Congratulations to CMNH Steering Group member Uschi Klein for being awarded the University of Brighton’s Rising Stars (2022-23) for her project, entitled: Resisting socialist realities through vernacular photography in communist Romania (1947-1989)

Romania was one of the most severe totalitarian dictatorships of Eastern Europe. This project will investigate vernacular photography as a form of cultural resistance during this era (1947-1989). It will explore an under-researched aspect of Eastern European cultural memory and extend the study of photographic and political histories beyond the West. By focusing on individual and collective narratives, histories and practices within the context of everyday life during communist Romania, Uschi’s project will provide a new way of accessing historical experience and broadening the methodological toolkit for cultural and oral historians. It will build networks between institutions, facilitate knowledge exchange and maximise the impact beyond academia.