Studiile românești – Work in Progress
Romanian Studies – Work in Progress

Summary/Abstract: This article, developed from an answer to a survey concerning Romanian Studies, makes a first attempt to outline the history of the domain, starting from its first inclusion in the academic curriculum, in 1839, at the University of Sankt Petersburg, to the most recent centres and academic scientific events dedicated to it, those that include in their title the phrase “Romanian Studies”. It aims, in light of the questions of the inial survey, to give a definition of Romanian Studies and its object of interest, and, at the same time, to identify its implicit disciplinary areas. The article includes the presentation of a case study, in order to show the reality of Romanian Studies abroad, in a Western university (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3), the specific interests of the area, the target audience and the profile of interested students. All these elements have followed, in symmetrical fashion, a similar path in some Romanian Universities (“Ovidius” University in Constanța, West University of Timișoara, University of Bucharest, “Babeș-Bolyai” University in Cluj-Napoca). In the final part of my paper, I intend to launch a few proposals meant to strengthen the relationships between Romanian Studies specialists from Romania and from abroad. My conclusion is that, at a moment when we celebrate the Centenary of the Union and the Romanian spirit as a nation, after 180 years of academic tradition, while we engage in defining its domain and implicit scientific identity in an assumed and methodical manner, Romanian Studies continues to be an exciting work in progress.

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