About CESI

CESI’s work is grounded in interdisciplinarity, and its primary scientific objective is transdisciplinarity—that is, the creation of a distinct discourse within cultural studies by connecting and combining multiple fields and areas of knowledge in relation to society, cultural phenomena, the arts, and architecture. Focused on the study of the image, CESI is today a space for dialogue and the development of skills in interdisciplinary research within the framework of the culture-education-arts-society nexus.

The profile of a researcher trained at CESI is defined by their diverse skills in the cultural and artistic fields, their critical thinking, their independence in action, their ability to carry out complex projects in the public sphere and in various professional settings, and their expertise in coordinating multidisciplinary teams. Graduates of CESI’s programs are also socially engaged individuals, attentive to the life of the communities to which they belong and deeply involved in society.

The founding director of CESI is Sorin Alexandrescu, professor emeritus at the University of Amsterdam and an associate professor and doctoral advisor at the University of Bucharest, as well as an honorary member of the Romanian Academy. Well-known for his contributions to Romanian cultural studies, semiotics, and postmodern philosophy, Sorin Alexandrescu outlined CESI’s course of action and scientific rationale and designed its objectives, which continue to define it today.

Thanks to the contributions of 63 professors and researchers from numerous European universities, CESI has, over time, strengthened its structure and built its own team, consisting of associate professors, full professors, and assistant professors.

The academic structure of CESI is the “Space, Image, Text, Territory” Doctoral School (SD SITT), established in 2005 in partnership with the “Ion Mincu” University of Architecture and Urbanism in Bucharest and incorporated in 2014 as an autonomous department within the Faculty of Letters at the University of Bucharest.

The initiator of the project that led to the founding of CESI and SD SITT, the research center’s scientific secretary, and the coordinator of the study programs is Laura Mesina, a professor of cultural studies.