Participants needed! A Case Study Of Eastern European Spaces: What Can Communist Romania Teach Us About Sustainability?

A Case Study Of Eastern European Spaces: What Can Communist Romania Teach Us About Sustainability?

Invitation to participate in a research study and the purpose of the study

Leea Rebeca Ruta, third year Double Major student in Liberal Arts and History and Global Studies at Bishop’s University, under the supervision of Professor Jean L. Manore of the History and Global Studies Department, Sherbrooke Quebec, is conducting a research project, funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture (FRQSC) - Bourse d’initiation à la recherche au 1er cycle. The purpose of the study is to research “sustainability” during communist Romania. The research will focus mostly on environmental history to see how ex-communist dictator and President Nicolae Ceausescu (1965-1989) transformed Romania’s environment into a sustainable “haven”.

This research will present an overview of Romanian interaction with the natural world, which will help us see if these employed (and forced) practices of sustainability were in fact sustainable, i.e. how successful they were, and what happened post-communism.

The research project will compile both written material (such as primary and secondary sources) and oral testimonies from people who grew up and/or were adults during the communist period who may remember what daily life was like back then.

Eligibility criteria of prospective participants, including exclusion criteria

The project is seeking a few dozen participants, between 20 and 40 people. They would have to have been born between 1921 and 1989 and must have lived some years in Romania between 1921 and 1989. They may be able to fill in some of the gaps that are not found in scholarly sources.

Gender or status is not important. The participants will be asked questions in Romanian and they would respond in Romanian. Romanian is the preferred language of interview to ensure accurate testimony and be able to see how Romanians describe this period in relation to sustainability, since the terms we use today in the West (climate change, sustainability, ecological crisis, global warming, etc.) may not have been used in Romania (and still are seldom used today), and they were not problematized the same way.

Romanians of all backgrounds are encouraged to participate.

What is expected of participants?

Participants will have to meet with Leea Rebeca Ruta, online, on Zoom. The interviews can range between 35 minutes and 2.5 hours. The meetings will take place once or more, at a time that is convenient for the participant.

Zoom is the preferred method of interviewing, because it could either be a phone call or a video interview. In any case, Zoom meetings can be recorded, of which the participants will be notified.

Interviews are encouraged to record oral history; however, if the participant does not want to be recorded but they still wish to contribute, they will be referred to the question sheet. They will be able to write their answers by hand or type it and send it back by email. Writing the answers will require additional editing so it may be more time consuming for the participant, though these writing sessions may be spaced out over a few days or weeks and be written at their own convenience. It is not necessary to meet with the researcher if this option is picked.

Participants may answer a series of questions, where they will be asked a bit about their background, upbringing and sustainable practices from the communist era and after.

Participants will also be provided with the Letter of Consent in the language of their choosing (English or Romanian) and they will be asked to sign one and return it to the researcher.

Potential risks

The possible risks in the study are that participants could experience historical trauma, which may include unpleasant memories from certain triggering questions that might provoke feelings ranging from mild to extreme anxiety or of depression. If at any point during the interview the participant feels the need to stop, definitively or simply to take a break, the interview will stop. In case of extreme emotional reactions, the participant will be redirected to sources where they can receive psychological assistance.

Potential benefits

To reiterate, this research project is an opportunity to record oral history from Romania.

It will also hopefully bring more of Eastern European history into Western academia/discourse and open the door for further studies on Romanian history (and that of other Eastern European countries in general).

Finally, the most important benefit, the results of this study will expand the knowledge about climate action because it can teach us about sustainability in the long term. This will help us better understand what solutions garnered the best results and if we can use them now moving forward with the climate crisis.

These interviews will be the basis of the research because there is barely anything written about this topic in Romanian or Anglophone literature, and probably none in other languages. This is an unexplored field of study and this research may create an entirely new discipline.

Compensation for participation

There is no remuneration.

Voluntary nature of participation

Participation in this research project is completely voluntary. Participants do not have to respond to any questions or undergo any procedure(s) that make them uncomfortable. They have the right to withdraw from this project at any time with no consequences, and to request that identifiable data be destroyed. If participants withdraw, upon their request, all the data will be permanently deleted.

If you are Romanian, or know someone from Romania who fits the criteria and who might be interested in participating in this study, please let them know, if possible.

Contacts

Leea Rebeca Ruta can be reached at lruta20@ubishops.ca. Professor Jean Manore can be reached at 819-822-9600 ext. 2623 or jmanore@ubishops.ca. The Ethics Review Committee for Student Research approved this project on August 4, 2022. If there are any concerns regarding this project, you may contact Dr. Courtney Plante, Chair of the Ethics Review Committee for Student Research, at 819-822-9600, ext. 2393, or by e-mail at cplante@ubishops.ca, or Dr. Andrew Webster, Vice-Principal Academic and Research by e-mail at awebster@ubishops.ca.