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On Sunday, 7 May 2017, from 11.00 a.m., in the Small Hall of NTB, Mrs. Lavinia Betea shall hold the conference entitled What To Do With the „Village Fool”?

About the Conference

What to do with the “village fool”?

Over time, the representations and treatments applied to men with mental disorders have been manifold.

Throughout the „long periods” of history, Romanian traditional communities have often conferred him the aura of the „half-witted” who shall rule, in eternal life, over the kingdom of heaven. Other times, he has been attributed the gift of prophecy, “the Maglavit Saint” (1935-1938) being one example in this regard. In other representations, the man who lived and talked otherwise was the embodiment of the duality man-devil or man-animal.

The pathology and institutional treatment of mental disorders commenced in Romania at the beginning of the 20^th century, going through different stages. The social representation of the „village fool” bears the fingerprint of religious beliefs, dominant ideological movements, state policies etc. Overall, however, the number of those suffering from diverse mental disorders is continuously on the rise. A diagnosis of „our Zeitgeist” induces drivers such as the ideology of consumerism, the excessive media consumption, the stress of change, the mythology of life coaching etc.

How do we, Romanians, behave faced with such threats? How great is the distance between the potential and the social policies of the rich countries of the European Union and the ex-communist ones? Is the Romanian mass-media a curse or a blessing in the depiction of the „village fool”?

These are only some of the assertions and questions articulating the reflection on the representations of „madness” and the mental health policies.

Lavinia Betea

About Lavinia Betea

She graduated from the Faculty of History-Philosophy, department of Philosophy-History and holds a PhD in psychology at the „Babeş-Bolyai” University of Cluj-Napoca. Currently, she is a professor of social and political psychology at the „Aurel Vlaicu” University of Arad.

She is an author and co-author of over 20 volumes published by prestigious publishing houses in Romania and abroad on topics of political psychology and history of communism. For the purpose of documentation on the backstage of power, she wrote books of interviews with former communist leaders and victims of the “class struggle”. She also performed thorough archive researches.

The published works include: The Keeper of Ceauşescu’s Secrets. He was Known as Machaivelli. Ştefan Andrei in Dialogue with Lavinia Betea (Adevărul, 2011); Stories from the Primăverii Neighbourhood (Curtea Veche Publishing, 2010); Men and Women. Encounters with Serge Moscovici (Romanian Cultural Foundation Publishing, 2007); I Went to Jilava in Summer Shoes. Conversations with Ioana Berindei (Compania, 2006); Communist Mentalitiesand Residuals. Psychological Aspects (Nemira, 2005); Corneliu Mănescu in Dialogue with Lavinia Betea; Unfinished Talks (Polirom, 2001); Political Psychology. Individual, Leader, Crowd under the Communist Regime (Polirom, 2001); Alexandru Bârlădeanu on Dej, Ceauşescu and Iliescu (Evenimentul românesc, 1997).She coordinated The Biography of Ceaușescu (Cetatea de Scaun, 2015, Adevărul 2013, 2012). She was distinguished with the Romanian Academy Awards for the book Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu – the Death of a Communist Leader (Humanitas, 2001).

She collaborated on approximately one hundred articles for scientific magazines with international visibility. She founded and managed the specialised magazine Societal and Political Psychology International Review. She took part in specialised conferences and symposiums in France, Italy, Mexico, Hungary, Ukraine, Tunisia, Portugal, Indonesia, and Serbia.

She worked as a journalist of written press and television. She managed the section of recent history of the daily newspapers Jurnalul Național and Adevărul and is collaborating with the Romanian National Television in the production of a series of historical documentaries.

Translated by Simona Nichiteanu