Sorin GRIGORUȚĂ

Academic Year:
2025/2026

Field of Study:
History

Research Program:
NEC Odobleja

Affiliation:
„A. D. Xenopol” Institute of History, Romanian Academy, Iași

Position:
Researcher

Country:
Romania

Research project: Being a Physician in Moldavia (1800-1850): Transfer of Medical Knowledge and Construction of a Sanitary System

The project examines the biographies of some of the physicians from Moldavia in the first half of the 19th century, most of them foreigners, to see if they can be considered as “agents of modernization”. More specifically, I intend to investigate the cultural background acquired by the physicians in the years prior to coming to the Romanian Principalities, also in their homelands, but especially in the cultural areas where they had studied, analysing aspects such as the education level, professional experience, but also the way they integrated in Romanian society. It is interesting to notice how education, religion, and the habits of a physician, sometimes different from those of the place he practices in, can create changes in the community. I will therefore try to outline some “micro histories”, which will center around the physicians and their ability to insert themselves in the social networks through active participation in the building of a medical field. Last but not least, I will emphasize the role of these foreign or Moldavian physicians in the medical knowledge transfer, in creating a public and political conscience regarding the importance of the idea of public health, and in the consolidation of a medical system.