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Radio waves, memories, and the politics of everyday life in socialist Romania: The case of Radio Free Europe

2019; Wiley; Volume: 61; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/1600-0498.12232

1600-0498

Ruxandra Iuliana Petrinca,

Italian Fascism and Post-war Society

CentaurusVolume 61, Issue 3 p. 178-199 SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE Radio waves, memories, and the politics of everyday life in socialist Romania: The case of Radio Free Europe Ruxandra Petrinca, Corresponding Author Ruxandra Petrinca ruxandra_canache@yahoo.com orcid.org/0000-0001-9836-7473 Department of History and Classical Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Correspondence Ruxandra Petrinca, Leacock Building, 855 Sherbrooke Street West Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T7, Canada. Email: ruxandra_canache@yahoo.comSearch for more papers by this author Ruxandra Petrinca, Corresponding Author Ruxandra Petrinca ruxandra_canache@yahoo.com orcid.org/0000-0001-9836-7473 Department of History and Classical Studies, McGill University, Montreal, Canada Correspondence Ruxandra Petrinca, Leacock Building, 855 Sherbrooke Street West Montreal, Quebec H3A 2T7, Canada. Email: ruxandra_canache@yahoo.comSearch for more papers by this author First published: 24 April 2020 https://doi.org/10.1111/1600-0498.12232Citations: 1 Funding information: Visegrad Scholarship, Grant/Award Number: OSA Research Grant: KEE/_______/201617/R SPECIAL ISSUE Technology and Information Propagation in a Propaganda War GUEST EDITOR István Rév This Special Issue was selected by a dedicated ESHS committee after a public call for special issues. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract During the communist era, Radio Free Europe (RFE) was Romania's favorite radio station. This paper analyzes the role of RFE in everyday life in the strictly controlled Romanian communist state by looking at the broadcasts of RFE's Romanian Department, their audience, and their impact. Drawing largely on the RFE archives at the Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives (OSA) and the former secret police files at the National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives (CNSAS), it investigates how radio waves mediated and channeled information while preparing people to embrace political and cultural change. The paper focuses on the circulation of knowledge, media confluences, and human agency. The rituals that developed around the secrecy which governed the listening process, the personal requests, attitudes, and opinions expressed in letters to RFE, and oral and written testimonies, coupled with the disproportionate and, at times, extreme reactions of the communist state, together reveal the carving out of individual spaces that allowed for the preservation of the "self" during Nicolae Ceausescu's dictatorship. At such critical historical moments, the connection became visible. Through an analysis of recent media representations in which RFE figures, such as Cold Waves, this study also looks at how RFE shaped personal memories of communist times. Citing Literature Volume61, Issue3Special Issue: Technology and Information Propagation in a Propaganda WarAugust 2019Pages 178-199 RelatedInformation