MIRO

Migration and identity in the Romanian cultural milieu. Research design, methodology, and expectations

The MIRO project addresses a currently salient topic on a scholarly, political and social level: population movements and their connections with identity. The analysis is multidisciplinary, approached through different social and human sciences (history, linguistics, cultural anthropology, sociology, political philosophy, ethnography).

The needed expertise in all these fields is provided by established academic institutions (four social and human sciences institutes of the Iasi Branch of the Romanian Academy and the University of Bucharest) and two relatively young universities, which nevertheless show promising potential in the investigation of migrations, identity and cultural heritage (the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of “Lucian Blaga” University in Sibiu and the Faculty of Letters within the Northern University Center in Baia Mare).

MIRO project includes 3 sub-projects

PROJECT 1

Historical Migrations. Between the reconstruction of the past and the Romanian identity discourse

PROJECT 2

Ethnolinguistic component of identity in migration: Romanian-speaking communities in Europe

PROJECT 3

Ethnic Minorities in the Historical Regions of Romania – Migration and Cultural Heritage

Objectives

developing relevant infrastructure and human resources for long-term research;
designing methods, models, and theories on the relationship between migration and identity and validating them through Romanian case studies;
increasing the international visibility of Romanian science;
developing the research component within the less experienced partners, and reviving some research fields of consecrated academic centers;
delivering to the public administration, diaspora community and cultural NGOs, economic agents — impact studies, didactic tools, high level technical assistance in the study of the migration phenomenon, for preserving and enhancing the heritage and cultural identity.

Migration and Identity

The thematic and theoretical framework of MIRO project is provided by several domains of social sciences adjoined through a multi-disciplinary approach of two themes which are currently of great academic, political and social cultural relevance. Suffice to say that an overview upon papers with a view to the methodological and theoretical approach (for instance, those signed by Harmut Esser, Tim Creswell, Thomas Faist, Nina Glick Schiller, Henri Lefebvre, Douglas S. Massey, John Urry) to look at any enterprise that aims to genuinely contribute to the field of migration research should take into regard the expertise coming from history, sociology, politology, cultural anthropology, social psychology, linguistics, and ethnography.

The cultural spaces included in the research within MIRO project are the following: the present territory of Romania, historical Bessarabia, Northen Bukovina, Maramureș region from the right part of Tisza river, Italy, Spain, France and Belgium (regarding the migration of Romanians to the Western Europe in recent years), Romania (regarding the migration of citizens coming from the Republic of Moldavia in recent years).