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Papers by Irina Nastasa-Matei
Romanian Journal of Population Studies, Jan 31, 2019
East European Politics and Societies, Jun 2, 2021
Foreign students and researchers in Germany became, after 1933, a tool of Nazi propaganda. Those ... more Foreign students and researchers in Germany became, after 1933, a tool of Nazi propaganda. Those receiving financial support from the Germans, such as the recipients of the Humboldt fellowships, were further compromised. This article aims to shed light on the role played by Humboldt fellowships in the political and ideological transfer between Nazi Germany and Romania. It aims to re-create the profile of the fellows and the influence of the fellowship on the Romanian fellows’ political and ideological development, in order to establish how they functioned as Nazi propaganda tools. Throughout the 1930s, the number of young Romanians going to study and carry out research in Nazi Germany increased considerably, while the financial support they received from the Germans became more significant—including a larger number of Humboldt fellowships. This shows not only that Nazi Germany had a special interest in developing its relations with Romania but also that Romania was embarked on a path of far-right radicalization, with students and youth becoming sympathizers of Nazi Germany and sometimes members of the Iron Guard. The Romanian Humboldt fellows were politically instrumentalized by the Third Reich: they were engaged in far-right political activism, were influenced in their professions and writings by the Nazi ideology, and sometimes they even went on to occupy various positions in the Romanian bureaucratic or diplomatic apparatus.
History of Communism in Europe, 2018
Romania was the first country in the Eastern bloc to initiate diplomatic relations with the Fede... more Romania was the first country in the Eastern bloc to initiate diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany. On January 31, 1967, the Embassy of the FRG was opened in Bucharest, Romania. In this context, which marked the intensification of the cultural exchange between the two countries, with special attention paid to the exchange of students and researchers, in this article I aim to tackle the situation of the Humboldt fellows from Romania during 1965-1989, as agents of knowledge transfer and actors of soft-power strategies between the two blocks.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was re-established in the Federal Republic of Germany in 19... more The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was re-established in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1953, with the aim of demonstrating that Germany continued to be a great cultural power and of marking its place on the international arena. It awarded very prestigious fellowships to researchers from abroad, based on the criteria of academic excellence and lack of quotas. Even if sporadically at the beginning, the Foundation’s relationship with the countries of Eastern Europe started to develop in the late 1960s, despite the opposite political systems of the two blocs. This happened in the context of the FRG’s East-centered foreign policy (Ostpolitik), and was also due to the opening of socialist countries to the West. The relationship, however, was marked in many cases by tensions, as political interests, as opposed to the cultural or academic dimension, prevailed. The article tackles the situation of the Humboldt fellows from Eastern Europe during the Cold War, focusing, from a comparat...
Revista Română de Sociologie, 2016
Between August 29 and September 2, 1939 the XIVth International Congress of Sociology, organized ... more Between August 29 and September 2, 1939 the XIVth International Congress of Sociology, organized by Dimitrie Gusti, should have taken place in Bucharest. However, because of the international context – the outbreak of World War II –, the conference never took place, its proceedings were published. Our study aims to contribute to a better understanding of Nazi Germany's sociology and its relationship with the Romanian sociological milieu by researching the profiles of the Third Reich's academics and their contributions to this congress. On one hand, we focuse on the work and careers of the German sociologists who were invited and accepted (or were allowed) to participate to the congress, on their position within the German sociology, but also within the Nazi institutional system. On the other hand, we do a content analysis of the articles sent to Bucharest by these German sociologists. Thus, we try to establish the extent to which their articles contain academic information a...
History of Communism in Europe, 2018
Romania was the first country in the Eastern bloc to initiate diplomatic relations with the Feder... more Romania was the first country in the Eastern bloc to initiate diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany. On January 31, 1967, the Embassy of the FRG was opened in Bucharest, Romania. In this context, which marked the intensification of the cultural exchange between the two countries, with special attention paid to the exchange of students and researchers, in this article I aim to tackle the situation of the Humboldt fellows from Romania during 1965-1989, as agents of knowledge transfer and actors of soft-power strategies between the two blocks.
PLURAL – History. Culture. Society, 2021
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was re-established in the Federal Republic of Germany in 19... more The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was re-established in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1953, with the aim of demonstrating that Germany continued to be a great cultural power and of marking its place on the international arena. It awarded very prestigious fellowships to researchers from abroad, based on the criteria of academic excellence and lack of quotas. Even if sporadically at the beginning, the Foundation's relationship with the countries of Eastern Europe started to develop in the late 1960s, despite the opposite political systems of the two blocs. This happened in the context of the FRG's East-centered foreign policy (Ostpolitik), and was also due to the opening of socialist countries to the West. The relationship, however, was marked in many cases by tensions, as political interests, as opposed to the cultural or academic dimension, prevailed. The article tackles the situation of the Humboldt fellows from Eastern Europe during the Cold War, focusing, from a comparative perspective, on the quantitative aspect, as well as on the political dynamics which determined their presence in West Germany.
“Frontieres et transferts culturels dans l’espace euro-mediterraneen; dynamiques transfrontalieres des pratiques culturelles a l’epoque contemporaine”, sous la direction d’Augustin Lefebvre et Judit Maar, Cahiers de la Nouvelle Europe, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2017, p. 177-188., 2017
The years of Emil Cioran's intellectual formation, coinciding with those of "initiation" in the p... more The years of Emil Cioran's intellectual formation, coinciding with those of "initiation" in the political ideologies of the time, have a major significance in the biography of the Romanian philosopher, and remained largely unknown until now. Peregrinatio academica seems to have had a fundamental impact on his personal and academic development. This article provides new information on the period between 1933 and 1944, when Cioran was a student in the Third Reich and in France. We focus on the way in which the philosopher managed to get the scholarships, the bureaucracy related to them, as well as the cultural and ideological influences the study and living in these contries had on Cioran. We also aim to capture aspects of daily life of Cioran in Germany and France, his relations with various personalities of the time and the image the young philosopher had in the Romanian, German and French cultural millieu.
Conference Announcement by Irina Nastasa-Matei
After the Second World War, the Central and East European region was integrated into the Soviet s... more After the Second World War, the Central and East European region was integrated into the Soviet sphere of influence. The active construction of communism across the region during the Stalinist period (1945-1950s) had a number of far-reaching consequences, which arguably transformed the East European region. In the cultural sphere it meant the spreading of Stalin's cult of propaganda, the imposition of Marxist ideology and the persecution of any perceived opposition or alternative world-views. The economic sphere was marked by the liquidation of private property, collectivization of agriculture and rapid industrialization under the Soviet-style system of central planning. In the political sphere, the shift to a one-party state meant that all non-communist parties and organizations were liquidated and the power of the communist party was secured through mass repression and police surveillance. While the post-Stalinist period led to some liberalization within certain Eastern bloc countries, the limits to reform and relaxation were periodically reinforced, for example in 1956 (Poland and Hungary); 1968 (Czechoslovakia) and 1981 (Poland). The realities of life under communism provoked a multifaceted response among individuals and groups within East European societies between 1945-1989, ranging from support for, complicity with, dissent from and resistance to communism, as people struggled to navigate and negotiate the new parameters of their existence. This conference has two broad aims: (1) to analyse the various methods and experiences of communist control over Eastern Europe and (2) to examine different coping methods and strategies of resistance employed by those who lived under communist rule.
Books by Irina Nastasa-Matei
Cluj, Editura Şcoala Ardeleană / Bucureşti, Eikon, 2016, ISBN 978-606-797-016-6; ISBN 978-606-711-463-8, 425 p., 2016
În mod evident, istoria universitară și viața academică din România interbelică sunt insuficient ... more În mod evident, istoria universitară și viața academică din România interbelică sunt insuficient cunoscute, în ciuda rolului major jucat de instituțiile de învățământ superior și de corpul lor profesoral pe scena culturală, și nu mai puțin în sfera politică. Abia din anii ’90 au început cercetătorii români să se preocupe mai intens de aspecte care țineau de istoria intelectuală, în acest context trecutul universităților ieșind pe alocuri la suprafață, departe de izul festivist ce o caracterizase până atunci. Dintre cei care au adus contribuții necesare în acest domeniu, mulți sunt prezenți cu articole și în cadrul acestui volum. Cu toate acestea, abordarea tematicii este, considerăm noi, abia la început. Mai mult, odată stabilite cadrele generale privind trecutul universitar – chestiunile care țin de organizare, legislație și evoluții instituționale – apar adevăratele necunoscute și dileme. Transpare mai ales faptul că, în contextul născut după primul război mondial, această instituție seculară ar fi fost nevoită să-și redefinească misiunea din când în când. Cum aceste redefiniri nu s-au prea întâmplat, devine explicabil faptul că nu de puține ori universitatea a intrat în derivă.
Se pune întrebarea, în ce măsură, spre exemplu, dezvoltarea unor domenii de studiu și evoluțiile curriculare (sau lipsa lor) – inevitabil strâns legate de contextul ideologic - au influențat modernizarea societății românești sau, dimpotrivă, au adâncit clivajele? Apoi, care au fost interesele – de multe ori economice sau politice – care au determinat adoptarea anumitor legiuiri în domeniul învățământului superior, dar și în ce măsură au fost aceste reglementări respectate sau eludate? Pe de altă parte, demne de analizat mai în profunzime sunt organizațiile și mișcările studențești, cu atât mai mult cu cât ideologiile și activitățile acestora se dovedesc a fi mult mai complexe decât simplista antagonizare stânga-dreapta, care a monopolizat până de curând cercetările pe această temă. Nu pot fi ignorate nici relaţiile dintre universitate şi alte instituţii sau organizaţii (asociaţii studenţeşti, partide politice, mişcări sociale, guverne, monarhie, biserici), la fel cum nici identităţile duble de universitar - om politic, înalt funcţionar, cleric etc. -, cu efecte majore asupra educației și politicii universitare. Nu în ultimul rând, prezintă un interes deosebit realizarea și dezvoltarea în această perioadă a unor structuri de cercetare extrauniversitare, atunci când instituțiile de învățământ superior deveniseră nefuncționale.
Toate aceste aspecte nu pot fi elucidate decât prin metode și perspective variate, de tip antropologic, care să evidențieze realitatea cotidiană a trecutului universitar de la noi și să permită plasarea temei într-un câmp cultural și social concret. Este tocmai ceea ce își propune și volumul de față.
Cele treisprezece studii pe care le cuprinde, grupate în patru secțiuni, abordează fie aspecte de ordin social și politic referitoare la organizarea și funcționarea universităților - și implicit la activitatea profesorilor și studenților de aici -, fie teme mai puțin cunoscute, chiar „exotice”, privind un anume domeniu de studiu și cercetare – de pildă cel sociologic în cazul acestui volum. La acestea se adaugă contribuțiile legate de mediul academic polonez, care au meritul de a plasa subiectul volumului într-un context mai larg, central-est european, și de a permite compararea unor procese sociale ce țin de viața universitară. Iar la final, transferul cultural și experiențele academice din străinătate, etapele și complicațiile inevitabile construirii unei cariere universitare, precum și pendularea între mai mulți mentori, partide politice și ideologii în vederea câștigării unui statut profesional și politic sunt ilustrate prin studii de caz reprezentative.
Editura Mega, 2018
History of the Roman Institute in Berlin and cultural diplomacy in the Second World War.
Romanian Journal of Population Studies, Jan 31, 2019
East European Politics and Societies, Jun 2, 2021
Foreign students and researchers in Germany became, after 1933, a tool of Nazi propaganda. Those ... more Foreign students and researchers in Germany became, after 1933, a tool of Nazi propaganda. Those receiving financial support from the Germans, such as the recipients of the Humboldt fellowships, were further compromised. This article aims to shed light on the role played by Humboldt fellowships in the political and ideological transfer between Nazi Germany and Romania. It aims to re-create the profile of the fellows and the influence of the fellowship on the Romanian fellows’ political and ideological development, in order to establish how they functioned as Nazi propaganda tools. Throughout the 1930s, the number of young Romanians going to study and carry out research in Nazi Germany increased considerably, while the financial support they received from the Germans became more significant—including a larger number of Humboldt fellowships. This shows not only that Nazi Germany had a special interest in developing its relations with Romania but also that Romania was embarked on a path of far-right radicalization, with students and youth becoming sympathizers of Nazi Germany and sometimes members of the Iron Guard. The Romanian Humboldt fellows were politically instrumentalized by the Third Reich: they were engaged in far-right political activism, were influenced in their professions and writings by the Nazi ideology, and sometimes they even went on to occupy various positions in the Romanian bureaucratic or diplomatic apparatus.
History of Communism in Europe, 2018
Romania was the first country in the Eastern bloc to initiate diplomatic relations with the Fede... more Romania was the first country in the Eastern bloc to initiate diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany. On January 31, 1967, the Embassy of the FRG was opened in Bucharest, Romania. In this context, which marked the intensification of the cultural exchange between the two countries, with special attention paid to the exchange of students and researchers, in this article I aim to tackle the situation of the Humboldt fellows from Romania during 1965-1989, as agents of knowledge transfer and actors of soft-power strategies between the two blocks.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was re-established in the Federal Republic of Germany in 19... more The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was re-established in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1953, with the aim of demonstrating that Germany continued to be a great cultural power and of marking its place on the international arena. It awarded very prestigious fellowships to researchers from abroad, based on the criteria of academic excellence and lack of quotas. Even if sporadically at the beginning, the Foundation’s relationship with the countries of Eastern Europe started to develop in the late 1960s, despite the opposite political systems of the two blocs. This happened in the context of the FRG’s East-centered foreign policy (Ostpolitik), and was also due to the opening of socialist countries to the West. The relationship, however, was marked in many cases by tensions, as political interests, as opposed to the cultural or academic dimension, prevailed. The article tackles the situation of the Humboldt fellows from Eastern Europe during the Cold War, focusing, from a comparat...
Revista Română de Sociologie, 2016
Between August 29 and September 2, 1939 the XIVth International Congress of Sociology, organized ... more Between August 29 and September 2, 1939 the XIVth International Congress of Sociology, organized by Dimitrie Gusti, should have taken place in Bucharest. However, because of the international context – the outbreak of World War II –, the conference never took place, its proceedings were published. Our study aims to contribute to a better understanding of Nazi Germany's sociology and its relationship with the Romanian sociological milieu by researching the profiles of the Third Reich's academics and their contributions to this congress. On one hand, we focuse on the work and careers of the German sociologists who were invited and accepted (or were allowed) to participate to the congress, on their position within the German sociology, but also within the Nazi institutional system. On the other hand, we do a content analysis of the articles sent to Bucharest by these German sociologists. Thus, we try to establish the extent to which their articles contain academic information a...
History of Communism in Europe, 2018
Romania was the first country in the Eastern bloc to initiate diplomatic relations with the Feder... more Romania was the first country in the Eastern bloc to initiate diplomatic relations with the Federal Republic of Germany. On January 31, 1967, the Embassy of the FRG was opened in Bucharest, Romania. In this context, which marked the intensification of the cultural exchange between the two countries, with special attention paid to the exchange of students and researchers, in this article I aim to tackle the situation of the Humboldt fellows from Romania during 1965-1989, as agents of knowledge transfer and actors of soft-power strategies between the two blocks.
PLURAL – History. Culture. Society, 2021
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was re-established in the Federal Republic of Germany in 19... more The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation was re-established in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1953, with the aim of demonstrating that Germany continued to be a great cultural power and of marking its place on the international arena. It awarded very prestigious fellowships to researchers from abroad, based on the criteria of academic excellence and lack of quotas. Even if sporadically at the beginning, the Foundation's relationship with the countries of Eastern Europe started to develop in the late 1960s, despite the opposite political systems of the two blocs. This happened in the context of the FRG's East-centered foreign policy (Ostpolitik), and was also due to the opening of socialist countries to the West. The relationship, however, was marked in many cases by tensions, as political interests, as opposed to the cultural or academic dimension, prevailed. The article tackles the situation of the Humboldt fellows from Eastern Europe during the Cold War, focusing, from a comparative perspective, on the quantitative aspect, as well as on the political dynamics which determined their presence in West Germany.
“Frontieres et transferts culturels dans l’espace euro-mediterraneen; dynamiques transfrontalieres des pratiques culturelles a l’epoque contemporaine”, sous la direction d’Augustin Lefebvre et Judit Maar, Cahiers de la Nouvelle Europe, Paris, L’Harmattan, 2017, p. 177-188., 2017
The years of Emil Cioran's intellectual formation, coinciding with those of "initiation" in the p... more The years of Emil Cioran's intellectual formation, coinciding with those of "initiation" in the political ideologies of the time, have a major significance in the biography of the Romanian philosopher, and remained largely unknown until now. Peregrinatio academica seems to have had a fundamental impact on his personal and academic development. This article provides new information on the period between 1933 and 1944, when Cioran was a student in the Third Reich and in France. We focus on the way in which the philosopher managed to get the scholarships, the bureaucracy related to them, as well as the cultural and ideological influences the study and living in these contries had on Cioran. We also aim to capture aspects of daily life of Cioran in Germany and France, his relations with various personalities of the time and the image the young philosopher had in the Romanian, German and French cultural millieu.
After the Second World War, the Central and East European region was integrated into the Soviet s... more After the Second World War, the Central and East European region was integrated into the Soviet sphere of influence. The active construction of communism across the region during the Stalinist period (1945-1950s) had a number of far-reaching consequences, which arguably transformed the East European region. In the cultural sphere it meant the spreading of Stalin's cult of propaganda, the imposition of Marxist ideology and the persecution of any perceived opposition or alternative world-views. The economic sphere was marked by the liquidation of private property, collectivization of agriculture and rapid industrialization under the Soviet-style system of central planning. In the political sphere, the shift to a one-party state meant that all non-communist parties and organizations were liquidated and the power of the communist party was secured through mass repression and police surveillance. While the post-Stalinist period led to some liberalization within certain Eastern bloc countries, the limits to reform and relaxation were periodically reinforced, for example in 1956 (Poland and Hungary); 1968 (Czechoslovakia) and 1981 (Poland). The realities of life under communism provoked a multifaceted response among individuals and groups within East European societies between 1945-1989, ranging from support for, complicity with, dissent from and resistance to communism, as people struggled to navigate and negotiate the new parameters of their existence. This conference has two broad aims: (1) to analyse the various methods and experiences of communist control over Eastern Europe and (2) to examine different coping methods and strategies of resistance employed by those who lived under communist rule.
Cluj, Editura Şcoala Ardeleană / Bucureşti, Eikon, 2016, ISBN 978-606-797-016-6; ISBN 978-606-711-463-8, 425 p., 2016
În mod evident, istoria universitară și viața academică din România interbelică sunt insuficient ... more În mod evident, istoria universitară și viața academică din România interbelică sunt insuficient cunoscute, în ciuda rolului major jucat de instituțiile de învățământ superior și de corpul lor profesoral pe scena culturală, și nu mai puțin în sfera politică. Abia din anii ’90 au început cercetătorii români să se preocupe mai intens de aspecte care țineau de istoria intelectuală, în acest context trecutul universităților ieșind pe alocuri la suprafață, departe de izul festivist ce o caracterizase până atunci. Dintre cei care au adus contribuții necesare în acest domeniu, mulți sunt prezenți cu articole și în cadrul acestui volum. Cu toate acestea, abordarea tematicii este, considerăm noi, abia la început. Mai mult, odată stabilite cadrele generale privind trecutul universitar – chestiunile care țin de organizare, legislație și evoluții instituționale – apar adevăratele necunoscute și dileme. Transpare mai ales faptul că, în contextul născut după primul război mondial, această instituție seculară ar fi fost nevoită să-și redefinească misiunea din când în când. Cum aceste redefiniri nu s-au prea întâmplat, devine explicabil faptul că nu de puține ori universitatea a intrat în derivă.
Se pune întrebarea, în ce măsură, spre exemplu, dezvoltarea unor domenii de studiu și evoluțiile curriculare (sau lipsa lor) – inevitabil strâns legate de contextul ideologic - au influențat modernizarea societății românești sau, dimpotrivă, au adâncit clivajele? Apoi, care au fost interesele – de multe ori economice sau politice – care au determinat adoptarea anumitor legiuiri în domeniul învățământului superior, dar și în ce măsură au fost aceste reglementări respectate sau eludate? Pe de altă parte, demne de analizat mai în profunzime sunt organizațiile și mișcările studențești, cu atât mai mult cu cât ideologiile și activitățile acestora se dovedesc a fi mult mai complexe decât simplista antagonizare stânga-dreapta, care a monopolizat până de curând cercetările pe această temă. Nu pot fi ignorate nici relaţiile dintre universitate şi alte instituţii sau organizaţii (asociaţii studenţeşti, partide politice, mişcări sociale, guverne, monarhie, biserici), la fel cum nici identităţile duble de universitar - om politic, înalt funcţionar, cleric etc. -, cu efecte majore asupra educației și politicii universitare. Nu în ultimul rând, prezintă un interes deosebit realizarea și dezvoltarea în această perioadă a unor structuri de cercetare extrauniversitare, atunci când instituțiile de învățământ superior deveniseră nefuncționale.
Toate aceste aspecte nu pot fi elucidate decât prin metode și perspective variate, de tip antropologic, care să evidențieze realitatea cotidiană a trecutului universitar de la noi și să permită plasarea temei într-un câmp cultural și social concret. Este tocmai ceea ce își propune și volumul de față.
Cele treisprezece studii pe care le cuprinde, grupate în patru secțiuni, abordează fie aspecte de ordin social și politic referitoare la organizarea și funcționarea universităților - și implicit la activitatea profesorilor și studenților de aici -, fie teme mai puțin cunoscute, chiar „exotice”, privind un anume domeniu de studiu și cercetare – de pildă cel sociologic în cazul acestui volum. La acestea se adaugă contribuțiile legate de mediul academic polonez, care au meritul de a plasa subiectul volumului într-un context mai larg, central-est european, și de a permite compararea unor procese sociale ce țin de viața universitară. Iar la final, transferul cultural și experiențele academice din străinătate, etapele și complicațiile inevitabile construirii unei cariere universitare, precum și pendularea între mai mulți mentori, partide politice și ideologii în vederea câștigării unui statut profesional și politic sunt ilustrate prin studii de caz reprezentative.
Editura Mega, 2018
History of the Roman Institute in Berlin and cultural diplomacy in the Second World War.
PLURAL. History. Culture. Society, 2021
PLURAL. History. Culture. Society, 2021, vol. IX, no. 1