Suchergebnisse

This article explores a number of the themes that late researcher and professor Alexandru Duţu treated in his the articles, book reviews and interviews published in the Romanian cultural and opinion press between 1990 and 1998 (Arc. Litere. Arte & Meşteşuguri, Cotidianul. Litere Arte. Idei, Dilema, Secolul XX, Transilvania, Viaţa Românească etc.). As some of these themes are covered also in his scientific works, the study contributes thus to an inventory of the historical premises for Duţu's ideas on the formal and contradictory duality of the modern world, including the duality of "organic" and "organized solidarities", as well as the Janus-like nature of liberty or of liberties. Furthermore, it investigates his view on the reconstitution within the orthodox space of the Romanian cultural and political tradition, "ravaged" by the rationalism of the 19th century modernization efforts. This "aggression" led to the emergence of a new image of tradition, in folkloric tones, that has stubbornly endured also throughout the protochronism preached by the communist regime. Finally, the article approaches the sensitive theme of human condition during communism and the Duţu's self- professed "inner exile", as well as on his reactions as a citizen of the polis. All these stem from this long scholarly history of dual worlds, particularly the condition of the individual for more than three centuries: that of a relentless search for the lost harmony between the "world within" and the "world outside"), as well as from the internalization of his personal development.

The present text is part of a more complex research on Romania's participation in the New York World's Fair (1939–1940). The main objective of this research is to reconstruct the representation of Romania's national identity at a certain point in time (1939), classifying it as one element in a series of this kind. We will also concentrate on how this representation was perceived by the public opinion of the 1930s. As such, it is not only research on cultural history and public diplomacy (external propaganda, as it was called at the time), but also on bilateral Romanian-American relations (economy, politics etc.). Last but not least, it also represents a study in imagology. This paper, the first of a series, aimed at reconstructing some of the events related to the preparations led by the officials in Bucharest charged with the country's participation in the New York World's Fair, for the construction of the pavilion known as the Romanian House, designed by the architect Octav Doicescu and erected for this occasion. I have brought forth information referring to the evolution of the works done at this pavilion and the difficulties encountered throughout the process, such as: changes made to the architectural design, the relation between the entrepreneurs and workers, the transportation of construction materials from overseas, the exhibitions, the negotiations for appointment of the restaurant's manager etc. All this took place between May 1938 and April 1939. Our sources are to be found at the National Historical Archives (Saint-George's fund and Ministry for Commerce and Industry fund) and at the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Washington fund). To those sources we have added published documents from different public libraries and on-line archives (http://www.cooperativag.ro/, http://octavdoicescu.blogspot.com/ etc.) and details brought forth by specialised literature from 1997–2018 (articles /studies on the subject by Daniel Bogdea, Nicolae Dascălu (Nicolae Ureche), Narcisa Mitu, Raluca Preotu, Zoltan Rostas, Ileana Stanca-Desa, Claudiu-Alexandru Vitanos, Laurențiu Vlad etc.).