When people hear Transylvania, they often think of vampires and Count Dracula.
Florin Salajan, assistant professor in the School of Education and a native of Transylvania, wants to help students see his homeland in a different way by leading a new two-week study abroad program this summer.
The program, “Transylvania Beyond Dracula,” is scheduled for May 26 to June 10, and will give students the opportunity to learn about the richness of the region’s society, history, culture and education. “Transylvania has a distinct identity and culture compared to the rest of Romania,” Salajan said.
The Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai, the largest and most prestigious Romanian university, will host NDSU students. The university is located in Cluj-Napoca, a city in the heart of Transylvania. Students will attend a series of university lectures about the basic history of Transylvania, Romania’s transition from communism to democracy, how the society evolved and pressing issues of today.
Students will also participate in a series of workshops where they will make pottery, paint stained glass icons, prepare a traditional Romanian meal, play a traditional game similar to baseball and re-enact men’s and women’s roles in Roman and Dacian war games. They will also visit local museums, schools and cultural institutions, including Bran castle, which is also known as Dracula’s castle.
The program is a good fit for students in arts, humanities, modern languages, social sciences, education and international studies, but is open to NDSU students in all disciplines, Salajan said. Education students will receive credit toward their major. Students from other disciplines can earn general education credits or work with their department to determine whether credits can apply to their major.
The application deadline is March 31. An interest session will be held March 21 at 4 p.m. in the Family Life Center Room of Nations.
For more information, visit http://ndsu.me/transilvania/ or contact Salajan at 231-5674 or florin.salajan@ndsu.edu.