Faculty of History

Overview

History is among the oldest disciplines in Romanian higher education within the Principalities. In Moldova, this discipline featured in the curriculum of the Socola Seminary in Iași as early as 1808. Later, the Mihăileană Academy saw the creation of the first Chair of Romanian History, supported between 1843–1844 by Mihail Kogălniceanu. Following the foundation of the University of Iași, history courses were taught for several decades within the Faculty of Letters, the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters, and subsequently the Faculty of History-Philosophy, with its individualization taking place in January 1990.

The Faculty of History aims to train teachers and specialists for pre-university and university education, scientific research, museums, archives, international relations, diplomacy, journalism, etc.

In the field of research, the Faculty of History has established one of the most high-performing platforms in archaeology in Eastern and Southeastern Europe – Arheoinvest. This multidisciplinary platform represents an investment of millions of euros, which allowed the acquisition of modern equipment for scanning archaeological remains down to 20 meters underground, carbon dating, and the 3D reconstruction of ancient fortresses. Additionally, specialized laboratories in the fields of biology (archaeogenetics), geography (soil studies), and conservation stand out.

The results of scientific research activity carried out within the Faculty of History are recognized nationally through numerous awards granted by the Romanian Academy, through diplomas of merit awarded by the Ministry of Culture, and last but not least, through winning national and international funded projects and organizing prestigious international scientific events. Operating under the aegis of this faculty are the following research centers: the Center for Classical and Christian Studies, the Center for the History of Jews and Hebrew Studies, the Center for Research on Social Elites and the Ideology of Power, the Center for the History of International Relations, the Center for 20th Century History, and the Center for the Study of Communism and Post-Communism. Within the faculty, there are also centers of excellence: the Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeohistorical Studies (CISA) and the Interdisciplinary Training and Research Platform in Archaeology ARHEOINVEST.

The main research fields are: universal history (a field through which a tradition dating back to the faculty’s foundation is continued), prehistoric and ancient archaeology (a field in which a true school with national and international recognition has been formed), the editing of sources of the Romanian Middle Ages, historical genealogy, important phenomena and events of modern and contemporary history, and the history of international relations.

A series of new directions has emerged in recent years, in accordance with the latest historiographical developments: social and collective mental history, urban history, cultural and intellectual history, political anthropology, etc.

The faculty has established and developed a series of scientific and didactic cooperation links with several foreign universities, materialized through mobility of teaching staff and students and joint research programs with universities in Bari, Sassari (Italy), Liège (Belgium), Paris, Angers, Reims, Dijon (France), Amsterdam (Netherlands), Berlin, Mainz, Konstanz (Germany), Vienna (Austria), Sofia (Bulgaria), Thessaloniki, and Heraklion (Greece).

The History Library is located in Building O of the University, 24 Carol I Boulevard, Iași, Phone: +40 232 20 1663.