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The aim of the paper is to sketch the beginnings of the Wesselényi family's career and the history of the family archives in brief. The Wesselényi family originating from Nógrád county settled in Transylvania after 1556, and from the end of the 16th century have raised from the lesser nobility to the Transylvanian aristocrats. The ascension, the growth of the authority and wealth of the family from the 16th century onwards naturally brought about the increase of the amount of the archival documents referring to the family. In what follows, we detail the inventory and status of the archives of the family from Jibou, Hodod, Dragu and Cluj according to the 1949 register of the Transylvanian National Museum Archives, an institution that used to function within the Transylvanian Museum Society (Cluj-Napoca). From a thematic point of view the documents of these archives do not differ from the other family archives: besides the documents related to the right of possession, the correspondence of the members of the family, the documents related to their office and kept by them, records of economic nature and those related to the management of the possessions were preserved in a higher number. From the period before 1542 about 300 charters have been preserved in original or in copies, and in their turn these stored the texts of about 500 documents. The archives are hardly unknown to the scholarly world, but only a few explored systematically the materials referring to the period before the 17th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper aims to describe the manner in which the Transylvanian Saxons were presented in four Romanian local newspapers of Braşov between 1 June 2005 and 31 June 2008. The analysis focuses on whether the newspapers wrote about the German minority in a positive, negative or neutral manner, in the articles that are relevant for the purposes of this paper. The analyzed newspapers are all local Romanian newspapers of Braşov: Monitorul Expres, Transilvania Expres, Bunã ziua Braşov and Gazeta de Transilvania. The study starts from one scientific question and leads to four hypotheses. 201 articles, published between 1 June 2005 and 31 June 2008, have been selected and included in the code sheet. The data have been evaluated with the help of the SPSS statistical software. A total of 739 references have been evaluated. 16 references were positive, 723 neutral and not a single one was negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is being born Romanian really a futility? In this paper we shall try to examine a part of the dark vision, often daunting, of Emil Cioran on the history of a "quiet, calm, fellow and sinner" people. This is a picture full of color, but biting at the same time, of a minor nation whose rhythm of life is living in the harmonies of the unforgettable ballad of resignation - Miorita... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Manifestations of a transhistorical and geocritical configuration are to be identified in Vormäz and in the work of one of the most typical representatives of the liberal (romantic) generation of intellectuals, i.e. professor Ioan Rusu (1811-1843). The latter taught -- at Ivyceura Episcopale Balaofalvense -- chronology, geography and universal history while also being the author of a very attractive textbook - Icoana pământulni sau Carte de Geografie, I-III, Blaj, 1842-1843 (The Icon of the earth or A geography textbook -- our translation). The present paper aims at a modern and systematic valorization of the pages dedicated to the French geography and history, which are included in three sections of the book - France A. All over B. Topography C. The French Colonies. The discourse of the Blaj professor contains observations and common sense opinions regarding the natural and cultural heritage of the country: the French borders, the general framework of the country, the natural beauties of France, the cultural horizon of its people, the low level of education in some social media, the moral and physical qualities of its inhabitants, the bravery of the French soldiers etc. From the perspective of a multicultural approach and by means of a geocritical perspective, Ioan Knsu's interest for the French culture and history finds its place within the ample and tough process of French culture and civilization penetration into the society of the Romanians in Transylvania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper the author aims at demonstrating that the Romanian Social Institute of Bucharest was not the sole institutional framework for the social research carried out in interwar Romania. Side by side with the respective Institute (and those which were organizationally and/or methodologically affiliated to it) the history of Romanian sociology also recorded among others the sociographic activity of the researchers gathered around the journal “Societatea de mâine” [Tomorrow’s Society] led by I. Clopoţel. In order to evaluate the activity of the group, the author discusses two issues: 1) to what extent the activity of the sociographic group from Cluj can be evaluated in terms of a scientific movement proper? 2) what is the relationship between the sociography promoted by the researchers from Cluj and sociology, to be more specific monographic sociology? Emphasizing the fact that the survey was the basis of social theory and practice, I. Clopoţel attempted at gathering all potential research forces throughout the country around the journal “Societatea de mâine” and initiating systematic social researches. Methodologically speaking, the researchers from Cluj elaborated common working tools with the view to developing a unitary research and collecting scientifically relevant data. According to the group, sociolography was not an autonomous discipline, but rather a “science” complementary to sociology or, to be more specific, a first and mandatory stage of sociological knowledge, the stage of collecting the data required by any theoretical construct. In agreement to this opinion, sociographic research should be subordinated to sociology, namely to monographic sociology and adopt the latter’s concerns and research methodology. Nevertheless, I. Clopoţel suggested and practiced another approach to social reality. He did not participate in the activity of monographing social units, which sketched a rather static picture of the village despite its systematic character, but aimed at capturing the dynamics of the rural area. His thematic choices and the researches resulted from their implementation in social research practice enriched the “classic” sociographic model with a new meaning, namely the definition, and examination of, and finding a solution to social issues. All in all, according to the researchers around the journal “Societatea de mâine” sociography was more than a mere antechamber of sociology, it was an autonomous discipline between sociology and politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]