Pitt in Romania: Identity and Global Politics

 

The Pitt in Romania: Identity and Global Politics program is a five-week program that will immerse students in Romanian political, economic, social, and cultural environments. The questions that motivate this program are: by what processes do people construct (trans)national identities and what are their historical and contemporary socio-political consequences? We’ll also explore Romania’s position relative regional, continental, and global historical processes. By engaging with these questions in the Romanian context, and particular attention to the experiences of ethnic, national, religious, and gender minorities, students will: (1) examine how people in Romania come to see themselves as Romanians; (2) explore tensions, contradictions, and conflicts that arise from varied conceptions of nationality; and (3) investigate how national and European identities interact in the institutional context of the European Union and against the backdrop of Romania’s historical transition from Socialist totalitarianism to Capitalist parliamentary democracy. Students will become more proficient in historical developments specific to Romania, East Europe, and the EU and strengthen their ability to identify generalizable socio-political processes.
 
The program is expected to include two weeks in Bucharest, Romania, two weeks of travel in the historic and culturally diverse Transylvania region of Romania, and one week in Brussels, Belgium.  
 
 
 
What You'll Accomplish: 
What You'll Accomplish: 
 
  • As an engaged and active participant on the program, you will have the opportunity to:
  • Personally experience everyday life in Romania
  • Explore the construction of a variety of identities in Romania
  • Investigate historical and contemporary developments in regional and global politics
  • Analyze local manifestations of global political, social, economic, and cultural phenomena
  • Evaluate complementary and competing perspectives on local and global issues while cognizant of the historical contexts that facilitate differing vantage points
  • Create meaningful and lasting relationships with one another and with people in Romania
  • Apply the knowledge they gain to phenomena in other contexts
During the first two weeks of the program, we’ll be in Romania’s capital, Bucharest. The city haa population of approx. 1.8 million. It is cosmopolitan and lively, with a multi-sensory historical richness. As the seat of government, center of economic activity, and cultural focual point of the country, Bucharest offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the socio-political processes behind identity formation. Its unique melding of architectural styles makes immediately visible the transnational influences that have imprinted on Romania. The music that animates the Old City’s nightlife eclectically mixes sounds from West Asian, West Europe, Latin America, North America, and Africa. The prevalence of Romanian-English bilingualism underscores Romania’s enmeshment with global economic processes and facilitates engagements among students and local academics, politicians, diplomats, civil society members, artists, etc.
 
 
 
During weeks 3 and 4 of the program, we’ll travel by charter bus to visit a wide array of other sites in Transylvania, including cities (such as Brasov, Sibiu, Sighisoara, Deva, Alba Iulia, and Cluj-Napoca), villages (such as Piscu, Viscri, and Biertan), castles/fortresses (such as Peles, Bran, Rasnov, Rupea, and Hunedoara), churches, archeological sites (such as Sarmisegetuza Regia), and other culturally important places. We’ll learn about the historical significance of these spaces as we talk with a variety of Romanians of different socio-cultural backgrounds, including Hungarian, German, and Roma communities. We’ll also explore the unique political and cultural development of the region of Transylvania, as historical borders have changed. We’ll end the Transylvania portion of the trip in Cluj-Napoca, from which we’ll fly to Brussels.
 
 
 
During the last week, we’ll be in Brussels, Belgium, the capital of the European Union and headquarters to the European Commission and NATO, one of two cities that hosts the European Parliament, and a cosmopolitan space in which all kinds of Europeans interact. In Brussels we’ll engage with diplomats, members of Romania’s diaspora, and EU officials. 
Where You'll Live: 

You can expect the following:

  • Shared bedrooms 
  • Shared bathroom
  • Internet access and wifi
  • Welcome and farewell meals 

We do our best to provide the most accurate information about housing and amenities but due to the nature of the locations in which we offer programs and limited availability, these items are subject to change.  Contact your GEO program manager with any questions.

 
What You'll Study: 

Students participating in the program will earn six credits and will be enrolled in two courses:

  • PS1650: Process of Identity Formation
  • PS1521: Eastern Europe in World Politics

The courses, which foreground experiential learning, will be taught in English and will include reading academic texts, attending lectures, engaging with guest speakers, touring historically significant sites, participating in cultural activities, and visiting centers of political and commercial activity.

 

Processes of Identity Formation (PS1650)

This course foregrounds theoretical perspectives on meaning-making about “selves”—that is, how do “selves” acquire and/or form identities? In the context of contemporary Romanian society, students will engage with commonly circulating, socially salient identity framings (related to nationality, religion, ethnicity/race, class, sex/gender, sexual orientation, etc.) and consider how they take shape and evolve through social interaction. We will examine social processes including self/other recognition, use metaphor, traumatization and healing, memory-making, institutionalization of narratives, and migration. 

Eastern Europe in World Politics (PS1521)

Since the nineteenth century, Eastern Europe has undergone one of the most breathtaking political and socioeconomic transformations. Imperial ambitions, contentious politics of fin de siècle European nationalisms, the destructiveness of two world wars, experiments with socialism, political revolutions, transitions to capitalist democracy, and European integration (re)shaped the lives of hundreds of millions of people across twenty countries. Moreover, the region continues influencing global politics, as a site of the major geopolitical contestation between the “West” and its challengers. Contextualized in regional history since 1848, and through immersive case study in contemporary Romania, this course explores a wide array of social, political, economic, and cultural processes across local, national, regional, and global levels of analysis.

Your Pitt Study Abroad Contacts: 

Kelsey Sobecki

Hello! I’m Kelsey, Program Manager for Arts & Sciences students. I am a native Pittsburgher and studied abroad in Rome, Italy as an undergraduate at Duquesne University, and received my Master’s degree at University College Dublin in Ireland. I have been in the field of International Education for 10 years, which includes time spent living and working on-site with study abroad students in both Rome and Dublin. I am so excited to support Pitt students in their study abroad journey! Please feel free to reach out to me at kls299@pitt.edu or make an appointment to start planning your global experience!

 

E-mail: 
kls299@pitt.edu

Schedule an appointment

Schedule an appointment with me using Pathways!
Having trouble or don't see a time that works for you? Just email me at kls299@pitt.edu!

Your In-Country Contacts: 

Dr. Horia M. Dijmarescu

Horia M. Dijmarescu (he/they) is a Teaching Assistant Professor and Academic Advisor. Horia is also affiliated faculty with the Global Studies Center, the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, the European Studies Center, and the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program. His dissertation research focused on how actors justify or contest actions, examining wartime use of incendiary munitions and the legitimation of forms of governance in response to conflagrations. The project traces how discursively invoked rules constitute rhetorical resources through which actors (re)produce and negotiate meanings of rules themselves. More recently, his work has explored the normalization of violence against sexual and gender identity minorities, and on the identity-constructing effects of transnational heritage tourism economies. Horia earned a Ph.D. in Political Science at Northwestern University and a M.A. in International Peace and Conflict Resolution at American University in Washington, D.C. During his time in D.C., he worked in the grants program at the United States Institute of Peace. Horia was born in Romania and grew up in Canada. He is also the proud dad of a cat named Strawberry.

Items Billed by Pitt
  In-State Out-of-State
Program Fee $6,199 $6,399
Study Abroad Fee $300 $300
Total Billed by Pit $6,499 $6,699

Estimated Additional Out-of-Pocket Costs
Airfare ~ $1,500
Personal Expenses and Meals ~ $1,000 

 

Remember that your lifestyle and spending choices can greatly affect the amount of money you'll need while abroad.  Visit our Budgeting page for more information.

 

 

What's Included: 

As part of your program fee, the following are included:

  • Tuition for 6 credits
  • Shared Accommodation throughout the program
  • Cultural Activities and Excursions 
  • In-country orientation upon arrival
  • Welcome and Farewell group meals
  • International Health Insurance

 

Make sure to check out these scholarship opportunities!

 

When You'll Go: 

This program will run for five weeks. While exact dates are still to be confirmed, you can expect to arrive in early May and depart in early June. 

You're seeing student-submitted photos from Romania. There may be photos that do not necessarily represent this program or it's inclusions, but we hope you enjoy seeing what Panthers around the world are doing!