IU Bloomington: Russian and East European Institute

Study of the history, language, and culture of Romania has been part of the Indiana University curriculum for East European studies since the early 1950s. In its Russian and East European Institute (REEI) and Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Indiana University offers:

Five Indiana University faculty members are native or fluent speakers of Romanian and focus on Romania's history, language, literature, and politics as their areas of specialization.

Christina Zarifopol-Illias is Associate Professor of Classical Studies and Romanian language and culture. She teaches Romanian at elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels. Zarifopol-Illias also teaches Latin in the Classics department and supervises the elementary Latin program. Her translations with Adam J. Sorkin of poems by Marta Petreu won the 1999 Kenneth Rexroth Memorial Translation Prize; selected poems have been published in several literary journals. She has published a volume of previously unknown letters of Mihai Eminescu, Romania's national poet (New Correspondence: Mihai Eminescu-Veronica Micle, Polirom, 2000) and a book on Pliny the Younger's letters (Portrait of a Pragmatic Hero: Narrative Strategies of Self-Presentation in Pliny's Letters, Polirom, 2000). Teaching Awards: IU Trustees Teaching Award (2002), Teaching Excellence Award (Slavics and Classics, 1998, 1999, 2000).

Maria Bucur is Associate Professor and John V. Hill Chair in East European History. Her research and teaching interests focus on European history in the modern period, especially social and cultural developments in Eastern Europe, with a special interest in Romania (geographically) and gender (thematically). She began her intellectual journey by investigating the ways in which cultural producers and social policy makers tried to engineer the future during the first half of the twentieth century. This led to the publication of her first book, Eugenics and Modernization in Interwar Romania. During that same year she published a volume co-edited with Nancy Wingfield, entitled Staging the Past: The Politics of Commemoration in Habsburg Central Europe, 1848 to the Present. With this second project, she began moving towards examining how various local communities and official state institutions in Eastern Europe tried to engineer the past, by constructing representations of wartime violence through monuments and commemorative processes. This project has become a book manuscript she is currently writing, entitled The Violence of Memory and Memory of Violence on the Edge of Europe. In addition to these books, she has also published a number of essays on on eugenics, philanthropy, the cultural history of the Great War, commemorations of World War II, and gender and war, and a recent book, again co-edited with Nancy Wingfield, entitled Gender and War in Twentieth Century Eastern Europe. She is also co-editor of Aspasia, a peer-reviewed yearbook focusing on women’s and gender history in and from Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. She is also serving as coordinator for the gender network of the European Social Science History Conference.

Her teaching combines these specific research interests with broader pedagogical ones. Some of the courses she has taught recently include: The Idea of Europe (undergraduate); Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century (undergraduate/graduate); Nationalism in the Balkans, 1804-1920 (undergraduate/graduate); Opposition, Survival, and Resistance in Communist Eastern Europe (undergraduate/ graduate); Problems in East European Historiography: Graduate Colloquium; Cultural History: Graduate Seminar; and Cultural History: Memory and Culture (graduate), and Problems in Romanian Historiography (graduate).

Selected Awards: I.U. Trustees Teaching Award (2006); Indiana University, Multidisciplinary Development Grant (2004); Indiana University, Outstanding Junior Faculty Award (2002); National Endowment for the Humanities Research Grant (2001); Fulbright-Hays, Faculty Research Grant (1999); I.R.E.X., Resident Research Grant (1995).

Aurelian Craiutu (Ph. D. Princeton, 1999) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Indiana University, Bloomington. He is affiliated with the Russian and East European Institute, The WEST European Studies Institute, and the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis. His research interests include French political and social thought, varieties of liberalism and conservatism, democratic theory as well as theories of transition to democracy and democratic consolidation in Eastern Europe, and in particular, Romania. Among the graduate courses taught are "Before and After the Revolution of 1989," "Classics of Social and Political Thought," and "Moderation and Radicalism." In May-June 2005 and 2006, professor Craiutu taught as Visiting Professor at the National School of Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest with which IU has an exchange program.

Professor Craiutu is the author of Liberalism under Siege: The Political Thought of the French Doctrinaires Aurelian Craiutu

(Rowman & Littlefield, 2003), Le centre introuvable: la pensée politique des doctrinaires sous la Restauration (Editions Plon, 2006), Elogiul libertǎţii [In Praise of Liberty: Essays in Political Philosophy, 1998, in Romanian] and Elogiul moderaţiei [In Praise of Moderation, 2006, in Romanian], both with Polirom. He also edited Guizot’s History of the Origins of Representative Government in Europe (Liberty Fund, 2002) and with Sorin Antohi, Dialog şi libertate: Eseuri în onoarea lui Mihai Sora (Nemira, 1997). His articles have appeared in many American and Romanian journals including American Political Science Review, Political Theory, European Journal of Political Theory, East European Constitutional Review, 22, and Dilema. Craiutu is a regular correspondent professor for the BBC Romanian section and also serves as Associate Editor of the European Journal of Political Theory. He is the recipient of a Student Choice Award and an Outstanding Junior Faculty Award from Indiana University. Professor Craiutu is currently working on a book on political moderation entitled Faces of Moderation. He is translating and editing a volume of Tocqueville’s writings with Jeremy Jennings, Letters and other Writings: Tocqueville after 1840, which will be published by Cambridge University Press.

Matei Calinescu is Professor of Comparative Literature, Emeritus. The major themes of his research are: Literary Theory, Modernism and Postmodernism, Theories of Reading and Interpretation, Literature and Politics and Romanian Cultural History. Before 1973 he had published several books of literary criticism, including a comparative study of the modern concept of poetry, Conceptul modern de poezie, a short novel and two volumes of poetry.

Since coming to Indiana he has published in English, Faces of Modernity (Indiana University Press, 1977), expanded and updated as Five Faces of Modernity: Modernism, Avant-Garde, Decadence, Kitsch, Postmodernism (Duke University Press, 1987), which has been translated into Japanese, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Swedish and Romanian; Rereading (Yale University Press, 1993), translated into Romanian. He has edited (with D.W. Fokkema), Exploring Postmodernism (John Benjamins, Amsterdam, 1987); Youth Without Youth and Other Novellas by Mircea Eliade in the translation of Mac Linscott Ricketts (Ohio State University Press, 1988); The Romanians: A History by Vlad Georgescu (Ohio State University Press, 1990); Amintiri în dialog [Memories in dialogue], with Ion Vianu (1994, 3rd edition 2005); Despre Ioan P. Culianu şi Mircea Eliade [On Ioan P. Culianu and Mircea Eliade] (2002, 2nd edition 2003); Portretul lui M [The Portrait of M, a memoir] (2003); Mateiu I. Caragiale: recitiri [Mateiu I. Caragiale: Rereadings] (2003); a volume of poems, Tu: elegii şi invenţii [You: elegies and inventions] (2004); Un fel de jurnal, 1973-1984 [A Diary of Sorts, 1973-1984] (2005); and Eugène Ionesco: Teme identitare şi existenţiale [Eugène Ionesco: Identity and Existential Themes] (2006), a French version of which, Eugène Ionesco: Recherches identitaires, had appeared a year earlier (Paris, Oxus, 2005).

Professor Calinescu has published numerous essays and articles in such journals as: The Yearbook of Comparative and General Literature, Poetics Today, Clio, Semiotica, The Comparatist, The Stanford French Review, The Bucknell Review, World Literature Today, Comparative Literature, The Journal of Religion, The Yale Journal of Criticism, Salmagundi, East European Politics and Societies, and others. After 1989, he has published articles in Romanian in 22, Lettre internationale, România literarǎ, Observator cultural, Apostrof, Cuvântul, Vatra, and others.

Ronald Feldstein, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures (Ph.D., Princeton University), has been at Indiana University since 1976. He has taught and published in the fields of Slavic accentology and historical phonology, and also on morphological topics in Slavic and Romanian. Four recent papers are on the subjects of Proto-Slavic monophthongization, the morphological predictability of Russian stress, Russian aspectual derivation, and Romanian conjugational syncretism. During the summer of 2005 he presented papers in Moscow, Zagreb, and at Duke University. A selection of his recent papers is available here.

Our Romanian studies faculty have been honored by the Romanian government for their scholarship on Romanian issues. In November 2000, Zarifopol-Illias, Calinescu, and Virginia Zeani (Music) were presented with medals of “Faithful Service” by Romanian President Emil Constantinescu, recognizing their efforts to advance Romanian studies in the United States. Zarifopol-Illias was also presented with a special medal commemorating the 150th birthday or Romania’s national poet, Mihai Eminescu, for her 2000 publication of My Sweet Lady/My Beloved Emin: New Correspondence Mihai Eminescu - Veronica Micle. In May 2002, Professor Emeritus Nicholas Spulber was awarded one of Romania’s highest honors, The Order of Merit in the rank of High Commander, presented by President Ion Illiescu. Spulber was also named Doctor Honoris Causa of the National School for Political Science and Public Administration – Bucharest. In May 2006 Bucur, Craiutu, Jeffrey Isaac (Political Science), David Ransel (History), and Zarifopol-lIlias received the Gold Medal from the National School of Political Science and Public Administration in Bucharest in recognition of their contributions to academic exchanges between Romania and the United States.

The IU Romanian studies program was built on many years of contributions by other scholars. Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Economics, Nicolas Spulber, died in January 2004. Although he retired from teaching in 1980, Professor Spulber remained active in our program to the end of his life. His last book is Russia's Economic Transitions published by Cambridge University Press in 2003.

Associate Professor of Comparative Literature, Ilinca Zarifopol-Johnston, died in January 2005. After emigrating to the United States in 1977, Zarifopol-Johnston was for many years the Romanian language instructor at IU. In recent years, Professor Zarifopol-Johnston's research interests had returned to her native Romania, specifically as the American translator and editor of the early Romanian texts of the philosophical essayist, E.M. Cioran. In addition, she was writing a memoir of her own life, called The Escape Artist: Memoirs of a Communist Girlhood, as well as a memoir of her friendship with Cioran in Paris.

Barbara and Charles Jelavich. Barbara Jelavich was SRS President in 1988-1990 and an honorary member of the Romanian Academy. Professor Emeritus Charles Jelavich remains active in REEI's East European programs. The Jelaviches organized the first international Habsburg Conference at IU in 1965, which marked the birth of modern Habsburg studies in the U.S. and was the first conference in the U.S. to which the Romanian Academy sent a major delegation.

Several other REEI faculty members specializing in East European Studies serve as mentors for students doing research on Romania.

Jack Bielasiak (political science) studies transitions to democracy and post-communist electoral systems; Jean Robinson (political science) works on family responses to state policies in post-socialist societies; Owen Johnson (journalism/history) researches mass media in East Central Europe; and Beverly Stoeltje (folklore) teaches nationalism, difference, and gender in East Europe.

Indiana University's interdisciplinary program in East European studies presents students with several options for a course of study on Romania. All students can enroll in up to three years of language instruction during the academic year, and summer intensive language instruction is available for the first year of study. Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships are available for graduate students pursuing Romanian language study during both the academic year and summer session.

Undergraduate students pursuing a bachelor's degree in virtually any discipline or professional school can include Romanian studies in their course work and graduate with a minor from REEI. REEI offers a master's degree in Russian and East European studies for students seeking professional careers in government, nonprofit organizations, or private business that require advanced knowledge of the language and culture of Romania. Students pursuing a Ph.D. in most disciplines and professional school graduate students (M.B.A., M.P.A., M.L.S.) can also pursue course work in Romanian studies toward a dual M.A. degree, Graduate Area Certificate in Russian and East European Studies, or Ph.D. minor. IU M.A. and Ph.D. graduates in Romanian studies have gone on to successful careers. Two graduates have worked for the International Research and Exchange Board (IREX) in Bucharest as bureau chiefs; another was a visiting professor of political science at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj; and still another recently began working in one of the Inelligence Agencies of the U.S. government.

Indiana University is proud to announce the first Romanian Studies Graduate Fellowship in the United States. Prospective graduate students who are applying in any discipline with a research focus in Romania are encouraged to apply. The fellowship carries a two-year tuition and fee waver and a stipend of $10,000 per year. Applicants should be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and need to be applying to an M.A. program (though they are also eligible if they wish to continue into a Ph.D. program). Applicants need to have proficiency in Romanian or be committed to enroll in language classes at Indiana University in order to gain a proficiency in the language. No separate application is required. To notify REEI of your interest in being considered for this fellowship, please contact the Institute .

Richard Frucht, Northwest Missouri State University (IU Ph.D., 1980), Romanian history

Jeff Pennington, EU Center for Excellence at Indiana University (IU M.A., 1993), Romanian history

Indiana University has a special summer language program open to students from other universities, upper-level high school students, nondegree students, and members of the community, as well as IU students. The Summer Workshop in Slavic and East European Languages (SWSEEL) offers a full year of beginning Romanian language training in a single eight-week, total immersion summer session, mid-June to mid-August each year. By special agreement with the Indiana state legislature, all summer intensive language students pay tuition at the in-state rate ($2,260 for 10 credit hours in 2006). Fellowship awards for tuition and a stipend are available on a competitive basis.

Indiana University's Romanian collection is among the top four at university libraries in the United States. The Indiana University Main Library has more than 15,000 volumes in the Romanian language, the richest areas being philology (over 5,000 volumes) and history (over 3,000 volumes), with many holdings in statistics, politics, and general periodicals. These works are supported by strong holdings for East European studies, such as our complete holdings of Foreign Broadcast Information Service: Daily Reports, Eastern Europe, the Joint Publications Research Service East Europe publications, and all of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty materials. Important recent additions include microfilm of the newspaper Universul, 1918-1959, and Records of the U.S. Department of State Relating to the Internal Affairs of Romania, 1945-1959. The IU Libraries maintain exchanges with the university libraries in Cluj and Bucharest and with the Romanian National Library.

Guest lectures and special events are an important component of Indiana University's Romanian studies offerings. IU has hosted many visits by Romanian international scholars and government officials as well as American specialists. Visitors have included C. C. Giurescu and Al. Rosetti (1960s), dissident writer Paul Goma (1978), dissident historian and director of the Romanian Service at Radio Free Europe Vlad Georgescu (1979), dissident poet Dorin Tudoran (1980s), historian Dinu Giurescu (1980s), journalist Gabriela Adamesteanu (1990), poet Andrei Codrescu (1990), literary critic Mircea Mihaies (1992, 2000), political scientist Vladimir Tismaneanu (1990, 1993, 1994, 2003), Ambassador Aurel Dragos Munteanu (1994), Cornelia Bodea (1970s-1990s), and many others. Before becoming Romania's president, Emil Constantinescu spent five days at Indiana University in 1992, and Queen Anne of Romania visited the campus in 1996. Visitors in the last few years include Ambassador Sorin Dimitru Ducaru (2002), political analyst Mihaela Miroiu (2001-2002), political analyst Daniel Barbu (2002), consul to the Romanian Embassy in Chicago Sever Voinescu (2000-2002), assistant director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in New York City Bogdan Stefănescu (2005), and graphic artist and museum curator Irina Hashaş (2006).

Indiana University has hosted a number of academic events and plans on organizing an international conference on Romanian Studies. In 1999, Maria Bucur organized an exhibit on propaganda posters from communist Romania, together with a series of talks on the 10th anniversary of the fall of communism. More recently Bucur has been part of a multi-disciplinary team that has hosted every spring the Roundtable on Post-Communism. Guests of these roundtables have included Vladimir Tismaneanu and Mihaela Miroiu. On March 22-24, 2007, Indiana University hosted the “The Hour of Romania.” For a full description, please visit the Hour of Romania page of the Russian and East European Institute.

In March 2008, Indiana University’s Romanian Studies Organization (RomSO) will be hosting its first Romanian Studies Graduate Student Conference. We welcome paper proposals on any topic related to Romania, Moldova, or the Romanian diaspora in any discipline or methodology, including but not limited to history, political science, economics, international relations, anthropology, literature, sociology, musicology, and cultural studies. Especially encouraged are papers that take an interdisciplinary approach. Please submit abstracts of 250-300 words and along with your contact information to RomSO@indiana.edu by January 28, 2008. We will be pre-circulating the papers so that our commentators can provide more extensive feedback. Therefore, if your paper is selected we ask that you submit a completed paper by February 18, 2008. Any other inquiries about the conference may be directed to Erin Biebuyck at ebiebuyc@indiana.edu or to the Indiana University Romanian Studies Organization at RomSO@indiana.edu.

IU students have organized a Romanian Studies Association that sponsors cultural activities such as coffee hours, video showings of Romanian films, guest lectures, and other special events. To read about REEI students active in Romanian studies, please read the October 2006 issue of the REEIfication newsletter. REEI provides graduate student or faculty speakers free of charge to K-12 teachers and community organizations interested in learning more about Romania.

Contact Information:
Indiana University REEI
Romanian Studies, Ballantine Hall 565
Bloomington, IN 47405
Phone: (812) 855-7309
Fax: (812) 855-6411
E-mail: reei@indiana.edu
URL: http://www.indiana.edu/~reeiweb/