Real name:
Biography:
I taught advanced French for several decades, having completed the M.A. in French Literature at New York University. In the several years following retirement from teaching I earned another M.A. in Medieval History from Catholic University of America. I eased my way through COVID with an online diploma in Irish Studies through University of Ireland, Galway.
Now I find myself interested in studying the historiography of Romania. My husband and I spent this October teaching English to middle school students in Romania. During the visit I read a very popular history of Romanians by Neagu Djuvara. The process of piecing together the strands of the history of Romania out of the political whims of its various competing colonizers, including the harsh communist rule ending in 1989, is intriguing to me. Djuvara became popular by parting ways with prevailing views of events put forward by previous historians. I would like to gain a better understanding of the arguments made to support the various conflicting views, how they came about and what impact they have had on current discussions on Romanian history.
It is difficult to find courses in Eastern European History in institutions of higher learning in western countries. I will find out where these efforts are being made and do my best to expand their reach into the wider world of academic study.