The Center for American Studies at the University of Bucharest is happy to organize a work-in-progress series in which our M.A. students present their on-going research and share their ideas with the academic community at large.
The Center for American Studies at the University of Bucharest is happy to organize a work-in-progress series in which our M.A. students present their on-going research and share their ideas with the academic community at large.
Work-in-Progress Series (Academic Year: 2025-2026)
20 November 2025, 10 am to 12, Room 4 (Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of Bucharest, 7-13 Pitar Mos street, Bucharest). WiP#1 Guest Lecture. Between Tongues and Stages: Poetry and Performance in the Works of Immigrant Artists in the United States [in-person event]
Abstract: This talk looks at immigrant artists in the United States who use poetry, visual art, music and performance as interconnected arts to tell their stories, build community, and challenge the idea of what “American art” can be. Drawing on examples from contemporary poets and performers, such as the performance collective No. 1 Gold as well the poets Dao Strom, Gabrielle Civil, and Sawako Nakayasu the talk explores how art can carry memories across borders, express both loss and joy, and create spaces of belonging in a changing country. Many of these artists move between languages, traditions, and art forms—blending music, movement, and poetry. In doing so, they turn the written word into a shared, living experience rather than something that exists only on the page. This is a conversation about how words, when spoken and embodied, can transform isolation into connection, and performance into a kind of home.
Bio: Rajnesh Chakrapani is the author of The Repetition of Exceptional Weeks, and two chapbooks Brown People who Speak English, and Manifesto on Translations of Hospitality. He lives in Bucharest.
26 February 2026, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet). WiP#2. Nation, History and Identity in American Culture [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
George-Valentin Andrei (2nd year American studies MA student), Curtain Call: Post-Cold War Triumphalism in the American Media of the 1990s and the Challenges to Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History and The Last Man in the Contemporary Political Landscape
Abstract: My paper analyzes the triumphalist attitude of the United States at the end of the Cold War due to its position as the victor in what was a defining moment in history. Francis Fukuyama's work, The End of History and The Last Man(1993), expands the initial ideas from a stand-alone article “The End of History?” published in 1989, providing the ideological basis of America’s attitude towards its place in the world, placing its model of liberal capitalism as the standard for everyone else. This analysis focuses on how the “End of History” doctrine played an essential role in shaping the narrative about America’s victory in the Cold War, and how its model of ideological existence was put forward as the only viable way for a country/culture to exist in the context of the 1990s and the fall of the communist bloc. By and large, Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History and The Last Man is analyzed in relation to a handful of news articles presenting the fall of the USSR and framing its transition to capitalism in a positive light. Those articles reflected Fukuyama’s ideological reasoning for the victory of the US in the Cold War and justified the superiority of liberal capitalism as a system. This position, however, proved to be later dismantled, especially starting with the 21st century and the political changes that followed worldwide. The rise of China as an economic rival to the United States, the 9/11 attacks and the ever-increasing authoritarian outlook of Russia serve as the counterarguments to the thesis that Fukuyama formulated in the early 1990s. Slavoj Zizek and Jacques Derrida provide the most relevant theoretical counterpoints to what Fukuyama theorized after the end of the Cold War, and, as such, the works Welcome To The Desert of The Real and Specters of Marxserve as the theoretical basis for this paper’s counterargument.
Adrian Nacu (2nd year American studies MA student), From Melting Pot to Mosaic: Redefining Romanian-AmericanIdentity Formation in the U.S. through Domnica Rădulescu's Prose
Abstract: My dissertation investigates the evolution of Romanian-American identity formation within the contemporary United States, specifically challenging traditional assimilationist models. By shifting the lens from the "Melting Pot", a metaphor which implies the erasure of cultural particularity, to the "Mosaic" model, I explore how identity is maintained through a vibrant, fragmented, and transnational composition of experiences. Central to this study is the prose of Romanian-American writer Domnica Rădulescu, whose works serve as a primary site for mediating the complexities ofmigration, diaspora, and spatial belonging. Drawing on three selected volumes, the analysis examines how Rădulescu’s protagonists navigate the "liminal whiteness" and cultural otherness of Eastern European immigrants, as well as the traumatic echoes of a communist past, while constructing a new sense of self in the American cultural space. By applying theories of transnationalism and performative identity, this study argues that Rădulescu’s lyrical and often fragmented narrative style mirrors the mosaic structure of the immigrant soul, where the Romanian "piece" is not melted away, butstrategically repositioned. Ultimately, this research aims to highlight how Romanian-American literature contributes to a broader understanding of the "New European" diaspora, redefining what it means to belong in a multicultural age where home is no longer a single geography, but a continuous narrative performance.
Abstract: My dissertation offers a comparative analysis of Turkish migration experiences in Europe and the United States, focusing on identity negotiation, assimilation strategies, and second-generation narratives. While Turkish diasporic communities have been extensively studied in isolation, fewer studies directly compare how differing socio-political contexts shape migrant integration and self-identification across continents. Drawing on video-based interviews conducted with Turkish individuals who have been living in Europe and the United States for extended periods, this research foregrounds lived experiences as primary data. The study examines how migrants respond to structural conditions such as visa regimes, labor market limitations, professional mobility, and changing social climates. Particular attention is given to the ways in which these conditions influence identity formation and community behavior. I argue that Turkish communities in Europe and the United States exhibit distinct assimilation trajectories. In certain European contexts, segments of the diaspora tend to foreground Turkish identity more prominently, sometimes maintaining cultural boundaries and resisting full social integration. In contrast, Turkish migrants in the United States often demonstrate stronger adaptive strategies, shaped by different immigration models and socio-economic opportunities. These divergences become even more visible among second-generation individuals, whose identity performances, cultural affiliations, and degrees of attachment to “Turkishness” do not fully overlap across the two regions. By analyzing these contrasting patterns, this project highlights how geopolitical context, migration policy, and host-society structures significantly influence diasporic identity formation. Ultimately, the dissertation contributes to contemporary migration studies by documenting a generational shift and by offering an updated comparative perspective on Turkish mobility in an era marked by intensified global constraints and redefined belonging.
Mihai Pintilie (2nd year American studies MA student), Locomotives and Their Impact throughout U.S. History
Abstract: Locomotives have functioned not only as transport technology but also as cultural icons through which societies have narrated modernity, national identity, and collective memory. This paper examines how the locomotive becomes “iconic” by tracing three overlapping processes: (1) the symbolic association of rail power and speed with industrial modernity and new experiences of time and space; (2) the aesthetic and political shaping of locomotives as designed objects, including streamlining and branding that attach values such as progressress, unity, and national prestige to particular machines; and (3) the afterlives of locomotives in media and heritage regimes, where film, photography, museums, and restoration projects transform working equipment into curated emblems of a usable past. Using selected case studies of celebrated locomotives and their representation in public discourse, the analysis shows how “icon” status depends less on technical performance than on circulation across cultural forms and institutions. The paper argues that locomotives operate as condensed symbols that mediate tensions between innovation and nostalgia, labor and spectacle, local identity and global modernity. By treating the locomotive as a cultural object with changing meanings, the study contributes to scholarship on industrial heritage, design history, and the cultural politics of technology.
12 March 2026, 2 to 4 pm (online on google meet).WiP#3. Guest Lecture. Nikoleta Zampaki, “Eco-Phenomenology in Walt Whitman's 'Song of Myself’” [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Title: Plant Phenomenology and Poetics in Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself
Abstract: Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself enacts a profound poetic phenomenology of plant life, dissolving the ontological barrier between human consciousness and the vegetal world. This lecture argues that Whitman employs a poetics of radical empathy and immanence to reorient perception, positioning the plant not as a passive symbol but as an active, perceiving presence and a model for being. Through catalogs and sustained botanical imagery—from the “spear of summer grass” to the “leaf of leaves”—Song of Myself cultivates a mode of non-hierarchical, embodied attention. Whitman’s persona undergoes a deliberate de-centering of the human ego, aspiring to a vegetative state of porous, patient existence, “rooted” in the material present. This vegetal consciousness challenges Cartesian dualism, proposing instead a metaphysics of interconnected growth and cyclical regeneration. Song of Myself’s very structure, with its sprawling, accumulative lines and organic cadence, mimics vegetative processes of spreading, branching, and seeding. Consequently, Song of Myself transcends mere pastoral description to perform an ecological ontology. In doing so, Whitman pioneers an intersubjective poetics where to perceive the plant is to participate in its phenomenological world, ultimately envisioning a democracy founded not on human exclusivity, but on a shared, vibrant materiality and a universal “song” of becoming.
Bio: Dr. Nikoleta Zampaki is Postdoctoral Researcher at the Faculty of Philology of the School of Philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece. She is author of the monograph The Biocosmic Perception of the Poet. Nature and body in Walt Whitman and Angelos Sikelianos’ works (Athens: Sokoli Publications, 2023, in Greek) and co-editor, with Professor Peggy Karpouzou, of the volume Symbiotic Posthumanist Ecologies in Western Literature, Philosophy and Art. Towards Theory and Practice (Berlin: Peter Lang, 2023). She is Associate and Managing Editor at the scientific journal Ecokritike and a current member of the Education Team of V.I.N.E. at Glenn Research Center of NASA. She is Series Editor of the “Exeter Studies in Environmental Humanities. Past, Present and Future Econarratives” at University of Exeter Press and Series Editor of the book series “Posthumanities and Citizenship Futures” at Bloomsbury. Her disciplines are Comparative Literature, Environmental Humanities, Posthumanities and Digital Humanities.
19 March 2026, 6 to 8 pm (online on google meet). WiP#4. Feminism, Gender and Sexuality in American Culture
Irina Lupu (2nd year American studies MA student), Subversion or Submission? Taboo Erotic Practices in the Feminist Sex Wars
Abstract: This paper aims to analyze the tensions between sex-positive and sex-negative feminism in relation to fringe erotic practices in the context of the Feminist Sex Wars. Firstly, the phenomenon itself is defined, and the historical context necessary for the understanding of the thesis is offered. Secondly, both perspectives are deconstructed with the aid of the two sources employed, namely “Against Sadomasochism” by Ruby Ruth Linden, and “Public Sex” by Pat Califia. While many have attempted to offer new perspectives on feminist arguments in general, this thesis seeks to shed light on a lesser-known event within feminist history and focus solely on lesbian voices, which, in themselves, are too often overlooked. This paper attempts to answer the following research question: How do the conflicting discourses of the two primary sources shape the plurality of lesbian feminists’ subjectivities and the meaning of “liberation”? How do the two opposing sides engage with their respective definitions of “power”?
Ana-Eliza Smarandache (2nd year American studies MA student), Feminine Rage in Art as a Form of Protest
Abstract: This thesis focuses on the feeling of rage felt by women expressed through alternative music as a form of protest to social norms and political decisions. Some examples would be: rape culture, ban on abortion, stereotypes about femininity, gender inequality, victim blaming, violence against women, femicide, social media trends started by misogyny etc. In this paper I will explore themes of feminism and a short history of the feminist movement, alternative forms of protest, music as an accessible medium of expression, killjoys. I will analyze artists such as Delilah Bon, Halsey, Dove Cameron and others.
Alin Strat (2nd year American studies MA student), Aromantic-Asexual Representation in The Owl House: Queer Function of Lilith Clawthorne's Alternative Relationality
Abstract: This paper aims to analyze how Disney’s animated series, The Owl House, implements core progressive elements of LGBTQ representation and how those subsequently touch upon Aromantic-Asexual representation in the series and how such aspects function in regards to media as a whole, with a focus on the singular officially confirmed AroAce character present in the series, namely Lilith Clawthorne and her Queer function as a character that embodies a type of sexuality barely represented and recognized in media. The aim is to analyze Lilith Clawthorne’s role as an adult Queer character that challenges dominant amatonormative media narratives in regards to the fulfillment surrounding romantic tropes, and how her identity is instead centered on pursuing different types of relationships comprising mending family bonds and quirky friendships, as well as realizing her own individual path as a witch trying to make sense of her past decisions. Further on, her portrayal as an AroAce figure will be brought to light with a focus on her characteristics and narrative function, specifically looking at how it is employed against common stereotypes and how it further negotiates the importance of getting minority representation done right. Lastly, Lilith’s identity takes center stage in analysis not only in the portrayal of her AroAce attributes, but also by directly studying the general relevance and discourse of officially confirming her sexuality outside the show and how representation ties into transmedia storytelling and audience reception.
Talida Enache (2nd year American studies MA student), Muscles and Misconceptions: Gender, Femininity, and the Social Perception of Women in Bodybuilding and Fitness
Abstract: In this dissertation, I will examine the construction and regulation of the female body in aesthetic sports such as figure skating, ballet, and gymnastics. Unlike many other sports, aesthetic sports also evaluate athletes on grace, appearance, and artistic presentation, not just on technical performance. Due to this evaluation style, female athletes are expected to conform to certain bodily standards that emphasize thinness, delicacy, and traditional feminine physical traits.
I will explore the tension between the expectation of being feminine and the physical requirements of high-level performance. While strength and muscular development are very much necessary for success in sports, visibly muscular bodies may be perceived as deviating from the established norm of how the athlete should look. Female athletes who do not conform to these standards may face criticism, social judgement or negative evaluation from coaches, judges, media and the audience.
I will also examine how the pressure to conform to these aesthetic ideals can have serious consequences for athletes physical and psychological well-being. The emphasis on thinness and perfect appearance can contribute to body dissatisfaction and increase the risk of eating behaviors and disorders. In some cases, athletes may feel pressured to restrict their diets and food intake in order to maintain the desired body type, which can lead to fatigue, low energy and other health complications, which in turn can lead to increased risk of injury and prolonged recovery times. Such pressure and very high expectations may be contributing factors for athletes to leave the sports they once enjoyed.By analyzing aesthetic sports through the lens of gender expectations, body politics, and performance culture, my dissertation aims to highlight how the pursuit of the “ideal” female athletic body can come at a high cost, both physical and psychological.
2 April 2026, 6 to 8 pm (online on google meet). WiP#5. Game and Media Studies
Șerban Ioniță (2nd year American studies MA student), From Table to Screen and Back Again: Adaptation, Authorship, and Media Transformation in Tabletop Role-Playing Cultures
Abstract: My dissertation explores the two-way process of adaptation between TTRPGs and other types of media. The research will highlight that TTRPGs are uniquely situated in today’s trans-media culture as a source and target for adaptation, while presenting a challenge to traditional notions of fidelity, authorship, and the authority of a narrative.
The first chapter examines how Dungeons and Dragons has migrated to digital and film. It provides an historical overview culminating with an in-depth analysis of Baldur's Gate 3. The second chapter does the same for film adaptations ending with an analysis of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023). Both chapters aim to investigate how the improvisational, collaborative and probabilistic nature defining tabletop gameplay has been translated into fixed narrative structures and into digital algorithms. It describes the ways in which video gaming and film mimic tabletop play, despite the fact that video gaming and film constrain player agency and centralize authorship in the creative process.
The third chapter looks at how adaptations from narrative media were made into TTRPGs through two case studies, The One Ring Roleplaying Game and DIE: The Roleplaying Game. It also explores how these two examples of storyworlds can be reimagined as systems with thematic elements and tones expressed through mechanics. Drawing on adaptation and game studies, the thesis contends that TTRPG adaptation often involves transforming systems into stories and stories into systems, revealing adaptation itself as a form of negotiated, procedural play.
David Deaconu (2nd year American studies MA student), Behind the Guns and Jokes: How Grand Theft Auto V Talks About America
Abstract: In this dissertation, I analyse the video game Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar Games, 2013), a game that I believe says a lot about how America is seen, not just inside the game, but also from a cultural point of view. The goal of this paper is to understand how GTA V represents American identity in a way that is both critical and ironic. Even if the game seems exaggerated or absurd at times, I think it actually reflects many real aspects of American society, like the obsession with money and success, media saturation, and individualism taken to the extreme. What interests me most is the way the game critiques the American Dream: it shows characters that are trying to succeed, but often end up lost, stuck, or trapped in a cycle of violence and failure. I also want to look at how the game handles stereotypes, especially when it comes to race, gender, and power. Even though these are sensitive topics, I think GTA V uses satire to make a point about how these issues still define how society works.
In terms of method, I plan to combine elements from narratology and game studies. From narratology, I will look at how the game tells its story through the three main characters: Michael, Franklin, and Trevor — who all represent different social classes and perspectives. Michael seems to be a failed version of the suburban dream; Franklin tries to move up but gets stuck in the same violent environment; and Trevor is, in a way, a chaotic mirror of how extreme and absurd some American ideals can become. I want to see how these characters help build a bigger image of what America means inside the game.
The second method I will use comes from game studies and ideology. Here I want to analyse how the game doesn’t just tell a story, but also creates a world that reflects certain values and beliefs. For example, the violence in the game isn’t just there for fun, it also says something about what success looks like in this version of America. Also, the in-game media (like radio, TV, fake internet) is full of parody and exaggeration, but I think it reflects real problems, like how media influences people or how everything is turned into a product. I believe this mix of story and gameplay creates a complex image of a society where everything is performance, and people are stuck between wanting more and not knowing who they really are. Even though a lot has been said about GTA V in pop culture, I think there’s still room for a more academic look that connects the game with theories of identity and ideology. My plan is to use this paper to explore how a popular game like this can also say something serious about the world we live in and maybe even help us understand it better.
Maria Tofan (2nd year American studies MA student), Familial Love vs. Collective Survival: An Analysis on Sacrifice and Ethics in The Last of Us, Part I and Part II
Abstract: In this dissertation, I will examine the ongoing tension between utilitarian ethics and categorical moral reasoning within dystopian landscapes, specifically in The Last of Us, both parts of the game, as well as the series. My aim is to portray the way such environments impose a strict "cost-benefit" survival framework that happens to justify the sacrifice of an individual for an entire collective, in contrast to the selfish nature of parental/familial love. I further argue that parental love is inherently focused on personal bonds, thus being marked as "selfish" in the eyes of dystopian societies due to the wish to save one single known individual rather than an abstract collective. I will also use the concept of family as a site of resistance to dystopian systems, whose main interest is to instrumentalize human life. Applying this to the universe of The Last Of Us, I will try to reframe the Fireflies' attempt to search for the cure that will save humanity as a more future-oriented ideology which legitimizes present sacrifice; in opposition to that, Joel's choice to save Ellie represents the very rejection of such utilitarian reasonings, a crucial role within the fight against dehumanization.
24 April 2026, 6 to 8 pm (online on google meet). WiP#6. Representations of Race and Ethnicity in the U.S.
Georgiana Popescu (2nd year American studies MA student), Challenging racial stereotypes through music and performance: A case study on Kendrick Lamar’s songs The Blacker The Berry and Alright
Abstract: This paper aims to examine the ways in which music is used in itself and in musical performances to actively challenge racial stereotypes by focusing on Kendrick Lamar’s songs The Blacker The Berry and Alright from his acclaimed album TPAB and their employment in his 2016 Grammy performance. By using concepts from critical race theory, sociology, musicology and performance theory I aim to emphasize that the impact of the music derives not solely from the powerful lyrics, previously analyzed in depth by various researchers, but also from the instrumentals and beats produced specifically to support the lyrics, which together create a clear image of resistance with significant impact, amplified through the performance of the songs in front of an audience. Firstly, the impact of racism on the community is discussed by focusing on scientific racism and the stereotypes it generated which influenced African Americans and produced a defined negative image of the community that linked their identity with crime and violence, affecting their everyday life as well as their own image of the self through the process of double-consciousness that occurred. Secondly, protest music and its characteristics are analyzed by focusing on blues and rap and their status as protest music, evident through the impact they produced on the community. Thirdly, musical performance is defined and its impact is highlighted by focusing on the effects it produces on the audience and emphasizing different powerful performances from the community that helped shatter racial prejudice. The last part of the paper will focus on analyzing the two songs by examining the lyrics and the instrumentals, as well as the 2016 Grammy performance by focusing on the music, the visuals and the impact it produces. Through this paper, I want to shift away the focus from the sole analysis of lyrics and emphasize the bigger picture that music creates especially through performance, since its achieved impact on the audience relies on all auditory, visual and emotional elements that encompass the act of performing.
David Hristian (2nd year American studies MA student), Spike Lee’s Movie Highest 2 Lowest as a Way to Critique Systemic Racism and Class Inequality through the Lens of Critical Race Theory. Comparison with Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low (1963)
Abstract: This thesis explores the social changes affecting African American film in order to understand Spike Lee’s film Highest 2 Lowest (2025) as an explicit critique of systemic racism and class inequity. Starting with an examination of the historical exclusion of black actors from D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation to the structural racist economic conditions in Hollywood, the study will apply Avery F. Gordon’s concept of “haunting”, as well as Patricia J. Williams’s notion of “alchemy”, to analyze how early filmmaking pioneers like Oscar Micheaux challenged limiting stereotypes by creating independent counternarratives that have become blueprints for Lee’s filmmaking today. Therefore, the content of the next chapters will employ Critical Race Theory to examine Highest 2 Lowest through the experiences of a wealthy record producer confronted with choosing between maintaining his empire and the life of a kidnapped son of his driver. The final chapter will conduct a comparative analysis of Highest 2 Lowest and Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low (1963) in order to illustrate how Lee uses similar films to critically examine the complex, intersecting relationships among contemporary capitalism, racial identity, and the ethical responsibilities of the wealthy to their communities.
8 May 2026, 6.30 to 8.30 pm (online on google meet). WiP#7. Literary Studies
Alexandra Zosim (2nd year American studies MA student), The Madwoman in the Family: Portrayals of Female “Madness” in Shirley Jackson’s Hangsaman, The Bird’s Nest, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Abstract: This research aims to highlight the ways in which Shirley Jackson’s fiction, particularly her novels Hangsaman (1951), The Bird’s Nest (1954), and We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962), manage to portray female madness not as a liability or a weakness, but as a tool consciously employed for personal protection. While mostly known for her numerous short stories, Shirley Jackson remains one of the most prolific authors of the Gothic genre in American literature, often using macabre instances of strange houses, distorted bodies, and freakish young women to subtly challenge patriarchal conventions specific of the post-war period in the United States of America. The research begins from previous studies on hysteria, traditionally understood as the “woman’s madness”, and feminist studies on the condition of women in the 1950s and 1960s, when they were typically viewed as “objects” of the home, tasked with tending to their husbands and children, completely detached from public life. By employing the theoretical views of critics such as Phyllis Chesler, Elaine Showalter, and Betty Friedan, among others, this paper aims to show how Shirley Jackson’s novels use Gothic elements to portray female madness as a form of transgression. Hangsaman (1951) tells the story of a young girl stuck between the desire to accept her social condition or reject it through education, conflict which ultimately drives her to madness, intentionally used by the protagonist as a means of protection. The Bird’s Nest (1954), the only novel of the three dealing with an actual psychiatric diagnosis, depicts personality disorder as a weapon wielded against external oppressors. Finally, We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) portrays domestic abuse as murderous, highlighting the powers of repressed womanhood and the intricacies of interfamilial relations used toward the absolute goal of personal security. This research ultimately seeks to show that Shirley Jackson sits among the most notable authors of the twentieth century as the creator of a body of work which portrays the strange and the grotesque as tools of individual empowerment.
Andreea Astratinei (2nd year American studies MA student), On Narratives and Their Creators: Exploring the Debate about Sensitivity Readers and Their Implications for the American Literary World
Abstract: Cultural ambassadors. Authenticity readers. Censors. These are just a few labels that have been associated with sensitivity readers since they first came to public attention in the second half of the 2010s. Emerging in a context when the American literary world was facing the longstanding lack of diversity in the publishing industry, this apparently new group of consultants has explicitly sought to ameliorate the situation by helping authors who want to write about members of marginalized communities avoid offensive and culturally inaccurate representations. What gives them the special expertise to identify potentially harmful ideas, their supporters argue, is their lived experience, as sensitivity readers are hired chiefly for their membership in such groups. However, this type of editorial intervention has been criticized by some commentators, who contend that it might stifle writers’ creative freedom. Focusing on this debate, my thesis starts with a rather broad question: What are the cultural and epistemological implications of sensitivity reading? Primarily, I intend to examine how arguments for and against this practice have (subtly) problematized the purpose of literature and the notion of authorship. To achieve this end, drawing on fields such as authorship studies, philosophy (of literature), and sociology, this cultural studies paper will critically analyze the discourse of an extensive corpus of online written texts to explore how this topic has been framed by each side of the debate.
Mihaela Costache (2nd year American studies MA student), Immigration and the Modern Metropolis in H.G. Wells’s The Future in America and Henry James’s The American Scene
Abstract: This paper aims to examine the discourse of mass immigration and metropolitan transformation in early 20th-century America through the comparative lens of two transatlantic travel narratives: H.G. Wells's The Future in America(1906) and Henry James's The American Scene (1907). Situated at the intersection of urban studies, immigration history, and imagology, the study asks how these two European observers – one a reform-minded English futurist known as the father of science fiction, the other an expatriate American novelist with an infamously intricate style of writing – constructed radically different images of a nation defined by intense global migration and urban acceleration. By juxtaposing these two authors’ responses to the United States, the study argues that the early 20th-century American metropolis was not merely a backdrop for immigration but an active force that reshaped national imagination. Wells and James represent two enduring, oppositional models of transatlantic response: the pragmatic reformer who embraces heterogeneity as progress, and the aesthetic mourner who experiences it as loss.
Alexia Mladin (2nd year American studies MA student), Echoes of Empire: Robert D. Kaplan in the World of Eastern Europe
Abstract: My paper aims to analyze the way Western journalists, professors, media have functioned throughout the years as tools of discursive power, shaping ultimately how Eastern Europe and the Balkans are perceived, not only by the West, but also by Eastern Europe in itself. Drawing on Maria Todorova’s theoretical framework of Balkanism and postcolonial theories, the paper explains how Western writers contribute to the perpetuation of stereotypes regarding Eastern Europe and the Balkans, reiterating reductive and ideologically charged narratives. Although there are many Western writers that have had an impactful discourse around the two regions, this paper will focus on Robert D. Kaplan as a relevant case study. Robert D. Kaplan is a prominent American geopolitical analyst, writer that serves as the central figure for this analysis which takes a closer look at three books that tackle the Romanian space and the Balkans around the time of communism and after the fall of it, following closely the changes, the evolution and in some cases the regression. The author was so well received by the Romanian audience that he became a relevant voice in the way history was delivered to the Romanian public. What makes Kaplan’s work even more fascinating is its reception not only by the Western audience, but also by the Romanian public, where one can understand the extent to which the stereotypes and colonial tropes are internalized. By positioning the way the Romanian press writes about the author alongside the broader Anglophone press, this paper aims to analyze the circulation of imperial and reductive discourses across different cultures that enhance the stereotypical image of Eastern Europe.
Work-in-Progress Series (Academic Year: 2024-2025)
14 March 2025, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP#5. Immigrants, Family, and Mental Health in U.S. Culture [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Ioana Mihai, The Commercialization of Mental Health: Social Media’s Role in Trend Formation and Dissemination
Abstract: This dissertation explores the influence of social media platforms on the flow of news and trends, focusing in particular on the mental health trend and its rapid spread globally. The study looks at how trends rooted in the United States are gaining international traction via platforms such as TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, which are favored by Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X, respectively. It also explores the superficial but impactful nature of these trends, analyzing their origins, promotional strategies and lasting effects. By emphasizing the role of influencers and their contributions to the viralization and engagement of mental health content, this research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying the rise and fall of these trends and their broader cultural implications.
Ana-Maria Petculescu, “Family – The Root of All Human Wrongs”: Trauma and Memory in Katherine Anne Porter’s Fiction
Abstract. My dissertation will examine the trauma narratives and memory structures in Katherine Anne Porter’s short stories, focusing on The Old Order, Old Mortality, and Pale Horse, Pale Rider. By applying trauma theory and insights from memory studies, my study investigates how Porter’s female protagonist navigates her relationship with the past. The analysis considers intergenerational trauma within the context of the Old South and the cultural memory of the Civil War, as well as the personal and collective trauma embedded in Pale Horse, Pale Rider, which recounts the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. My aim is to explore how memory, imagination, and storytelling function as both sites of repression and resistance in Porter’s works. The protagonists’ struggles to reconcile personal identity with inherited histories reflect broader tensions between nostalgia, loss, and modernity in Southern literature. By examining the ways in which Porter constructs fragmented, yet vivid recollections of the past, this paper aims to highlight the role of narrative in shaping historical perspectives, particularly concerning women’s lived experiences of trauma and memory, as well as her contribution to documenting the Influenza pandemic in the United States.
Matei Dimonu, Contextualizing Scena 9’s Americanii within the field of American Studies
Abstract: Americanii is a Romanian podcast produced by the cultural magazine Scena 9, with the collaboration of Radio România Cultural. The show, spanning only six episodes, represents a compilation of interviews taken by the reporters, Mara Mărăcinescu, Claudia Câmpeanu and Diana Meseșan, trying to paint a picture as accurate to life as possible to the lives of the first Romanians to have come to the United States in the early twentieth century. The introduction to the podcast presents this anthropological interest as having a great value to understanding “the beginnings to what we see today, when over three million Romanians work abroad” (0:38-42) and “a podcast of the beginnings of migration in our country [i.e. Romania]” (0:52) Marketing aside, I believe that it is imperative to mention that this rather obscure cultural production may possibly be seen as an adequate educational tool and as a reflection of American Studies as a cultural-scientific field.
Stemming from the understanding that American (Cultural) Studies may be seen, as Professor Rodica Mihăilă put it in The American Challenge, a pluralistic cross-disciplinary field of perspectives for understanding the American civilization (162), my work seeks to prove how this very field may benefit from placing some of its characteristic theoretical approaches in the context of Scena 9’s Americanii. Perspectives such as the historical perspective of Max Weber of America as a place of opportunity (Offe 49), the post-modernist Jean Baudrillard’s Simulation and Simulacra and the study of the historical assumption of the human condition of the female condition as expressed by Simone de Beauvoir in The Second Sex, may all be applied to the stories depicted in Americanii, the lives of the turn-of-the-century Romanian population and the traces of the interactions it had with American society, with which it has never stopped interacting with.
Diana Cenusa, Representing Korean-American Immigrant Stories and Family Dynamics in US Media
Abstract: The aim of my paper is to move past the well-known stereotypical representation of Korean-American families and focus on the character development of each individual who participates in the vibrant dynamics. Using critical sources, I will analyze different cases of Korean immigrant families, in order to prove the distinct outcomes of the familial relationship and the struggles of the children who have to adapt to their new life, yet being always held back by the traditional structures. I will tackle Korean-American immigrant stories as depicted in US Media. A great focus will be represented by the family dynamics. For the first part I will be analyzing the parents-children relationship for immigrant Korean families as depicted in media through the movie “Minari” (2020). Furthermore, I will be narrowing my research on the representation of the Korean American children, looking at the manner in which the environmental and cultural changes have an impact on their upbringing. Through the movies Past Lives (2023) and Spa Night (2016) I will be presenting the various approaches in terms of representing self-discovery and heritage exploration for second generation Korean immigrants.
28 February 2025, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP#4. Performing Identity in Contemporary U.S.: The Stakes of Family, Community and Politics [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Antonia Dragan, An Analysis of Family Dynamics in the Romanian American Diaspora: On The Memoirs of Andrei Codrescu, Petry Popescu, and Domnica Rădulescu
Abstract. The aim of this paper is to explore the links between the members of a “hybrid” family and to reveal the plethora of cultural representations that one is exposed to, from a generation to another, in a never-ending exchange of values, traditions and beliefs, in regard to memoirs as a fundamental non-fiction literary genre in the works of several Romanian-born American writers, namely Andrei Codrescu, Petru Popescu, and Domnica Rădulescu. By focusing on a wide range of recurring images in very specific contexts, the three authors intend to use their own life experience to serve as evidence of an once-glorified past, turned overnight in the most intimidating form of power that has proved, time and time again, to have a lasting effect on how they manage to maintain their family blood ties, and how they form another with a family of their choice, abroad.
Talida Izdraila, Community Performance in American and Romanian Spoken Word Poetry. On Nuyorican Poets Café and Poethree Collective
Abstract: Spoken word poetry redefined what is nowadays considered traditional written poetry through its mainly performative aspect and multimodal approach. Even though, in theory, spoken word poetry co-existed with oral literature and folklore since Antiquity, it has been clearly defined during the Black Arts Movement period, as well as during The Beats’ rebellious approach to culture, experimentation, and academic writing rigors (Somers-Willett 52, Rivera 116). As a form of “performance poetry,” spoken word poetry becomes important because it proves how two separate scenes overlap and exchange features: the “popular” (mode of presentation) and the “literary” (genre of writing) (Novak 45). At its core, spoken word poetry is a social form, requiring an audience of listeners to function. My dissertation will therefore explore the importance of the community in American, as well as Romanian spoken word poetry, focusing on the idea that, as a community-based production, it is a cultural and artistic product “of the people, by the people, and for the people” (Cohen 2). The case study aims to show some similar spoken word poetry features that both the Nuyorican Poets and Poethree Collective as groups make use of in their artistic practice and how, as well as why the concept of community performance is equally foundational for the existence of both. Ultimately, this project aims to provide an overview of the Romanian Poethree Collective’s history and development from the point of view of its contribution to the spoken word scene nationally and internationally.
10 January 2025, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP# 3. U.S. Media, Gender and Affect Dynamics [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Alina Astalus, An Analysis of Body Horror and Femininity in U.S. Movies: On The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Annihilation, Under the Skin
Abstract: My dissertation aims to examine the intersection of body horror and femininity in the films The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016), Annihilation (2018), and Under the Skin (2013). By positioning femininity at the core of body horror, these films reimagine the female body as both the origin and the focus of horror, offering a distinctive perspective on the genre. In my analysis, I will explore how each film interprets this concept, showcasing how femininity and societal expectations influence the portrayal of fear while challenging traditional norms and subverting classical body horror tropes. These films do so by addressing broader themes: the objectification of the female form, the dissonance between societal ideals and bodily autonomy, and the unsettling ways in which femininity is perceived when it transgresses what is considered normality.
Ana-Cristina Popescu, Gender and Sexuality Dynamics in the Batman Universe: On Gotham’s Killjoys, Criminals and Queer Subtexts
Abstract: Almost all women in the Batman universe were, at first, heterosexual, and, most likely, a wanted criminal: Talia al Ghul, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Lady Shiva, to name just a few; virtually all women who possess any fraction of power in Gotham have either obtained it illegally or by accessorizing themselves to powerful, "legitimately" successful men, such as Bruce Wayne and his father, or by being closely related to powerful male criminals such as the Joker, Ra's al Ghul or Carmine Falcone. In recent years, however, women have gained more agency as comic readership expanded away from the male gaze, allowing the emergence of openly queer female characters such as Ivy & Harley and Batwoman & Renee Montoya. Before the emancipation of women in the Batman universe began through the lens of queerness, the few members of the "Batfamily" who were not criminals to begin with, were either daughters of criminals (Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain), or suffered great physical harm, such as Barbara Gordon, serving as a classic case of the Women in Refrigerators trope (originating from another DC comic series, Green Lantern). In addition, Dick Grayson, the original Robin, has always been perceived as "effeminate", has often been sexualized and, as a result, has arguably become one of the most sexually assaulted male characters in comics. My paper will discuss the following Batman media: The Killing Joke comic by Alan Moore, 1988, the American-Japanese Catwoman: Hunted 2022 animated movie, Batman: Arkham City, the 2011 videogame, coupled with observations on Gotham Knights, a 2022 videogame. The aim of this paper is to analyze the aforementioned Batman-adjacent media of various nature (comics, animations, video games), drawing comparisons and identifying the timeline of representation in regards to female and queer characters in order to observe their evolution over the years, overlapping the findings of this analysis with qualitative research of the local audience’s perception of heteronormative performance and expressions of sexuality within the given setting through the lens of gender & queer studies.
Bogdan Dragomir, Bullets and Broken Souls: Exploring Emotional Engagement through Affective Narratology in Max Payne and Wolfenstein
Abstract: The purpose of my dissertation is to analyze the ways in which players can become emotionally invested in video games and their stories. In order to achieve this, I will look at the Max Payne franchise (2001-2012) and the Wolfenstein reboot (2014-2017), two different series mechanically and conceptually but similar in characters and plot points. I will look at how the writers of these video games managed to make players care about their stories, what techniques they used (affective narratology, clichés, character psychology etc) and how storytelling can be so immersive in video game form. The main focus will be on the main characters of these stories - the titular Max Payne and the Nazi killing machine William Joseph Blazkowicz.
13 December 2024, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP# 2. Alexandru Grigoraș-Popa, An Analysis of Dystopian Science Fiction in American Literature: On Neuromancer [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Abstract: The purpose of my dissertation is to analyze the dystopian world crafted by William Gibson in his Neuromancer trilogy, also known The Sprawl Trilogy, comprised of Neuromancer (1984), Count Zero (1986), Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988), while also exploring how the author used Neuromancer to both reflect and critique the Science Fiction genre, as well as larger societal concerns. I will examine and contrast the three volumes, beginning with an analysis of the narrative structure and progressing to the exploration of symbolism and motifs. The analysis will be grounded in a theoretical framework drawn from existing research on dystopian Science Fiction.
1 November 2024, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP#1 Guest Lecture: Atalie Gerhard (Lecturer at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, PhD candidate at Saarland University), Decolonial Feminist Futurity in Contemporary Novels by First Nations Women [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Abstract: This talk presents decolonial feminist imaginations of futurity in selected contemporary novels by First Nations women from what is now Canada. Firstly, I show how the autobiographical novel Split Tooth (2018) by the throat singer Tanya Tagaq (Inuit) and the graphic novel series A Girl Called Echo (2017-2021) by the novelist Katherena Vermette (Métis) depict Indigenous girls reclaiming their self-images through intergenerational connectedness.1 In Split Tooth, the heroine transforms from a nameless teenage mother who is a victim of abuse to a gatekeeper of the afterlife with cosmic powers. Such decolonial futures are pursued through Tagaq’s deployment of magical realist aesthetics to interweave recollections of her Arctic childhood with her imagination of an ennobling posthumous reunification with ancestors to collectively shape her people’s future. Thereby, Tagaq’s landbased spirituality subverts the loss of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) as well as Eurochristian dichotomies of heaven and hell while re-incorporating the spirit world into pan-Indigenous cosmological balance. In A Girl Called Echo, the protagonist finds herself separated from her mother but called upon by her ancestors to join their resistance across space and time. Vermette’s illustrated time travels of a Métis teenager posit revitalized revolutionary thought as the consequence of her firsthand witnessing of the history of her people in what are now Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Secondly, I discuss how in non-speculative fiction, pan-Indigenous beliefs in transtemporality both call for and are reflected in decolonial feminist healing practices, as represented in the novels Birdie (2015) by Tracey Lindberg (Cree) and The Break (2016) by Katharena Vermette (Métis).2 Significantly, the plots are organized around Indigenous teenage girls who are bedridden while struggling to recover from sexual abuse that devastated them personally but is also cyclical within their communities, as the polyphonic flashbacks reveal.
However, both protagonists are supported by multiple generations of women under whose care their bodies remain weakened, but their political investment in Indigenous futurities increases. Yet, besides advocating interconnectedness, such decolonial feminist healing requires engaged listening practices among Indigenous women and girls whose trauma risks being pathologized to the point of legitimating paternalistic state interventions. Against this backdrop, readings of selected passages from Birdie and The Break will trace how aesthetics of wounding in the past and healing for the future visualize psychological decolonization as a personal and political response to intergenerational trauma in the wake of cultural genocide, residential schooling, and the ongoing epidemic of MMIWG.
1 The first section of my talk features ideas expressed in my upcoming book chapter “AlterNative Afterlives in Decolonial Feminist Dimensions in Split Tooth (2018) and A Girl Called Echo (2017- 2021)” set to appear in the volume Indigenous North American Futurities in Literature, Media, and Museums, edited by Birgit Däwes and Bethany Webster-Parmentier (University of Flensburg).
2 The second section of my talk includes ideas expressed in my book chapter “Transcending Trauma: Decolonial Feminist Healing in the Novels Birdie (2015) by Tracey Lindberg and The Break (2016) by Katharena Vermette” which has appeared in 2024 in the volume Narrating, Representing, Reflecting ‘Disability’: 21st Century ‘American’ Perspectives, edited by Wilfried Raussert and Sarah-Lena Essifi (Bielefeld University).
Bio: Atalie Gerhard is a Lecturer at the University of Jena and Doctoral Candidate at Saarland University as an alumna of the International Research Training Group “Diversity: Mediating Difference in Transcultural Spaces.” She taught at the University of Tübingen and Paderborn University and lectured at the University of Texas at El Paso and the University of Potsdam. She joined the German Association for American Studies and the Association for Canadian Studies in German-Speaking Countries. Her publications appeared in Black Matrilineage, Photography, and Representation: Another Way of Knowing (2022), Exploring the Fantastic:
Genre, Ideology, and Popular Culture (2018), and American Multiculturalism in Context: Views from at Home and Abroad (2017) and the Journal of American Studies of Turkey, the Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies, [Inter]sections – The American Studies Journal at the University of Bucharest, American Studies in Scandinavia, and The International Review of African American Art. She holds a Master of Arts in North American Studies: Culture and Literature and a double Bachelor of Arts in English and American and French Studies from the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg where she was a student research assistant and interim secretary. She speaks German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and Arabic on various levels.
Work-in-Progress Series (Academic Year: 2023-2024)
17 May 2024, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP#4: Raluca Goran, Melania Boaca and Cristina Istrate (2ndyear American Studies M.A. students), Past and Present Challenges in American Culture [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Raluca Goran: Unveiling the Intersection of Horror and Thriller with Trauma in Contemporary Literature
Abstract: My presentation will focus on Grady Hendrix's books How to Sell A Haunted House and The Final Girl Group Support where the main themes, horror respectively thriller, intertwine with trauma. Hendrix's characters have to cope with trauma while also being stuck in a world where haunted puppets attack humans and where a psychiatrist who becomes a trustworthy friend comes off as the first suspect in a terrible crime. I explore how the theme of horror brings trauma to the surface through past memories which interlace with present supernatural events and how trauma is used to portray a thriller setting.
Melania Boaca: The Evolution of Abortion Discourses in the U.S.: From Taboo to Advocacy in Mass Media Pre-20th Century to Today
Abstract: This study examines the complex historical discourse surrounding abortion, which has evolved over time across diverse epochs, philosophies, and religious doctrines. The narrative delves into the nuanced perspectives on abortion, from ancient civilizations such as Greece and Rome to contemporary reproductive rights advocacy in the United States.
The emergence of feminist advocates like Margaret Sanger catalyzed national discourse on women’s rights and reproductive health, challenging societal taboos surrounding birth control and abortion. Legal transformations during the 1960s and 1970s, culminating in the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, established a woman’s constitutional right to privacy and access to abortion, despite enduring controversy and debates.
The courageous activism of groups like the Jane Collective during the Second Wave Feminist era exemplifies the resilience of grassroots organizing in promoting reproductive rights and access to safe abortion care. Through examining historical narratives and contemporary advocacy efforts, this study illuminates the ongoing struggle for women’s autonomy and reproductive healthcare rights, underscoring the enduring quest for justice and equality.
Cristina-Bianca Istrate: The X-Men Film Series as a Dystopian Fascist-Like Universe: A Critical Analysis of Its Representations of Difference, Fear and Trauma
Abstract: In this presentation, I focus on the way in which difference, fear and trauma are presented in the first season of the animated series X-Men (1994), on Brian Singer’s X-Men (2000) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), on Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) and on Mathew Vaugh’s X-Men: First Class (2011). The films selected for this paper can be linked back to the animated series X-Men (1994). They deal with trauma caused by being different, a trauma which does not differentiate between normal people and mutants; it affects all of them indiscriminately: mutants want to be accepted by humans and fear exclusion. Humans are afraid that they will be replaced in the ecosystem by a superior race. The paper explores similarities and differences of representation, while providing a critical description of the X-Verse.
19 April 2024, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP#3: Andrada Spanu and Teodora Leon (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), Probing Gender and Privilege in American Culture [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Andrada Spanu: Unmasking Authenticity: A Comparative Analysis of Elite and Non-Elite Lives in Contemporary Media
Abstract: This presentation aims to analyze two different social environments, that of people with high social status and that of people with lower social status, more precisely, details from the lives of elites and average people. My research aims to show that although elites are considered privileged in some aspects, such as financial status and the degree of influence they have over other people and society in general, when it comes to living an authentic life and making their own decisions, things are not as easy as we might imagine. Although these things are true for the majority of elites, my research will focus on examples and situations involving representatives of the LGBTQ+ community. Even though it may seem like they live a simple life, most do not dare or are not allowed to portray themselves to the world as they truly are, for fear of damaging their social image and pression from families. For a better understanding of the subject and to highlight the theme, throughout the paper, I will compare two romantic comedies entitled Red White and Royal Blue(2023) and Fire Island (2022). By comparing the two films, I will discuss themes such as identity, the importance of image in society, tradition, psychological issues, social status, with the aim of showing that the process of achieving, accepting, and living as a queer elite can be just as difficult or even more complicated than that of a queer average person.
Teodora Leon: Facets of Femininity in Greta Gerwig’s Filmography – A Feminist Exploration
Abstract: My presentation will pinpoint an underlying thread in Greta Gerwig’s movies, namely the way in which the director interestingly chooses to resort to elements from the past and reintroduce them in the present, so as to envision possible futures. Through her films – Lady Bird (2017), Little Women (2019) and Barbie (2023) – Gerwig manages to enhance the importance of the female gaze in order to bring various facets of womanhood to the forefront. In this cinematic universe, the overlap of concepts from more waves of feminism reveals the fact that it might actually be inevitable for younger women to seek out answers from older generations (literal or symbolic “mothers,” in particular). For Gerwig’s characters, it is a matter of learning that it is essential not only to accept the lingering remnants of the past, but also embrace themselves as bundles of contradictions, while establishing where their potential lies.
29 March 2024, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP#2: Alexandra Neculai and Laura Ungureanu (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), Genocide and Minority Traumas in American Literature and Culture [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Alexandra Neculai: Hidden Conflicts Between Body and Mind: the Aftereffects of Genocide Trauma in Elie Wiesel’s Night Trilogy
Abstract: In this presentation I zero in on some of the subtle threads and details that lead to the hidden conflicts between the body and the mind caused by genocide trauma. Therefore, the focus is going to be on the experience of Holocaust survivors as represented in Elie Wiesel's trilogy composed of Night (a memoir first published in 1956), Dawn (published 5 years later, in 1961), and Day (initially titled The Accident and which appeared in 1962). In order to reach this goal and get a clearer view of the author’s conflicts, I will apply an anthropological perspective; more precisely, I am going to make a lot of references to the medical branch of anthropology, and I will also include certain elements of holism.
Ungureanu Laura: Interrogating Normalcy in The Daytime Television Shows Acces Direct and Dr. Phil: How Popular Culture Reinforces Minority Trauma and Oppression
Abstract: My dissertation aims to examine the intricate ways in which popular culture contributes to the normalization of trauma directed at minorities, perpetuating cycles of oppression and marginalization. The study will pursue a close examination of two of the most beloved daytime shows from Romania and the United States, Acces Direct and Dr. Phil. Prepare to unravel the layers of societal norms and cultural conditioning as I will dissect iconic phrases from these shows, such as the shocking exchange on Acces Direct between the presenter and a guest, about an aunt's trip to Germany and the infamous "Cash me outside, how about that" line from Dr. Phil. Come witness firsthand the power of popular culture in shaping attitudes and behaviors!
15 March 2024, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP#1: Andreea Manolache and Andrei Neatu (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), Features of Mysticism, Sci-Fi and Fantasy in American Culture [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Andreea Manolache: Mysticism and Cultural Manifesto. African-American identity in the Works of Jean-Michel Basquiat
Abstract: Dazzling and thought-provoking, the work of the 1980s ‘radiant child’ Jean-Michel Basquiat holds important instances of African heritage at play in the late 20th century American society. From his artistic beginnings as part of the SAMO duo and remarkable implications in the graffiti culture, to his later development of painting style, association with Andy Warhol and famous art exhibitions, Basquiat is well-known for his combinations of text and drawing, words and symbols, that become a single unit in which one can find several encoded messages. By deciphering these messages, we can observe a discourse of power, challenges, and mysticism attributed to African-American identity. The aim of my presentation is to break Basquiat’s code and read his pieces of art through the lenses of identity studies, delving into the influence that his African ancestry holds as well as into the social and cultural context that shaped his work. The African warrior, African spirituality, socio-political struggles of African-Americans are some points of focus that my presentation shall explore.
Andrei Neatu: An Interdisciplinary Look at Sci-Fi and Fantasy Tropes in Video Games
Abstract: This presentation will concern the world-building and implicit rhetorical content of the two primary sources,The Mass Effect and Dragon Age video game trilogies, through the lens of gender, sexuality and race studies. The main questions I will address are: Does the narrative challenge or reinforce hegemonic structures present in our own reality? In which way does the reality of the primary sources mirror (in the case of hegemonic reinforcement) or subverts our own?
Work-in-Progress Series (Academic Year: 2022-2023)
George Chircu: Racism in the World of Sport (FIFA and NBA)
Abstract: My MA paper focuses on racist events that have happened throughout the years in the world of sport. The catalyst for my choice is given by the online racist abuse black England players endured after the 2020 EURO final against Italy, but I’ll also touch upon racism in NBA. Moreover, the fact that FIFA’s official motto is “no to racism” indicates that racism heavily affected this sport and action was required. In order to get to the root of the issue and see how the past has heavily influenced the present, I’ll combine critical race theory with a history-based approach. Despite the fact that there are no more blatant racist laws, racism is deeply embedded in societies after centuries where it was state-sponsored all around the world. This is what I will focus on in chapter 1. In the second chapter I’ll present the hardships black players have had to endure due to discrimination from staff members, fans, or even other players, since the beginning of the 20th century. In the third chapter, I’ll focus on NBA and how racism affected and still does a sport where the majority of the participants are black. Similarly to the first chapter, I’ll adopt a history-centered approach given that it is necessary to see how this phenomenon affected the society through the years, from how the game was played during the era of segregation to how the Association has supported the BLM movement.
Andrei Gheorghe: Breaching the Sexist Barrier of Hip-Hop Through the Lens of Black Feminism
Abstract: Hip-Hop has always been a genre dominated by men and toxic masculinity. This has led to various stereotypical and sexist portrayals regarding women which can be found especially in the “gangsta” hip-hop of the 1980s and 1990s. In my dissertation, I aim to show how black feminism blended with hip-hop in order to combat, subvert and dismantle sexism and its stereotypes towards women, more specifically African-American women. One of the most unique aspects of black feminism is that of unity, which is prevalent in bell hooks’ and other scholars’ works. Rather than portraying men as their enemy, through the idea of unity, African-American feminists preach for a tight communion between black men and women, in order to stand up against sexism. This is also revealed by two of the main artists I analyze, Queen Latifah with “U.N.I.T.Y.” and Lauryn Hill with “Doo Wop (That Thing).” Another aspect I focus on is that of putting women and the female body at the forefront in a genre traditionally known for disregarding them. I find that the message is twice as powerful when it comes to such an unequal playing field. In this regard, it is quite interesting how hip-hop from a space of hostility becomes a space of protest. Queen Latifah’s “Ladies First” proves this extremely well. A few songs and theirmain themes constitute the subject of my analysis. I focus on other aspects as well, such as the racial dimension or Hip-Hop Feminism as a genre in itself. All of these come together in order to show how Hip-Hop becomes a space of protest for African-American women, a space in which stereotypes are subverted and sexism is opposed and criticized.
25 April 2023, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP#5: Ruxandra-Bianca Radu, Adrian Mîţă and Mihaela Tone (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), Gender Struggles and Ethical Issues in U.S. Popular Culture [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Ruxandra-Bianca Radu: Visual Representations of Anne Frank. The Construction and Deconstruction of a Holocaust Icon Figure
Abstract: Many visual representations have been created over time as a means of offering the public a glimpse in the life of Anne Frank. As an icon figure of the Holocaust, her experiences before, as well as during the Second World War, serve for the public as a mirror for that period of time in regard to the Jewish community. As a result, many were interested in the manner in which she viewed the world and how she navigated through it. Do to the investment of several people, several perspectives from which her story is told emerged and thus, various portrayals of Anne Frank have been depicted. The main focus of my paper is to look at certain mediums in which Anne Frank has been represented – namely, cinematography and literature – and analyze the accuracy of such images by also looking at her own diary. A major issue to examine is the elimination of certain aspects that represent one core feature on which her personality is based in one medium representation and why such an approach is favored instead of preserving them.
Adrian Mîţă: The Moral Values of the Spider-Man Universe. Morality's Dual Mask of Spider-Man and Peter Parker
Abstract: My dissertation paper focuses on the adaptations of Spider-Man, along with its main villains and mentor-figures. Although the topic can be rather long and the analysis difficult because of the almost sixty-year-old period of existence, the aspects I have chosen to focus on are from the movie adaptations from 2002 to 2021. Superhero characters have had a fascinating history of being pieces of war propaganda, from Superman to Daredevil. Spider-Man first appeared in 1962 and has offered a deep representation of morality. Morality is seen through the duality of Spider-Man and Peter Parker, different types with different actions about what is considered morally just. The creation of this morality is built around several villains, such as Doctor Octopus or the Lizard. These characters are the opposite of morality, which in turn is represented by characters like Uncle Ben or Tony Stark. It is, of course, interesting to look at how each of them represents the in-betweenness of the moral and the immoral: for example, Tony Stark recruits Spider-Man to be an Avenger, yet his actions, despite their moral righteousness on a larger scale, put in danger the life of a teenager. The core of this paper revolves around the idea that morality also builds a new type of masculinity, as Spider-Man himself is created around the idea of agility rather than extreme physical prowess. The in-between space of the moral and theimmoral will be analyzed through the lenses of Felicia Hardy a comic book character that best highlights how one’s actions are moral from a certain perspective (not always for the greater good, but for one’s own benefit). Felicia is also one of the few villains that is built around femininity. As such, the idea that morality is dual will be brought together with the idea of the feminine-masculine contrast. Overall, this paper will not focus on one single movie, but on multiple characters from multiple movies that create an intricate image of a new, moral masculinity.
Mihaela Tone: Queering the Short Story: Reading the Feminine and the Female Body in Contemporary Short Fiction
Abstract: Originally thought of as exclusively male – as was the case for the entirety of literature –, the female-authored short story was long relegated to the margins, or rather altogether overlooked in the studies of the genre. Throughout the ages, however, in a manner that closely resembles that in which the Gothic and its devices have been appropriated by the ex-centric and the alienated, the short story, too, has been inherently minoritarian, as it “has offered itself to losers and loners, exiles, women, black-writers have not been part of the ruling narrative or epistemological/experiential framework of their society” (Hanson 2-3). Against this historical background, and while ascribing to it this specific function of voicing the experiences of the disenfranchised individual, the focal point of my dissertation lies on contemporary embodiments of the female-authored short story which continue in the vein of what scholars have identified to be one of the major employments of the genre. Focusing, then, on subversive narratives in the form of the short story, my dissertation looks at (but is not limited to) Kathryn Harlan’s Fruiting Bodies: Stories with the purpose of exploring the “reconfiguration” of the female body, as it intersects with its additional status as a queer body; my reading aims to present the body as self-sufficient, as productive in its queerness, thus championing for an interpretation of the eponymous story as proposing that an “abnormal”/abject body (symbolically, that is, the queer body) should be celebrated not in spite of, but because of its singularities. My reading employs a feminist appropriation of Julia Kristeva’s conceptualization of the “abject,” which is used to showcase the process of reclaiming, protecting and employing the functions of the “unnatural” lesbian body’s difference.
28 March 2023, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP#4: Rodica Dumitru and Mirela Lazar (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), “American Views of Romania” [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Rodica Dumitru: Representations of Romanian Post-communism from the American Perspective
Abstract: My dissertation will focus on two important works, In Europe’s Shadow by Robert D Kaplan and The Hole in the Flag - A Romanian Exile’s Story of Return and Revolution by Andrei Codrescu. The aim for this paper is to look at how Romanian post-communism is represented from an American perspective. The two authors have a different approach regarding the problem of the image of post-communism. Robert D Kaplan discusses the problems of communism and the changes that were made after the fall of communism from the American perspective, which can be considered an objective approach, while Andrei Codrescu talks from his own personal experience during his visit in Romania after the fall of communism. In my paper I am interested to observe and analyse how the two authors try to shape the image of Romania after this change in politics. The aspects that the term post-communism refers to are the way people try to continue their activities without the fear that Securitate is following them, the surprise that all those people who left during communism were considered traitors while now at their return they were seen as heroes, a fact which represented a huge change of perspective. The purpose of my final project is to raise awareness to the effects that communism has had on people’s lives and to present the way in which the transition to democracy that took place in our country was perceived by the Americans.
Mirela Lazar: US Perspectives of Romania in Modern Times
Abstract: It is known that there always was a big difference in culture, mentality, education, people's ways of living, and so on between Eastern Europe and the West (Western Europe and the United States). Generally, Eastern Europe was seen as the weaker side of Europe, sometimes even compared with "the third world countries". The people, especially intellectuals, who traveled from Western Europe or the United States to Eastern Europe had many different opinions about it. Some of them were negatively impressed by the whole Eastern European atmosphere (like the cultural differences, the lack of modernity, and the presence of the peasants), which was a feature of a society that was behind compared with the Western part of the world. But the other side of the travelers were fascinated with the Eastern European countries because these countries made them feel like they were traveling back in time in a romanticized atmosphere created by the countryside and the peasants where they could run away from the problems they had in the West. Inspired by these differences between Eastern Europe and Western Europe and the United States, I would like to focus in my dissertation paper on the views of the West on Eastern Europe and particularly Romania in modern times.
7 March 2023, 6 to 8 pm (online via google meet) WiP#3: Teodora Cinca and Andreea Alina Visterneanu (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), “Dealing with Trauma through writing in Asian American literature of refugees” [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Teodora Cinca: Trauma and Anger of Refugees in Eastern Asian-American Literature
Abstract: My dissertation will focus on two important Asian-American works, ReJane by Patricia Park and The Girl with Seven Names by Hyoenseo Lee, which is more of an autobiographical account. Noting the foregrounding and popularity of Eastern Asian literature and of Asian Americans writers winning numerous awards, the interest in Korean and Vietnamese writers and the renewed interest in the link between the two histories have been of great importance in terms of raising awareness and offering help as more and more people discover the realities of a brutal regime, and also of a broken life, torn apart from the constant fear and lack of support and understanding. What these two narratives share is how each character has her own perception of what is like to be or feel like a refugee and manage to overcome this stigma, the latter author actually being one, her story knowing international fame. On the other hand, Re Jane tends to also have a ‘former’ self, which does not belong in the category of the refugee, but more of the orphan and how that traumatic memory keeps affecting her relationships; a change of continents needs to happen for her to realize that. The critical background I will provide throughout my paper is dealing with refugees and displaced people, linked to Eastern Asia decades ago, specifically the Korean War. The purpose of my final project is to raise awareness that even nowadays, refugees are all over the world and struggle either to go back to their country, even if that means risking death, or to search for better living conditions, outside the war zone (see Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan). It is important to mention also more modern events or writers that are constantly shaping the category ‘refugee’, often mixed up with ‘immigrant’. Not only trauma is present in these novels, but we see how the two characters share anger, which may derive from all sorts of situations and experiences, but mostly it comes from the outside society, which sometimes might be unfair to this particular group of people.
Andreea Alina Visterneanu: Transgenerational Trauma in Vietnamese American Literature from a Male Perspective
Abstract: The Vietnam War, which is also called by the Vietnamese the American War, has left many wounds behind. The aim for this paper is to look at how transgenerational trauma manifests itself in literature, respectively in Viet Than Nguyen’s and Ocean Vuong’s works. The two authors have a different relationship with the war and post-war period, since only Nguyen was in born during it. Their relationship with their community and history itself has been shaped by war, so for this study I am interested to observe and analyze how they try to undo the effects. The term transgenerational trauma is being used as an umbrella term, because the topics of discussion under it will follow: diasporic displacement, identity loss and historical amnesia. The topic of imperialism will also be brought up when discussing these issues, due to how much the American Dream has been pushed onto each generation of Vietnamese Americans. The feeling of anger in Asian American writing is expressed differently in the works of these authors, one resorting to short stories and an essay, meanwhile the other to poetry more often than prose. The ways in which Vietnamese Americans had to deal with the aftermath of war was very much influenced by Americans that either tried to silence them or to rewrite history to make themselves look better. In conclusion, these two authors battle with their struggles differently in their writing and I want to discuss and analyze exactly what makes them different and yet also very similar.
17 January 2023, 6 to 8 p.m. (online via google meet) WiP#2: Teodora Florea and Patricia Cătănoiu (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), "Representations of Communism and Undocumented Migration in Contemporary American Culture" [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Teodora Florea: Reconstructing Communism in Memoirs by Romanian American Women Writers (2010-2022)
Abstract: This presentation aims to explore one of the major questions at the heart of my dissertation: what type of memoirs were published by Romanian American women writers in the last decade? To this purpose, I will zoom in on a particularly productive strand of this genre, using as case studies four memoirs by Domnica Rădulescu, Carmen Bugan, Aura Imbarus, and Virginia Prodan, which describe their authors' experience (childhood/ teenage years) of having lived under communism (Romania in the 1970s/1980s) and then having moved to the U.S. (as adults/young persons). The more specific questions to be investigated are the following: why still write about communism 20/30 years after its fall? How do these memoirs reconstruct communist Romania? An answer can be drawn from each of the memoirs, by working with a framework that considers the larger contexts in which the books were published (their explicit/implicit purposes; intended audiences; the diasporic status of the authors etc.).
Patricia Cătănoiu: Representations of Undocumented Migrants in Recent US Theatre and Film
Abstract: Amongst the most prominent mediums of representation, theatre and film have managed to construct nuanced repertoires of depictions and portrayals of undocumentedness. As it pertains to the larger sphere of crisis representation and falls under impactful current socio-political engagement, the undocumented status has gained paramount interest especially during the latest US administration and its treatment of immigration law. Taking a closer look into a handful of TV series, theatre plays, independent shorts and political documentaries targeting the issue of being undocumented, my purpose is to highlight the mission lying at the core of such socially engaged pieces of media, envisioning and transposing experiences of liminality and marginalization, in view of giving a voice to the voiceless. A major topic approached in this presentation is the political discourse in which undocumented immigrants are key actors on a precarious scene framed by “the construction of illegality by law” (Gillot-Assayag 1). Special focus will be laid on the impact of the DACA policy passed by former President Barack Obama. Moreover, I will discuss the issues portrayed by the characters, whether of economic, educational or social background, with an implied two-fold aim of considering both the reason for immigration and the hardships encountered in the US while attempting to pursue the American Dream.
6 December 2022, 6 to 8 p.m. (online via google meet) WiP#1: Alexandra-Diana Ilie and Tudor-Constantin Truță (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), "Contemporary Communication and Visionary Endeavors" [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Alexandra-Diana Ilie: Social Media Platforms and their Impact on Contemporary Reading Practices: An Analysis of the BookTube and BookTok Communities
Abstract: Social-media has always been an important factor in the development of social and cultural spaces and the aim of this presentation is to discuss and analyze how social-media platforms, especially YouTube and TikTok, helped influence teenagers and young adults into reading and trend-setting in the reading community by discussing different books and book series, as well as offering recommendations in order to attract new readers through visual content. In this sense, it is important to discuss the concept of social-media as a whole and its impact on teenagers and young adults and especially what type of content is appealing to them, regarding reading and recommending books. Furthermore, it is also essential to analyze what type of books became popular on social-media platforms and why content creators who focus on this type of content, have become so popular through TikTok, a platform that is tailored for the Gen Z audience for its fast-paced and easy access. Some popular titles that went viral on social-media are also worth analyzing from a social point of view in order to see what literary genres and themes attract new readers and why social-media plays a key role in this phenomenon.
Tudor-Constantin Truță: Russian Cosmism and its Role as a Precursor to Transhumanism: Forging the Posthumanist Ideology of Tomorrow
Abstract: The Russian Cosmism philosophy and movement has received little attention compared to its modern and well-established counterparts of Transhumanism and Posthumanism. Yet the fact remains that Russian Cosmism and the Transhumanist philosophy of the Anglosphere are two very similar schools of thought in practice, differing only when it comes to method. By employing a comparative method, I will attempt to bring these two philosophies together – highlighting their similarities and bridging their differences. This presentation will link together the two cultural paradigms (Western – Anglo-Saxon; Eastern-European / Asian – Russian). Further down the line, the complementary elements of both philosophies will be merged into one clear definition of Transhumanism/Posthumanism, the ultimate goal of which will be to outline an ideal but culturally, scientifically and socially sound ideology of tomorrow, by employing primarily the fundamental tropes of transhumanist theory: human-enhancement technologies as an imperative for the entire species in an attempt to shatter the barriers of binary thought and push humanity into a posthuman future.
Work-in-Progress Series (Academic Year: 2020-2021)
13 May 2021, 6 to 8 p.m. (online via zoom) WiP#5: Monica Matei (2nd year American Studies M.A. student), "Instances of Toxic Masculinity in How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)" [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
23 April 2021, 12 to 2 p.m. (online via zoom) WiP#4: Bianca Kele (2nd year American Studies M.A. student), "Media Representations of Black Crime in American Society" [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
26 March 2021, 12 to 2 p.m. (online via zoom) WiP#3: Oana Ciobanu and Ioana Hingu (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), "Media Representations of Characters that Break the Mold – Kevin Wendell Crumb in Split (2016) and Amy Dunne in Gone Girl (2014)" [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
25 February 2021, 2 p.m. (online via zoom) WiP#2: Valentina Militaru and Diana Alupoae (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), "Female Figures Crossing Borders (Claudia in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, Bride in Morrison's God Help the Child & Martha Gellhorn)" [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
16 November 2020, 2 p.m. (online via zoom) WiP#1: Răzvan Bociu (2nd year American Studies student), "Genocide: Extinct or Extant?" [if you want to attend the event, please contact Dana Mihailescu at dana.mihailescu@lls.unibuc.ro]
Work-in-Progress Series (Academic Year: 2019-2020)
19 November 2019, 6 p.m. (Room 4) WiP#1: Cristina Frunză, Bianca Stoian (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), “‘Poets’ from Other Planets: Postwar Trauma in Theodore Roethke's and Kurt Vonnegut's Works”
10 December 2019, 6 p.m. (Room 4) WiP#2: Miruna Cozma, David Dumitriu (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), “Countercultures of Subversion. A Look on how Hardcore Punk and Black Metal Have Attempted to Subvert Mainstream or Popular Beliefs and Idea(l)s”
21 January 2020, 6 p.m. (Room 4) WiP#3: George Guţă, Teodor Panait (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), “American Television: The Cultural Influence of Popular Media on Ethnic and National Stereotypes”
27 February 2020, 6 p.m. (Room 4) WiP#4: Daniel Codrean, Ana-Maria Stan (2nd year American Studies M.A. students), “Vampire Couture - The Performance of Clothing in the Cinematic Discourse of Various Dracula Adaptations”