video game adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, To Be or Not To Be, which, despite being a small indie project, has achieved financial success by responding to recent cultural demands. Spurred by the postmodern quest to reconfigure art into a playful, self-reflexive parody, the video game has de-canonized Shakespeare, allowing players to indulge in choosing narrative pathways radically different from the source play, in an extremely intricate structure whose recipe for success will be studied in the following paper.

Research paper thumbnail of East-West Colonial Encounters: Centrality and Marginality in British Travel Writing on Romania and Romanian Travel Writing on Britain in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century

MA Graduation Thesis

This MA graduation thesis studies the image of Romania and of Eastern Europe projected by Victori... more This MA graduation thesis studies the image of Romania and of Eastern Europe projected by Victorian travelers to the Romanian Principalities and the image of Victorian Britain projected by Romanian travelers in the first half of the nineteenth century. Incorporating the theoretical contributions of scholars such as Maria Todorova, Larry Wolff, Milica Bacić-Hayden, and Edward Said, along with those of scholars in the fields of imagology and travel writing, the paper thematically analyzes a plethora of primary sources, proposing that the two afore-mentioned images are based on mirroring discourses of opposite power statuses. In this context, it studies how British projections of the Romanian Principalities have shaped Romanians' autoimage and identity, up to this day, and it argues that this Balkanist discourse of Eastern Europe as essentially semi-barbaric, semi-civilized, and semi-rational also played a role in the legitimation of the Victorian hegemonic discourse. Similarly, the thesis argues that Romanians' heteroimage of Victorian Britain helped shape their autoimage as barbarous, uncivilized, and essentially backward from all points of view.

Research paper thumbnail of Civilization Confronted with the Wilderness of Europe: Dracula and the Balkans

East-West Cultural Passage Journal, 2019

Based on Maria Todorova's concept of Balkanism as the Eastern European variation of Orientalism, ... more Based on Maria Todorova's concept of Balkanism as the Eastern European variation of Orientalism, the paper investigates how Dracula, the novel by Bram Stoker, is an embodiment of Late Victorian colonialist attitude towards Romania and the Balkans. By selecting and discussing fragments from the novel, it presents the ramifications of this attitude and how it is affected by and, in turn, affects the wild-civilized essentialist dichotomy between West and East. Accordingly, the paper also points out the influence the novel has had on the external perception of Romania in the West, arguing that its profoundly negative connotation is a mark of an overarching Othering of and epistemic violence against Eastern Europe.