##common.pageHeaderLogo.altText##

Articles

No. 2(13) (2017): Sociology under State Socialism

Sociology versus Ideology in Communist Romania: Sociology’s Re-Emergence and Role

  • Stefan Bosomitu
Submitted
22 May 2020
Published
01-11-2017

Abstract

The post-war history of Romanian sociology followed a tortuous path, similar to the evolutions within other countries of the Soviet Bloc. Defined as a “bourgeois” and “reactionary” social science, sociology was purged from the academic field for almost two decades. Its subsequent re-institutionalisation in the mid-1960s was a process largely influenced by social evolution in Romania (industrialisation, urbanisation, and the collectivisation of agriculture), but also by the desire to re-connect the Romanian social sciences to the international field of dialogue and debates. My paper discusses not only the institutional articulation and development of sociology in communist Romania, but also how the discipline was re-imagined and re-contextualised by the regime.

References

  1. Bădina O. 1970a. “Research Center for Youth Problems – Bucharest,” The Romanian Journal of Sociology, vol. 6, pp. 63–71.
  2. Bădina O. 1970b. “Le cadre institutionnel de l’étude scientifique de la jeunesse en Roumanie,” Revue roumaine des sciences sociales: Série de sociologie, vol. 14, pp. 97–108.
  3. Bărbat Al. 1970. “Sociological Activity Carried on by the Department of Economy of Agriculture and Statistics at the ‘Al. I. Cuza’ University, Iassy,” The Romanian Journal of Sociolog y, vol. 6, pp. 127–129.
  4. Batygin G.S., Deviatko I.F. 1994. “The Metamorphoses of Russian Sociology,” [in:] Eastern Europe in Transformation: The Impact on Sociology, eds. M.F. Keen, J. Mucha, Greenwood Press, pp. 11–23.
  5. Boia L. 2011. Capcanele istoriei. Elita intelectuală românească între 1930–1950 [The Pitfalls of History: The Romanian Intellectual Elite between 1930– 1950], Humanitas.
  6. Bosomitu Ș. 2015. Miron Constantinescu. O biografie [Miron Constantinescu: A Biography], Humanitas.
  7. Bugnariu T., Herseni T. 1964. “Școala sociologică de la București” [Bucharest Sociological School], Contemporanul, vol. 42(940), p. 7.
  8. Buletinul Oficial. “Decree no. 121/March 18, 1970 regarding the founding of the SRR’s Academy of Social and Political Sciences,” Buletinul Oficial, Year VI, no. 22, Part I, 18 March 1970.
  9. Buzărnescu Ș., Chelcea S., Dungaciu D., Larionescu M., Măgureanu V., Rostaș Z., Schifirneț C. 2005. “Sociologia în România: trecut, prezent, perspective” [Romanian Sociology: Past, Present, Perspectives], Sociologie românească, vol. 3, pp. 5–37.
  10. Cernea M. 1970. “Sociological Investigations Carried Out by the Institute of Philosophy,” The Romanian Journal of Sociolog y, vol. 6, pp. 45–62.
  11. Constantinescu M. 1970. “A General Survey of Romanian Sociology,” The Romanian Journal of Sociology, vol. 4, pp. 7–13.
  12. Constantinescu M. 1971. Cercetări sociologice, 1938–1971 [Sociological Surveys, 1938–1971], Editura Academiei RSR.
  13. Constantinescu M. 1972. “Rolul actual al sociologiei româneşti. Contribuţie la studiul realităţii sociale, elaborarea deciziilor social-politice” [The Current Role of Romanian Sociology: Contributions to the Study of Social Reality, and Socio-Political Decision- Making], Era socialistă, vol. 52, pp. 9–10.
  14. Constantinescu M., Bădina O., Gall E. 1974. Sociological Thought in Romania, transl. S. Brucan, Meridiane Publishing House.
  15. Costea Ș., Cristea I., Dumitrescu D., Larionescu M., Stanciu L., Tănăsescu F. 2006. Istoria sociologiei românești [The History of Romanian Sociology], Editura Fundației România de Mâine.
  16. Cotoi C. 2011. “Jottings on the History of Romanian Sociology,” Studia UBB: Sociologia, vol. 56(1), pp. 135–149.
  17. Kallós N., Roth A. 1970. “Achievements and Prospects in the Activity of the Sociological Laboratory of the ‘Babes-Bolyai’ University, Cluj,” The Romanian Journal of Sociolog y, vol. 6, pp. 123–125.
  18. Keen M.F., Mucha J. 1994. “Eastern Europe and Its Sociology,” [in:] Eastern Europe in Transformation: The Impact on Sociolog y, eds. M.F. Keen, J. Mucha, Greenwood Press, pp. 1–10.
  19. Kolaja J. 1974. “Notes on the Romanian Sociology,” Acta Sociologica, vol. 17, pp. 78–82.
  20. Mespoulet M. 2007. “Quelle sociologie derrière le ‘rideau de fer’?,” Revue d’histoire des sciences humaines, vol. 16, pp. 3–10.
  21. Mihăilescu I., Rostas Z. 2007. Dialog neterminat [Unfinished Dialogue], CurteaVeche.
  22. Momoc A. 2012. Capcanele politice ale sociologiei interbelice. Școala gustiana între carlism și legionarism [The Political Pitfalls of Interwar Sociology: Gusti’s School between “Carlism” and “Legionarism”], CurteaVeche.
  23. Rostas Z., Stahl H.H. 2000. Monografia ca utopie. Interviuri cu Henri H. Stahl [Monography as Utopia: Conversations with Henri H. Stahl], Paideia.
  24. Schifirneț C. 1999. “Treizeci de ani de cercetare științifică a tineretului. Centrul de studii și cercetări pentru problemele tineretului” [Thirty Years of Scientific Research on Youth: The Centre for Studies and Research on Youth Problems], Sociologie românescă, vol. 1, pp. 137–142.
  25. Shalin D. 1978. “The Development of Soviet Sociology, 1956–1976,” Annual Review of Sociolog y, vol. 4, pp. 171–191.
  26. Szmatka J., Wysienska K. 2000. “Polish and Eastern European Sociology,” [in:] Encyclopedia of Sociology, eds. E.F. Borgatta, R.F.J. Montgomery, vol. 3, Macmillan, pp. 2116–2123.
  27. Sztompka P. 2004. “La condition de la sociologie en Europe centrale et orientale,” [in:] Post-communisme: les sciences sociales à l’épreuve, eds. M. Forest, G. Mink, L’Harmattan, pp. 159–174.
  28. T.B. 1962. “Activities of the National Sociological Committee,” [in:] The Romanian Journal of Sociology, vol. 1, pp. 225–229.
  29. Tismăneanu V. 2004. “Criza sociologiei românești” [The Crisis of the Romanian Sociology], [in:] V. Tismăneanu, Scopul și mijloacele. Eseuri despre ideologie, tiranie și mit [The Purpose and the Means: Essays on Ideology, Tyranny, and Myth], CurteaVeche, pp. 159–172.
  30. Voříšek M. 2008. “Antagonist, Type, or Deviation? A Comparative View on Sociology in Post-War Soviet Europe,” Revue d’histoire des sciences humaines, vol. 18, pp. 85–113.
  31. Verdery K. 1991. National Ideolog y under Socialism: Identity and Cultural Politics in Ceauşescu’s Romania, University of California Press.
  32. Weinberg E.A. 2004. Sociolog y in the Soviet Union and Beyond: Social Enquiry and Social Change, Ashgate.
  33. Wiatr J.J. 1971. “Status and Prospects of Sociology in Eastern Europe: A Trend Report,” [in:] J.J. Wiatr, The State of Sociolog y in Eastern Europe Today, Southern Illinois University Press, pp. 1–19.
  34. Zamfir C. 2005. “9 ipoteze pentru o analiză sociologico-epistemologică a sociologiei românești în perioada comunistă” [Nine Hypotheses for a Sociologic-Epistemological Analysis of Romanian Sociology during Communism], Sociologie românească, vol. 3(1), pp. 53–71.
  35. Zamfir C. 2009. O istorie subiectivă în sociologia românească: din 1944 până în prezent [A Subjective History of the Romanian Sociology: from 1944 to Present Times], Polirom.
  36. Zemtsov I. 1986. Soviet Sociology: A Study of Lost Illusion in Russia under Soviet Control of Society, Hero Books. Archival materials:
  37. National Archives of Romania, Council of Ministers fonds, section Athanase Joja Cabinet, file 15/1959, p. 6: “Address from the Central Committee’s Internal Affairs Section.”
  38. National Archives of Romania, Council of Ministers fonds, section Athanase Joja Cabinet, file 15/1959, pp. 7–8: “Statute of the People’s Republic of Romania National Sociological Committee.”
  39. National Archives of Romania, Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party fonds, section Agitprop, file 9/1963, pp. 35–37: “Protocol of the Central Committee’s Science and Art Section Meeting, 4 November 1963.”

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.