Fulbright Think Tank Workshop: “American Studies in Romania: Best Practices and Future Perspectives”

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The Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission organized the sixth edition of the Fulbright Think Tank workshop, which took place on March 22, 2019.

The Fulbright Think Tank initiative was launched in 2013, with the kind support of the U.S. Embassy in Romania, aiming to bring into academic, scientific and public discussion topical issues in Romanian society, against the backdrop of educational and cultural relations with the U.S.

This has been the second workshop in the Fulbright Think Tank series dedicated to American Studies in Romania, bringing together American Studies coordinators, faculty members and administrators, undergraduate and graduate students from 15 of the main universities of the country, as well as U.S. Fulbright grantees and alumni, in a lively and topical debate on the future of American Studies in Romania.

What distinguished this year’s workshop from previous editions was the fact that, for the first time since the launch of the project, the Think Tank became a forum open to students and faculty alike.

The workshop, titled "American Studies in Romania: Best Practices and Future Perspectives", opened with welcome addresses by Ms. Abigail Rupp, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in Romania, Ms. Irina Kovacs, Secretary of State, Ministry of National Education, and Prof. Rodica Mihăilă, Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission, who underlined the timeliness and relevance of the workshop.

Guest speakers from universities in Arad, Baia-Mare, Bucharest, Brașov, Cluj-Napoca, Constanța, Craiova, Galați, Iași, Oradea, Ploiești, Sibiu, Suceava, and Timișoara shared their best practices, as well as the challenges they have been facing, in promoting and developing American Studies programs and courses at their institutions, whether they are running full-fledged AS programs or only offer occasional courses on American topics.

A special session was allotted to students, who had a chance to share their own experiences as undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in an American Studies program or recipients of courses on American Literature and Civilization, highlighting the positives, as well as problems they were faced with, and providing their own suggestions for more effective promotion of American Studies and American topics in Romanian universities.

Another important topic of debate was the role of the Fulbright exchanges and the best use of the U.S. Fulbright grantees’ expertise, touched upon throughout the workshop and explored more in-depth during a panel bringing together U.S. grantees and alumni of the program.

The Q&A sessions were, as always, a fruitful ground for debate and suggestions for the further development of American Studies programs.

The Fulbright Think Tank workshop closed with a reception hosted by Ambassador Hans G. Klemm, honoring the participants and celebrating yet another successful event, meant to strengthen cooperation between the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission and Romanian universities.

More photos are available on the Commission's Facebook Page.

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