Scientific career
Head of the Applied Research and Promotion Sector, Immaterial Heritage and Traditional Culture Department, National Institute of Heritage, Bucharest (February 2022 – present)
Associate Researcher, Department of Folklore, Institute of Romanian Philology B. P. Hașdeu in Chișinău (2019 – 2023)
Researcher, Romanian Ethnology Department, Institute of Cultural Heritage, Chișinău (2015 – 2018)
Head of the Ethnography Department, Scientific Research Coordinator, National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History in Chișinău (2011 – 2021)
Research interests
Romanian ethnology, intangible cultural heritage, material culture, folk religion, religion and diaspora, cultural landscapes
dorinaonica@yahoo.com
Education
2016: PhD in Ethnology, Cultural and Social Anthropology, Institute of Cultural Heritage, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Moldova
2014: MA in International Relations, Academy of Public Administration of the Republic of Moldova
2013: MA in Globalization-History, European Policies and Cultures, University of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Moldova
2011: BA in Geography and History, Tiraspol State University, Chișinău, Republic of Moldova
Research Experience
2024-2025. Long-term postdoctoral scholarship at the Faculty of Archaeology and Cultural Anthropology, Comenius University Bratislava. The project ”Approaching folk religion anthropologically in Slovakian open-air museums” was implemented through the National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic. Offered by Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic.
2024. Short-term postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute of Religious Sciences, Compultense University of Madrid, Spain, funded by Romanian Cultural Institute (ʽLucian Blagaʼ Fellowship). Title of the project: ”The material culture and religious practices in homemaking of the Romanian immigrants in Spain”.
2021. Short-term postdoctoral scholarship for Transnational Access, The Faculty of Catholic Theology (Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz), supported by the EU-funded project ‘Research Infrastructure on Religious Studies – ReIReS᾽, grant agreement ID: 730895. Titles of the projects: ”The Sects of the Eastern Orthodoxy. The Inochentism: Faith, Ritual Practices and Sacred Spaces”, and ”The Easter of the Dead in Contemporary Moldova: the Religious, Folk and Social Practices”.
2020-2023. Contextele socio-culturale autohtone și interconexiuni europene în creația populară și literatura cultă din Basarabia (sec. XIX până în prezent) [‘The Indigenous Socio-Cultural Contexts and European Interconnections in Folk Creation and Cult Literature in Bessarabia (19th century to the present)ʼ], implemented by the Institute of Romanian Philology B. P. Hașdeu in Chișinău and funded by the National Agency for Research and Development under the Government of the Republic of Moldova, ‘Program de Statʼ competition, code 20.80009.1606.03.
2020-2023. Patrimoniul etnografic și natural al Republicii Moldova – salvgardare muzeală pentru sporirea coeziunii sociale [‘The Ethnographic and Natural Heritage of the Republic of Moldova – museum safeguard for increasing social cohesionʼ], implemented by the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History in Chișinău and funded by the National Agency for Research and Development under the Government of the Republic of Moldova, ‘Program de Statʼ competition, code 20.80009.0807.24.
2020-2021. Long-term postdoctoral scholarship at the Institute of Ethnology and Social Anthropology, Slovak Academy of Science. The project ”The Slovak Ethnographic Landscapes as Cultural Identity Marks Visualised through the Village and Traditional House” was implemented through the National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic. Offered by Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic.
2018-2019. Platforma științifică națională pentru valorificarea patrimoniului cultural al Republicii Moldova [‘National Scientific Platform for Capitalizing of the Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Moldovaʼ], implemented by the Institute of Cultural Heritage in Chișinău and funded by the National Agency for Research and Development under the Government of the Republic of Moldova, ‘Program de Statʼ competition, code 18.16.06.02.F/PS.
2019. Cercetarea și promovarea patrimoniului cultural istoric din Lunca Prutului de Jos [‘The Research and Promotion of the Romanian Historical Cultural Heritage of the Lower Prutʼ], implemented by the Institute of Bioarchaeological and Ethnocultural Research (ICBE) in Chișinău and funded by Government of Romania, Department for Romanians Abroad (DRP).
2015-2019. Sintezele științifice ale patrimoniului etnografic și natural [‘The Scientific Synthesis of the Ethnographic and Natural Heritageʼ], implemented by the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History in Chișinău and funded by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, code 15.817.06.33A.
2015-2019. Valorificarea pluridimensională a patrimoniului etnocultural ca factor de armonizare și dezvoltare a societății din Republica Moldova [‘Multidimensional Capitalization of Ethnocultural Heritage as a Factor of Harmonization and Development of the Society of the Republic of Moldovaʼ], implemented by the Institute of Cultural Heritage in Chișinău and funded by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, code 15.817.06.03F.
2011-2014. Interpretarea științifică a patrimoniului muzeal în contextul sporirii interesului către identitate și autenticitate [‘The Scientific Interpretation of the Museum Heritage in the Context of Increasing Interest towards Identity and Authenticityʼ], implemented by the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History in Chișinău and funded by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, code 11.817.07.39A.
Membership in academic bodies and editorial boards
International Society for Ethnology and Folklore (since 2022)
Association of Ethnological Sciences from Romania (since 2022)
Member of the editorial board of Res Novae, published by the Catholic Institute, Ljubljana (since 2022)
Contributor to the Linguistic Bibliography, published by Brill (since 2021)
Selected publications
Monographs
Obiceiurile și folclorul sărbătorilor de primăvară, vară, toamnă [The customs and folklore of the holidays of spring, summer and autumn]. Chișinău: Polisalm, 2023, 245 p. ISBN 978-9975363082.
Peisajul cultural rural dintre Prut și Nistru. Aspecte etnogeografice [‘The Rural Cultural Landscape between Prut and Dniester. Ethno Geographical Aspectsʼ]. București: Editura Etnologică, 2017, 213 p. ISBN 978-606-8830-23-0.
Edited volumes
Emmanouil Varvounis, Nadia Macha, Dorina Dragnea, Tudor Dinu, Gordana Blagojevic. Material Culture and Everyday Politics in the Balkans (19th-21st Century). New York: Peter Lang, expected for 2025.
Mihai Dragnea, Dorina Dragnea, Antonio Alonso Marcos. Islamic Culture and Pre-Islamic Beliefs in Central Asia. USA: Lexington, 2024, 298p. ISBN 978-1-66696-929-0.
Dorina Dragnea, Emmanouil Ger. Varvounis, Evelyn Reuter et al. Pilgrimage in the Christian Balkan World. The Path to Touch the Sacred and Holy. Turnhout: Brepols, 2023. ISBN: 978-2-503-60308-7.
Chapters in volumes
Sensorial Materiality – Contents and Meanings from the Packages of the Moldavian Migrants. In: Emmanouil Varvounis, Nadia Macha, Dorina Dragnea,Tudor Dinu, Gordana Blagojević. Material Culture and Everyday Politics in the Balkans (19th-21st Century). New York: Peter Lang, expected for 2025.
Dorina Dragnea, Emmanouil Ger. Varvounis, Approaching a Metaphor: Touching the Sacred and Holy. Introduction. In: Dorina Dragnea, Emmanouil Ger. Varvounis, et al., Pilgrimage in the Christian Balkan World. The Path to Touch the Sacred and Holy. Turnhout: Brepols Publisher, 2023, pp. 7-26.
The Pilgrimage Practice in Moldova as a Medium for Displaying of the Official and Vernacular Religiosity. In: Dorina Dragnea, Emmanouil Ger. Varvounis, et al. Pilgrimage in the Christian Balkan World. The Path to Touch the Sacred and Holy. Turnhout: Brepols Publisher, 2023, pp. 221-238.
Peisajele etnografice din Republica Moldova [‘The Ethnographic Landscapes from Republic of Moldovaʼ]. In: Patrimoniul cultural național ca resursă pentru o dezvoltare durabilă a Republicii Moldova [‘The national cultural heritage as a resource for a sustainable development of the Republic of Moldovaʼ], Adrian Dolghi, Victor Ghilaș (eds.), Vol., I. Chișinău: Institutul Patrimoniului Cultural, 2019, pp. 292 – 307. ISBN 978-9975-84-111-5.
Dihotomia utopie și distopie rurală (studiu de caz Republica Moldova) [‘The Dihotomy of the Rural Utopia and Distopia. Case Study, Republic of Moldovaʼ]. In: Terenuri noi, metode noi. Mihai Pop 110 ani de la naștere (”New fields, new methods. Mihai Pop, 110 years since birth”), coord. Narcisa Știucă, Adrian Stoicescu. Bucuresti: Editura Universității din București, 2018, pp. 139 – 150. ISBN 78-606-16-0941-3.
Scholarly journal articles
Re-contextualizing the Identity Marks and re-shaping the Landscape and its Elements: Notes and Witnesses from rural Slovakia. In: Historia Aperta, No. 49, 2023, pp. 28 – 55.
Bucharest’s markets as places for selling products and ʽexperiencesʼ during the religious and folk holidays of the year. In: Journal of Urban Anthropology, special issue ”Ethnic markets” in the modern urban space. From ethnic diversity to ethno-business”, No. 20, 2022, pp. 95-115. ISSN-L 2286-2390.
The Vernacular House in Rural Slovakia and Its Exterior Architectural Elements in Tangible and Intangible Perspective: from the dwelling to the heritage. In: Visual ethnography, No. 2, 2022, pp. 63 – 85. ISSN: 2281 – 1605.
The Ritual and Social Practices Associated with Paștele Blajinilor (“The Easter of the Kind Hearted”) in Moldova: Betwixt Tradition and the Permutations of the Migration Process. In: Zeitschrift fur Balkanologie, Vol. 57, No.1, 2021, pp. 12- 32. ISSN 0044-2356.
The Inochentism: Faith, Ritual Practices, and Sacred Spaces. New Data and Approaches. In: Hiperboreea, Vol. 7, No. 2, University Park: Pennsylvania State University, 2020, pp. 203 – 231. ISSN 2688-8211; E-ISSN 2284-5666.
Cunoștințe și tehnici tradiționale de construcție a locuinței în satele din lunca Prutului de Jos [‘Knowledge and Traditional Techniques for Building Dwellings in the Villages of the Lower Prut Meadowʼ]. In: Revistă de Etnologie și Culturologie [‘The Journal of Ethnology and Culturologyʼ] , Vol. XXVII, 2020, p. 70 – 78. E-ISSN 2537-6152.
A fi în „Gura Satului” [‘The Mouth of the Villageʼ or What the People from Villages Think and Talk about Something᾽]. In: Revista „Studii și comunicări de etnologie” [‘Studies and communications of ethnology᾽], Tom. XXXIII (serie nouă), Sibiu: Editura Astra Museum, 2019, pp. 122 – 137. ISSN 1221–6518.
Ethnographic Landscapes as a Resource for Sustainable Development. Case Study: Republic of Moldova. In: Revista de Arheologie, Antropologie şi Studii Interdisciplinare (RAASI) [‘Journal of Archaeology, Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studiesʼ], Nr. 1. Chișinău: Bons, 2019, pp. 249 – 264. ISSN 2587-3768.
Practici pomicole tradiționale în gospodăria țărănească din Basarabia [‘Traditional Orcharding Practices in the Peasant Household from Bessarabiaʼ]. In: Buletin Științific. Revistă de Etnografie, Științele Naturii și Muzeologie. Serie nouă. Fascicula Etnografie și Muzeologie [‘The Scientific Bulletin. Journal of Ethnography, Natural Sciences and Museology. Fascicle of Ethnography and Museologyʼ], Vol. 29 (42), Chișinău: Reclama, 2018, pp. 116 – 136. ISSN 1857-0054.
O reconstrucție etnografică a habitatului românilor basarabeni deportați în Siberia [‘An Ethnographic Reconstruction of the Bessarabian Romanians Habitat Deported to Siberiaʼ]. In: Anuarul Institutului de Etnografie și Folclor „C. Brăiloiu” [‘The Yearbook of the Institute of Ethnography and Folklore C. Brăiloiuʼ], serie nouă, tom. 29. Bucureşti: Academia Română, 2018, pp. 159 – 174. ISSN 1220-5230.
Geosferele în credințele și imaginarul popular. Interdisciplinaritate și universalitate [‘The Geospheres in the Popular Beliefs and Imagery. Interdisciplinarity and Universalityʼ]. In: Revista „Studii și comunicări de etnologie” (”Studies and communications of ethnology”), Tom. XXXII (serie nouă). Sibiu: Editura Astra Museum, 2018, pp. 165 – 188. ISSN 1221– 6518.
Patrimoniul etnografic prin prisma celor 17 Obiective de Dezvoltare Durabilă [‘The Ethnographic Heritage through the Prism of the 17 Sustainable Development Goalsʼ]. In: Akademos, Nr. 2. Chișinău: AȘM, 2018, pp. 115 – 123. ISSN 1857 – 0461.
The Contribution of the UNESCO Designations to the Sustainable Development of the Local Community. In: Buletin Științific. Revistă de Etnografie, Științele Naturii și Muzeologie. Serie nouă. Fascicula Etnografie și Muzeologie [‘The Scientific Bulletin. Journal of Ethnography, Natural Sciences and Museology. Fascicle of Ethnography and Museologyʼ], vol. 27 (40), Chișinău: Reclama, 2017, pp. 65 – 72. ISSN 1857-0054.
Peisajul cultural: retrospectiva legislativă și științifică a conceptului [‘The Cultural Landscape: a Retrospective of Scientific and Legislative Frame of Concept᾽]. In: Revistă de Etnologie și Culturologie [‘The Journal of Ethnology and Culturologyʼ], vol. XXI, Chișinău, 2017, pp. 45 – 53. ISSN 1857–2049.
Peisajele etnografice din Basarabia [‘The Ethnographic Landscapes of Bessarabiaʼ]. In: Anuarul Institutului de Etnografie și Folclor „C. Brăiloiu”, Serie Nouă [‘The Yearbook of the Institute of Ethnography and Folklore „C. Brailoiuʼ], New Series, Tom 27. Bucharest, 2016, pp. 385 – 394. ISSN 1220-5230.
Peisajul rural – interpretări şi reprezentări spirituale [‘The Rural Landscape – Spiritual Interpretations and Presentationʼ]. In: Revistă de Etnologie și Culturologie [‘The Journal of Ethnology and Culturologyʼ]. Vol. XXI, Chișinău: 2016, pp.120 – 127. E-ISSN 2537–6152.
Forme etnoculturale în peisajul antropogeografic din Basarabia [‘Ethnocultural Forms in the Antropogeographic Landscape in Bessarabiaʼ]. In: Anuarul Muzeului Etnografic al Moldovei (”The Yearbook of Ethnographic Museum of Moldova”). No. XV, Iași (Romania), 2015, pp. 311 – 341.ISSN 1583-6819.
Rolul comunității academice, locale și cadrului legislativ în recunoașterea, protecția și dezvoltarea peisajului cultural rural [‘The Functions of the Academic, Local Community and of Legislative Frame in Recognition, Protection and Development of the Rural Cultural Landascapeʼ]. In: Revistă de Etnologie și Culturologie [‘The Journal of Ethnology and Culturologyʼ]. Vol. XVIII, Chișinău: 2015, pp. 129 – 133. ISSN 1857–2049.
Seminarul internațional Saint George/ Hidirellez. Despre cooperarea internațională în promovarea patrimoniului cultural imaterial [‘The International Seminary Hidirellez/Saint George. On the International Cooperation in the Field of Promoting the Intangible Cultural Heritageʼ]. In: Buletin Științific. Revistă de Etnografie, Științele Naturii și Muzeologie. Serie nouă. Fascicula Etnografie și Muzeologie [‘The Scientific Bulletin. Journal of Ethnography, Natural Sciences and Museology. Fascicle of Ethnography and Museologyʼ]. Vol. 17 (30), Chișinău, 2012, pp. 176 – 184. ISSN 1857-0054.
Viticultura în Țara Moldovei. Aspecte general istorice și documentare [‘Viticulture in the Principality of Moldova: General Historic and Documentary Aspectsʼ]. In: Buletin Științific. Revistă de Etnografie, Științele Naturii și Muzeologie. Serie nouă. Fascicula Etnografie și Muzeologie [‘The Scientific Bulletin. Journal of Ethnography, Natural Sciences and Museology. Fascicle of Ethnography and Museologyʼ], Vol. 15(28), Chișinău, 2011, pp. 97 – 106. ISSN 1857- 4947.
Selected conferences
Calendar holidays as mediums of common past and fractured memories. On the basis of the documents in the Folklore Archive in Chisinău, Moldova // International Conference “Common Past/ Divided Memories”, 29.11-1.12.2024, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece.
The personal narratives in investigating the daily and situational cases of facing and experiencing the Inochentist praxis // Transgressing Boundaries: The History and Memory of the Religious Underground in Romania, Moldova and Beyond, organize by New Europe College, 4 December, 2023, Bucharest, Romania.
Interpreting the acts performed at healing stone crosses as settings for observing orthopraxy and affective states// Conference ʻEthnographies of Orthodox Christianity: Holism, Comparison, and Explorationʼ, organized by The Department of Anthropology of the London College University, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, and Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of British Isles and Ireland, 16-17 February 2023, London.
Bucharestʾs Markets as Places for Selling Products and ʾExperiencesʾ during the Religious and Folk Holidays of the Year// International Symposium of Urban Anthropology ʻEthnic markets in the modern urban space. From ethnic diversity to ethno-businessesʼ, organised by Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) and Museum of Bucharest, 21-22 October 2022, Bucharest.
Cultura materială a mobilității: conținuturi și sensuri ale pachetelor de „acasă” [The Material Culture of the Mobility: Contents and Meanings of the Packages ʽfrom Homeʼ], // Conferința Națională Anuală a Asociației de Științe Etnologice din România (ASER) [Annual National Conference of the Association of the Ethnologic Disciplines from Romania], a XVIII-a ediție, 13-15 July 2022, Sibiu.
The Contribution of the UNESCO Designations to the Sustainable Development of the Local Community. // International Workshop ‘International Academy on UNESCO Designations and Sustainable Developmentʼ, UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice. Torino (Italy), 8 – 13.10. 2017.
Patrimoniul etnografic în contextul dezvoltării durabile [‘The Ethnographic Heritage in the Context of the Sustainable Developmentʼ]. //Sesiunea Anuală Internațională de Comunicări Științifice a Muzeului Țării Făgărașului „Valer Literat” [The International Annual Session of Scientific Communications of the Făgăraș County Museum ‘Valer Literatʼ], Fagaras (Romania), 6 – 7.09.2018.
ICH in the University Curricula. // Seminar ‘University Network for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South-Eastern Europeʼ, Bulgarian National Commission for UNESCO, Sofia (Bulgaria), 7 – 9.06. 2018.
Muzeificarea patrimoniului etnografic în localitățile rurale [‘The Museification of the Ethnographic Heritage in the Villagesʼ]. //Conferința internațională „Satul și orașul între tradiție și viitor” [The International Conference ‘Village and the City between Tradition and Futureʼ], „Hyperion” University, Bucharest (Romania), 26 – 27.05.2018.
„Colindatul de ceată bărbătească” în Republica Moldova (5 ani de la înscrierea în Lista Reprezentativă a Patrimoniului Cultural Imaterial al Umanității) [‘The ‘Men’s Group Colindat, Christmas Time Ritualʼ – 5 Years After its Inscription in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]. //Conferința internațională „Patrimoniul cultural românesc – Centenar 2018” [International Conference ‘Romanian Cultural Heritage – Centenary 2018ʼ], cea de-a III-a ediție, Chișinău (Republic of Moldova), 18 – 20.04. 2018.
Organizarea habitatului de către românii basarabeni deportați în Siberia [‘An Ethnographic Reconstruction of the Bessarabian Romanians Habitat Deported to Siberiaʼ] // A X-a ediție a „Colocviile Brăiloiu” – „Cultura tradițională – expresie a românității” [The IX-th edition of the ‘Brăiloiu Colloquiumʼ – Traditional Culture-Expression of the Romanianness], Bucharest (Romania), 19 – 20.10.2017.
Satele Basarabene – expresie a peisajului etnografic [‘Bessarabean Village – Expresion of the Ethnogaphic Landscape: Types and Featuresʼ]. //The IX-th Edition of the ‘Brăiloiu Colloquiumʼ – ‘Traditional Heritage- Ethnological Debateʼ, Bucharest (Romania), 22 – 23. 10. 2015.
The Importance of the Territorial Identity Concept in the Study of Rural Cultural Landscape.//The Scientific Conference ‘Current Problems of Arheology, Ethnology and Arts Studiesʼ. Chișinău (Republic of Moldova), 22 – 23.05.2014.
Cultural Landscape – Pattern of Knowledge and Promoting of the Identitary Image //The International Conference ‘History, Culture and Civilization in South Eastern Europeʼ, the 13th Edition of the International Academic Conference, Chișinău (Republic of Moldova), 28 – 30.11. 2013.
Traditions and Customs of Celebration of St. George in Moldova. //The International Seminar of Hıdrellez /Sainte George Studies and Roundtable Discussion about Preparing of the Multinational Nomination File, Istanbul (Turkey), 3 – 5.05. 2012.
Selected projects, seminars, workshops and trainings
Project CHARTER, the European Cultural Heritage Skills Alliance, Co-funded by the ERASMUS and Programme of the European Union, National Institute of Heritage (Romania), 2023.
Seminar “Oral Storytelling Tradition” and Storytelling Festival, Museum of Legends, Ljungby (Sweden), 12 – 17. 06. 2019.
Seminar „Strategiile de elaborare și actualizare a Listei Indicative a Republicii Moldova pentru Patrimoniul Mondial UNESCO” [‘The Strategies for the Elaboraition and Updating of the Indicative List of the Republic of Moldova for UNESCO World Heritageʼ], UE Twinning Project, Chișinău (Republic of Moldova), 14-15.02.2019.
Training „Școala de vară „Patrimoniul etnografic hunedorean în lumina cercetărilor din România și Republica Moldova” [The Summer school ‘The Hunedorean Ethnographic Heritage in the Lights of the Researches from Romania and Republic of Moldovaʼ], The Museum of the Dacian and Roman Civilization, Deva (Romania), 2-7.06.2019 – co-organizer.
Training „Patrimoniul cultural și măsuri pentru protejarea acestuia. Cooperarea internațională și tehnici de investigare întru combaterea crimelor și traficului de bunuri culturale” [‘The Cultural Heritage and Measures for its Protection. International Cooperation and Investigation Techniques to Combat for Crimes and Trafficking in Cultural Goodsʼ], UE Twinning Project, Chișinău (Republic of Moldova), 27-31. 05. 2019.
Seminar ‘The Geopolitic of the present conflicts᾽. Organised by Association of Geopolitics „Ion Conea” (Romania), and EGEA Moldova. Chișinău (Republic of Moldova), 27- 02.28.2015.
The Applied Anthropology Seminar. Organised by East European Education and Culture Centre, Brno (Czech Republic). Chișinău (Republic of Moldova), 29.08.2014.
Training ‘Conflict Transformation in Multicultural Societyʼ. Tsahadzor (Armenia), 23.06.- 15.07. 2014.
Workshop ‘New Product Development and Market Leadership Positioning for Moldovan Tourismʼ, organised by National Inbound Tourism Association, USAID CEED II. Chișinău (Republic of Moldova), 04-06.02.2014.
Training ‘Citizens-right nowʼ. Organised by EGEA Moldova. Chișinău (Republic of Moldova), 10-19.10.13
Training ‘Urban citizenshipʼ. Organised by Ligue de l’Enseignement des Vosges. Èpinal (France), 15 -27.07.13.
The Thematic Regional Training UNESCO/ ICOM ‘Place and Role of Museums-Reserves in the System to Protect and Promote Cultural Heritageʼ. Organised by DVV International. Kyiv (Ukraine), 04-08.02.2013.