The History of the Romanian University of Cluj, in the Documents of a Private Archive
Article information:
Volume VI 2022, No 1, Pages: 6–39
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24193/JRHE.2022.1.1
Ioana Bot, University Professor, Department of Romanian Literature and Literary Theory, Faculty of Letters, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania, e-mail: ioana.bican@ubbcluj.ro
Ionucu Pop, PhD Student, Doctoral School of Linguistic and Literary Studies, Faculty of Letters, Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania, e-mail: pop.ioan2@ubbcluj.ro
Abstract: This study is based on documents from a private archive transferred in 2004 to the Romanian state and now housed in the Special Collections section of the “Octavian Goga” Cluj County Library. These are the personal and professional documents of Dumitru Popovici (1902–1952), professor of the history of Romanian literature at the University of Cluj from 1936 until his death, and one of the most important Romanian literary historians of the interwar period, author of significant studies on the Enlightenment, Romanticism and modern Romanian literature. Preserved by his family, many documents in Popovici’s archive help fill gaps in the history of Romanian university life, where the Communist regime’s purges destroyed official archives. Drawing on these documents and a careful reconstruction of Popovici’s life, the study opens new perspectives on Romanian intellectual history: the history of Romanian academic and cultural institutions, the development of university disciplines and specialisations, and the role of a key academic figure in transforming the Romanian academic space.
Keywords: Dumitru Popovici, university history, intellectual history, “King Ferdinand I” University of Cluj, Romanian university programs.
