Paşi pe drumurile cunoaşterii – şcolile de vară ale SŞIR
Summer schools of SŞIR – steps on the road of knowledge

Summary/Abstract: The growing interest in scientific knowledge was associated at the beginning of the 20th century with the great problems of Romania. Two of these problems were the radical agrarian reform and the political unification of Greater Romania. At that time, one of the solutions was the establishment of summer schools at the initiative of two great men of culture: Spiru Haret and Nicolae Iorga. The great historian organized them for 30 years, starting in 1908, until his untimely death. The topics debated within the courses at the summer schools were the history and culture of Romanians.The summer schools were resumed during the communist regime, after 1968. The organization was entrusted to a professional association of historians and the registration to the summer schools was extremely strict, admitting participation just to specialists in this discipline. The old structure of the summer school was preserved, but the content, which was intended to be scientific, had to respect the dogmas of dialectical and historical materialism. After 1989, the summer schools once again became spaces of freedom of expression and debate, now being organized in a democratic society. Anyone from the participants could now discuss the past and the present without any constraint.Between 1968 and 2024 there have been 63 editions of “Summer Schools” organized by the Romanian Society of Historical Sciences. During communism, it was attractive because of the invited lecturers and the established historical framework. After 1990, we can also add to the list mentioned above the organisation of these Schools in meaningful cultural places.Currently, the “Summer Schools” are trying to bring into attention new elements of historical knowledge. The organizers of the schools had set their minds to help the participating teachers to perceive the renewal of historical knowledge and to explore new ways to pass this knowledge to their pupils as well as to society at large.

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