Born in 1973 in Bucharest, Romania
Studied Philosophy at the University of Paris I Sorbonne and Political Studies at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and the University of Munich
Fellowship
Andrew W. Mellon-Fellow
Project
Secret France: Variations on a Nietzschean Theme
The challenge of my research is to try to solve the riddle of the Nietzschean notion of a "hidden France of taste" as opposed to modern "vulgarity".
I came to the conviction that this mysterious concept needs to be explored in relation to Nietzsche's fascination with Russia and particularly with Dostoevsky, since French "decadence" and Russian "energy" are two complementary aspects of the picture he drew of the European situation. My second conviction is that the notion of a "secret" or "hidden" France has a life of its own that has to be explored beyond Nietzsche himself. Therefore, I will apply his intuitions to the study of the synthesis between decadence and Catholicism as represented in the works of Bloy, Huysmans, and Bourges. According to Alain Besançon, these writers represent what he calls the "French Dostoevskyianism", which may explain the great admiration that Nicholas Berdyaev had for this current of French thought.
Recommended Reading
Paleologu, Theodor. "Carl Schmitt et Alexandre Kojève: une conférence, une anecdote et autres miettes." Commentaire. Paris (fall 1999).
-. "Profetul si katehonul." Introduction to Antihristul. Iai: Polirom, 2000.
-. "Sous l'oeil du Grand Inquisiteur: Carl Schmitt et l'héritage de la théologie politique." Paris: Editions du Cerf, 2004.
