Journal of Romanian Studies, 7, No. 1 (2025)
Editors: Jill Massino, Narcis Tulbure
Book Review Editor: Iuliu Rațiu
Assistant Editor: Iemima Ploscariu
Contents
Jill Massino and Narcis Tulbure
(pp. 1-3 )
Articles:
Miruna Chirilă
Identities in Romania’s Post-Same-Sex Marriage Ban Referendum: Negotiating Queerness
(pp. 5–28)
This article examines discourses on queerness and the transformation of queer identities in Romania following the 2018 Referendum on the Same-Sex Marriage Constitutional Ban. Through interviews with queer individuals in Suceava and Galați, the research explores how queer people perceive their identities as political actors. The referendum marked a critical juncture in Romanian political culture, where conservative mobilization gained widespread support. In response, I argue that the expression of queer identities outside discourse from organizations (NGOs, politicians, political parties) has become more integral to activism in Romania. The interviews I conducted showed that since 2018, queer people have used self-expression (presenting as trans in public or working in artistic spaces) as a means of making anti-system statements and expressing their disapproval of both the political system and the strategies of queer NGOs. However, the potential to transform these practices into large-scale mobilization depends upon NGOs adapting the strategies of queer individuals. Thus, it is essential that NGO’s prioritize feedback from queer voices outside Bucharest, empower queer self-expression, and continue efforts to improve the quality of life for queer people in Romania.
Andrei Richter
(pp. 29–50)
This study highlights ongoing efforts by national government authorities and the public in Moldova to devise legal ways of countering propaganda disseminated by Russian and Belarusian media outlets, which are intent on manipulating public opinion and destabilizing Moldovan politics. The war in Ukraine has produced increased security risks for Moldova, which threaten the very existence of the nation. Concurrently, Moldova’s new status as a candidate state for EU membership, its lifting of the emergency rule as of 2024, and its renewed commitments to human rights and freedoms, including freedom of the press, require media monitoring authorities to be more attentive to both the European anti-propaganda toolbox, and European common values and principles.
Cristian Vasile
(pp.51–75)
Drawing on periodicals for dissemination abroad, historical sketches, museum catalogs, and academic journals, this historiographical essay examines scholarship produced during the communist and post-communist periods on some of Romania’s leading museums and art collections. Although scholars view the 1960s as a turning point in communist cultural policies, the historiography on museums and art collections suggests not just discontinuities, but also continuities; thus my aim is to analyze these ambiguities and complexities. Approaching the topic of museums and cultural heritage from a legislative standpoint is essential for understanding the delimitations in the historiographical milieu, as well as addressing the gap between legal norms and actual practices—a distinction often neglected by scholars. The current analysis extends into the post-communist period, examining the resilience of a state-oriented historiography about the recent history of Romania’s museums and art collections.
Source Translation:
Roland Clark
The Romanian Radical Right, 1924–1931
(pp. 77-102)
(pp. 103–116)
Georgi Georgiev
Luminita Gatejel, Engineering the Lower Danube: Technology and International Cooperation in an Imperial Borderland. Budapest-
Vienna-New York: Central European University Press, 2022. 331 pp.
Gabriel Ghirigan
Julieta Rotaru and David Gaunt. The Wallachian Gold-Washers: Unlocking the Golden Past of the Rudari Woodworkers. Brill: Leiden, 2023. 307 pp.
Sabrina Tosi Cambini. Other Borders: History, Mobility and Migration of Rudari Families Between Romania and Italy. New York: Berghahn Books, 2023. 248 pp.
Alex Drace-Francis
Costache Negruzzi, Mihail Kogălniceanu. 200 Proven Recipes for Dishes, Pastries and Other Household Works. English edition with commentary by Iurii Şvera. Milton Keynes: Ingram Consent Group, 2023. xii + 132 pp.
Ștefan Ionescu
Marius Turda, În Căutarea Românului Perfect: Specific național, degenerare rasială și selecție socială în România modernă [In Search of the Perfect Romanian: National Specificity, Racial Degeneration, and Social Selection in Modern Romania]. Iași: Polirom, 2024. 312 pp.