decade. The
variety of genres and styles was impressive; some continued the
traditions of the past, others repudiated their literary traditions and
ventured into new areas of expression. Lyricism dominated the poetry of
Ion Alexandru, Adrian Paunescu, Marin Sorescu, and others. Their
greatest appeal was among young people whose doubts, hopes, and
restlessness they expressed.

Prose showed two trends: realism, which was now free to examine all
aspects of human existence; and antirealism, which showed influences of
some contemporary French writers.

Literary criticism, which had played an important role in the
development of Romanian literature, was revived as a literary art and
was removed from politics. Both old and new works were examined and
evaluated, and Romanian literary traditions were studied and analyzed.
The literary output of the 1950s was attacked for its lack of
imagination and creativity.

The retightening of controls in 1971 reduced the volume of new works
being published, and many writers retreated into a self-censorship,
which restricted their creativity. Literary periodicals and other
publication media were more selective in deciding what to publish,
whereas some critics attacked the volume and quality of the recent
literary output.

SCHOLARSHIP AND RESEARCH

A tradition of scholarship and research has in the past been limited to
a small intellectual elite centered in Bucharest and Iasi. The group was
oriented toward France and, to a lesser extent, Germany in terms of
professional contacts and sources of inspiration. During the 1930s a
number of sociologists at the University of Bucharest established a
reputation for outstanding and original work in their field.

The great expansion of the educational system since the 1940s has
provided a much broader base for scholarly activity but, in keeping with
ideological dictates, scholarly activity must be socially useful, that
is, directly applicable to the needs of the society. Therefore, great
emphasis has been placed on applied research in the sciences and
technology designed to improve the economy. All research is sponsored by
the state and is directed and supervised by the National Council for
Scientific Research.

The interest in sociology has continued, but work in this field, as in
the other social sciences, has suffered from the restrictions imposed by
communist ideology. The only accepted philosophy is that of
Marxism-Leninism, and all sch