Faculty of Political Sciences

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A hypothesis on the origin and synchrony of the Romanian and western medical sociology
(Presa Universitara Clujeana, 2016) Bucur, Bogdan
The present article focuses on the eating habits of the population of interwar Romania, as rendered in the monographic research of the Sociological School of Bucharest, founded and led by Professor Dimitrie Gusti. It also investigates the health state of the Romanian citizens, mainly, but not exclusively, of those from rural areas. Our sources of information on the nutrition and public health of interwar Romania consisted in the studies and research carried out in the 1918–1948 period by the Sociological School of Bucharest, published in scientific journals and books edited under the scientific authority of Professor Gusti. In this respect, we have examined, almost in its entirety, the relevant work published by the Monographic School on the subject of nutrition and public health.The present article aims, therefore, to summarize the sociological studies and research carried out in the interwar period, at national level, which we above mentioned. It also aims to bring forward, for further critical scrutiny, a hypothesis regarding the synchrony between the Romanian medical sociology(of Gustian origin) and the similar scientific movements from the Western countries.
Cartea de aur a Centenarului Marii Uniri
(RAO, 2017) Bucur, Bogdan
This anniversary edition is the second golden book dedicated to the Great Union. The first Golden Book - dated 1929 - is part of the national movable cultural heritage and is a hand-made manuscript on parchment, produced to celebrate the first 10 years of the Great Union. The unpublished copy - published for the first time in its entirety in the last chapter of this volume - was decorated, like medieval incunabula, with traditional painting in the Art Nouveau style by the painter Cecilia Cuțescu-Storck, commissioned by Princess Alexandrina Gr. Cantacuzino. The present volume incorporates, continues and develops the first Golden Book and was realized for the celebration of the Centenary of the Great Union. For the commemoration of the first 100 years since 1918, we have illustrated the arduous historical path, marked by so many sacrifices and sacrifices, which would eventually lead to the union of Bessarabia, Bukovina, Transylvania, Banat, Crisana, Sătmar and Maramures with the Old Kingdom and the formation of the Greater Romania. While the first Golden Book is more of a book of honor intended for the signatures of the personalities who took part in the Alba Iulia celebrations in 1929, this second Golden Book is an anniversary volume containing a scholarly selection of holograph documents and vintage images of the Great Union. In both cases, paraphrasing the somewhat emphatic subtitle of the 1929 edition, we can admit, once again, that the Golden Book is indeed the honoring of those who, in the great historical moments, fulfilled the millenary dream of all Romanians: the unification of Romania. And even if the dream of uniting all Romanians into a single unitary nation-state was not a millenary one (the idea only took shape in the mid-19th century) and did not last very long (Great Romania collapsed territorially in 1940, only 22 years after the Great Union), the image of 1918 remains, without doubt, the astral moment in the entire history of Romanians. This second Golden Book is therefore a modest homage to the memory of those who made the birth of Greater Romania possible.
Homo Ottomanicus Orientalis (from Greece, Moldavia, Wallachia) versus Homo Ottomanicus Occidentalis (from Hungary, Transylvania, Ragusa) : A Hypothesis Regarding the Cultural Development Gaps between the Western-Christian (Catholic and Protestant) and Eastern-Christian (Orthodox) Vassal Communities and Countries of the Ottoman Empire
(Editura Academia Romana, 2022) Bucur, Bogdan
What is essential and highly relevant for the debate we intend to have in this article is the European and Christian (non-Muslim) side of The Sublime Porte. In our demonstration, both homo christianus orientalis (from Wallachia, Moldavia, Greece) and homo christianus occidentalis (from Hungary, Transylvania and Ragusa) are seen as civilizational subdivision of homo ottomanicus and subjects of the Sultan in Constantinople. In this article we are interested in explaining the massive discrepancies between the way in which homo christianus orientalis on one hand, and homo christianus occidentalis on the other, were connected to modernity. For this reason, we chose to use the phrase homo ottomanicus orientalis when referring to homo christianus orientalis from the Ottoman countries and lands with an Orthodox tradition (Wallachia, Moldavia, Greece). Subsequently, we designated the phrase homo ottomanicus occidentalis for homo christianus occidentalis from the Ottoman countries and lands with a Catholic and Protestant tradition (Hungary, Transylvania and Ragusa). The problem of the Orthodox people from Eastern Europe is not essentially that they belonged, from a political point of view, to the homo ottomanicus species, but rather that they belonged, from a civilizational perspective, to the homo christianus orientalis species. Therefore, homo ottomanicus orientalis proved to be structurally different from homo ottomanicus occidentalis because only the Catholic and Protestant people – Hungarians, Transylvanians and Ragusans –, which were under the suzerainty of The Sublime Porte went through all the stages of modernization at the same time, just as those of Western Europe. Hungarians, Transylvanians and Ragusans – even though they were homo ottomanicus – belonged to the civilizational subdivision of homo christianus occidentalis, just like the Italians, French, English, Spanish, etc. people did. Thus, the fact that Hungarians, Transylvanians and Ragusans belonged to the homo ottomanicus species had no influence on their belonging to the civilizational subdivision of homo christianus occidentalis, because at that time the benefits of modernity were rather transmitted through the means of religion, than through those of politics. In the end, the religious denomination (Catholic or Protestant) played a much more important role in acceding to modernity than the geopolitical integration into pax ottomanica. We also intend to show that the Ottoman Empire had just a small part in the underdevelopment of Oriental Europe. Their Byzantine background was far more damaging for the Eastern societies.
Homo valachicus orientalis : (1716–1859)
(Academia Romana- Centrul de Studii Transilvane, 2021) Bucur, Bogdan
By 1829, the development gap between West and East (to which Wallachia belonged) had become abysmal. The geographic and scientific discoveries, the architectural styles, the musical genres, the artistic and literary trends of the time were completely unknown in Bucharest. The country was wholly absent from the international scientific world. During that time no Wallachian concerned themselves with the study of formal science (logic and mathematics), natural science (biology, physics, chemistry, astronomy), or applied science (engineering, agronomy, medicine, and pharmacy). Until 1829, Wallachia wasn’t able to offer the world a single astronomer, doctor, engineer, architect, mathematician, physicist, agronomist, pharmacist, painter, musician, etc. On the other hand, all of these professions—and their subsequent scientific disciplines—were well known in the West, since the Greco-Roman Antiquity, and following their rediscovery at the end of the Middle Ages. For instance, in 1850, the first Wallachian institution of higher education was created as part of Saint Sava Princely Academy (which was a high school; the University of Bucharest was founded much later, in 1864). Meanwhile, the University of Bologna (1088) had been around for 762 years. In 1836, when the first Wallachian public library was established, the Malatestiana Library of Cesena (1454) had been around for almost 400 years. Until 1859, Wallachia had an illiteracy rate of over 90%, similar to that of Western Europe in 1450, but also similar to that of the Roman Empire. Also, in 1841 we learn about the first paved road in Wallachia (in Bucharest), while in 1853, the existence of the first stone bridge over a stream was confirmed (built in Bucharest, over the Dâmboviþa River). At that time, 1,750 years had passed since Apollodorus of Damascus had built Trajan’s Bridge over the Danube, in order for the Roman armies to invade Dacia. While the first stone bridge was inaugurated in Bucharest in 1853, a year later, in 1854, one of the world’s most important engineering projects came to fruition in Austria: the Semmering Railway, which crossed the Alps through 14 tunnels dug in the mountains, and across 16 viaducts and 100 curved stone bridges. Looking at the visual arts, Urcarea lui Mavrogheni pe tron (The enthronement of Mavrogheni, 1786), by Iordache Venier (who was of Venetian origin), can be considered as the first modern painting in Wallachia. Autoportret (Selfportrait) by Nicolae Polcovnicul (1788–1842), a painting finished after 1800, can be seen as the first modern painting of a Wallachian painter. Meanwhile, 500 years had passed since Giotto’s death. In actual fact, in 1829 Wallachia was outside history.
Jean Pangal : documente inedite 1932-1942 : contribuții la analiza rețelelor sociale istorice
(RAO, 2016) Bucur, Bogdan
Related by marriage or a direct descendant of three W Wallachian noble families of tertiary rank - Brătășanu (17th century), Djuvara (18th century) and Pangal (19th century) - who together gave modern Romania at least two ministers, an undersecretary of state and six deputies or senators, Jean Pangal is the central character of this volume. A politician, diplomat and absolute leader of Romanian Freemasonry in the inter-war period, Jean Pangal is the main subject of the 474 informative notes, published for the first time in full in this book, and compiled between 1932-1942 by the Secret Intelligence Service of the Romanian Army and the Security Police of the Ministry of the Interior. Jean Pangal, nicknamed the Sovereign Prince of Romanian Freemasonry by the press of the time, is little known today, but he was extremely controversial and influential in the interwar period, especially due to his personal relationships and direct contacts with the entire political, social, economic and diplomatic elite of Romania, and even of Europe.
Population health in interwar Romania reflected in the sociological school of Bucharest's research and publications
(McFarland & Co., 2016) Bucur, Bogdan
In this essay, I intend to elaborate on the subject of population health in interwar Romania, as reflected in the Sociological School of Bucharest’s research and publications. Therefore, all the data and information presented in this essay are based on Gustian School analysis and surveys, all rigorously substantiated methodologically, and either published in the prestigious scientific papers of the—so far—first and only Romanian school of sociology, either preserved in various national archives.
Prolegomena to the Romanian sociology and historiography of food
(Polirom, 2017) Bucur, Bogdan
This article examines the dietary habits of the predominantly rural (and also urban) population from Romania, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In order to access valid data regarding the diet of the local population, we used the analysis of social documents: journals and memoirs of foreign travelers transiting the Romanian Principalities (Wallachia and Moldavia) throughout the nineteenth century, respectively the monographic research of the Sociological School of Bucharest published mainly in the magazine called Sociologie Românească (1936-1942). At various points in time, we employed comparisons between the diet of the people from urban and rural environments, or between the food regimens of adults and children, correlations between the dietary habits and health status of the population, and between the dietary habits from Romania and those from other European and South American countries. A reading of the current article reveals certain a continuity, for hundreds of years, concerning the deficient dietary regimen of the Romanian peasant, who relied heavily on mămăligă, eaten together with several dairy products. Another conclusion is that, in the rural environment, food scarcity was not economically conditioned: even in the relatively prosperous households that were supplied with all the necessary aliments, women prepared plain, tasteless dishes, because they did not know how to cook. And finally, from a theoretical perspective, in this article we aim to address the rural roots of Romanian historiography and sociology of food (which we shall attempt to examine against similar scientific approaches from Western Europe).
Sociologia proastei guvernări în România interbelică
(RAO, 2019) Bucur, Bogdan
I have worked on writing and perfecting this work for 10 years (...), out of the desire that post-Decembrist Romania, which is my homeland, should try not to repeat the mistakes of its forefathers. I know that this is not happening. But this illusion, of which I am aware, has led me to persevere. In fact, not just in our country, but everywhere, hardly anyone learns from the mistakes of others. (...) However, I believe that the sacrifice of Romanians who lost their lives for the integrity of the national territory (in the two world wars) or for political freedom and the return to democracy (in December 1989) must be respected and honored, first and foremost, through good governance, something that we have unfortunately almost never had in history.
The interlinkage between sociology and politics in monographic research in interwar Romania
(Centrul de Studii Transilvane, 2020) Bucur, Bogdan
The close relationship that prevailed between the two World Wars between the Romanian intellectuals and the political power, combined with the departure of social scientists from the principle of axiological neutrality, represented, during the reference period, a fact of life at european level and not in the least just accidents for Gustian monographers. During the period under review, the Romanian (and european) intellectuals seemed fascinated with the illusion of power. The political engagement of the Gustian monographers was a widespread phenomenon during the interwar and postwar periods. Being aware of the fact that field sociological research, no matter how scientifically robust, had but a limited spread and an immaterial impact on the population, the Gustian monographers ended up believing that the political activism of university students remained the only solution for the evolution of Romania. In this regard, sociology was perceived and understood as a science of the Romanian nation, and was used for the benefit of the state apparatus.
The methodology and deontology of sociological research in times of war and dictatorship
(Filodiritto Editore, 2020) Bucur, Bogdan
It is a lesser-known fact that the sociological researches – of political and administrative orientation – carried out by Gusti School, during the interwar Romania, continued during World War II, when Marshal Antonescu established the military dictatorship regime, in September 1940. Moreover, the sociological research carried out in Transnistria, on the left bank of the Dniester River, during Antonescu’s regime, innovated Gusti’s monograph. This appened although the administrative performance of the Government from Bucharest was worse than that of the previous Soviet Government – as the studies of the sociologist Golopentia, made in Transnistria, during World War II, under the temporary Romanian military occupation, reveal. For the first time, the political-administrative dimension was rigorously studied from a scientific standpoint by the Sociological School of Bucharest, in Transnistria, between December 1941-February 1944, at the disposal of Antonescu’s government. At that time, a team from the National Institute of Statistics, led by Anton Golopentia, had been commissioned to identify the Romanians from the East of Bug, to repatriate them from the former Soviet territory of Ukraine occupied by Nazi Germany. In such circumstances, as it is usually the case, monographic research was done. This time the research was carried out in Valea-Hoţului, a locality from Transnistria, Ananiev county, between January and March 1942. In this historical context, in some of the investigated villages, the sociological research report included an informative note regarding the political views of the local population, under the Romanian military occupation regime. Also, the political perception of the Transnistrian Moldovans regarding Antonescu’s government was scientifically studied in comparison with the previous Soviet regime. The research findings were astonishing. The sociological reports submitted to the government systematically contained information intentionally falsified by the monographs. The purpose was not to expose the local population to the risk of potential political persecutions by Antonescu’s government. In this context, it should be noted that the dissatisfaction with the Romanian administration in Transnistria was almost generalized, but perfectly justified by the flawed way in which this former Soviet province was governed. However, all social information was accurately collected from the field, from a methodological point of view.

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