Andrei Oișteanu (Romanian pronunciation: [anˈdrej o.iʃˈte̯anu]; born September 18, 1948) is a Romanian historian of religions and mentalities, ethnologist, cultural anthropologist, literary critic and novelist. Specialized in the history of religions and mentalities, he is also noted for his investigation of rituals and magic and his work in Jewish studies and the history of antisemitism. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, he also became noted for his articles and essays on the Holocaust in Romania.
Andrei Oișteanu
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| Born | (1948-09-18) September 18, 1948 (age 75) |
| Nationality | Romanian |
| Occupation(s) | writer historian novelist |
| Awards | Order of the Star of Romania, Knight class Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, Commander class |
A founding member and researcher at the Institute for History of Religions of the Romanian AcademyinBucharest, he is also the president of the Romanian Association for the History of Religions (RAHR). Oișteanu is professor in the Department for Jewish Studies at the University of Bucharest.[1] He is also member of the educational board of the Elie Wiesel National Institute for Studying the Holocaust in Romania[2] and member of the editorial board of the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism (Academic Studies Press, Boston). Andrei Oișteanu is a Knight of the Order of the Star of Romania, awarded by the Romanian President (2006), and a Commander of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity, awarded by the Italian President (2005).
He is the father of Amana Ferro Oisteanu, EU public affairs expert (Brussels) and the brother of American poet Valery Oișteanu (New York).[3]
Born into a Jewish family in Bucharest, Oișteanu took a post-graduate course in Oriental Studies at the University of Bucharest (lecturers: Sergiu Al-George and Amita Bhose).[4] During the early 1970s, he was active in Ceata Melopoică, an experimental music and concept band led by Mircea Florian.[5]
In 1997 he took a course in Jewish Studies at the Central European UniversityinBudapest, Hungary (lecturers: Moshe Idel and Michael Silber). Between 1997 and 1999, he had a research grant at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, International Center for the Study of Antisemitism. In 2002 he had a documentary grant in Germany (Berlin, München, Frankfurt am Main, Düsseldorf) offered by the Goethe-Institut, a grant on "Jewish Identity and Antisemitism in Central and Eastern Europe". In 2005-2006 he had a research grant at the New Europe College Institute for Advanced Studies (as guest of the Rector Andrei Pleșu) on "History of the History of Religions in Romania".