Kirjahaku

This meticulously researched and elegantly written book is the most authoritative study of the emergence of modern Romanian identity in Transylvania during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Based upon a plethora of contemporary published sources, Mitu approaches national identity from a variety of perspectives - from within the Romanian community itself and their reaction to the image others had of them. The author sheds new light on the problems of self-evaluation using a method he describes as "functional analysis" to examine a complex set of ideologies and propaganda. This approach helps the reader to understand the intricate web of contemporary Romanian nationalism. National Identity of Romanians in Transylvania appeals to scholars of modern Romanian history, those focusing on the Habsburg Monarchy and the study of modern nationalism. The book is an important contribution to the expanding debate on nationalism and national identity from an East European perspective.

L’Image de l’Autre (The Image of the Other) explores the Romanian-Hungarian reciprocal images, a key topic in historical imagology, cultural anthropology, and social psychology. As one of Europe’s most significant imagological pairs, their symbolic interactions offer insights into transnational history. This book examines how Romanians and Hungarians perceived each other from the 10th–12th centuries until 1989. Using historical imagology and entangled history, it traces the origins of their competing images, shaped by medieval confrontations and evolving over centuries. The idea of an inevitable, millennial conflict took root, shaping national myths and historical narratives. By analyzing these perceptions, the book sheds light on identity formation, stereotypes, and cultural memory. It reveals how these images influenced political and social dynamics, extending beyond the two ethnic groups to a broader, interconnected world. This study contributes to understanding shared European histories and the construction of national identities.

In Siebenburgen bestand seit dem hohen Mittelalter eine Vielzahl an Gruppenidentitaten, die sich aus der Beziehung und Abgrenzung zueinander definierten und das Spezifikum des Landes ausmachten. Nur sehr allmahlich entwickelte sich ausserhalb der bis ins 19. Jahrhundert dominanten Standeordnung ein Selbstbewusstsein der heute mit Abstand zahlreichsten Bewohner des Landes: der Rumanen. Sorin Mitu untersucht die Entstehung des Selbst- und des Fremdbildes dieser Gruppe und die Rolle, die Latinitat und Konfession dabei spielten. Er vergleicht die Rumanen auch mit den Nachbar-Ethnien der Ungarn, Deutschen und Roma sowie mit den Juden. Mit dieser fur Rumanien methodisch vollig neuartigen, von uberkommenen Mythen der nationalen Geschichtsschreibung befreiten Analyse bietet sich Mitu der mitteleuropaischen und westlichen Historiographie als kompetenter und ernstzunehmender Gesprachspartner an.