Adrian Papahagi (born 20 March 1976,

Cluj Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

) is a Romanian

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...

, essayist, and politician of Aromanian descent. In 2014, he was one of the founders of the

People's Movement Party The People's Movement Party (, PMP) is an extra-parliamentary national-conservative and social conservative political party in Romania. History The PMP was created as a political foundation in March 2013 by supporters of then incumbent sta ...

(PMP). In March 2015, he founded, together with

Monica Macovei Monica Luisa Macovei (; born 4 February 1959) is a Romanian politician, lawyer and former prosecutor, and former Member of the European Parliament from the European Conservatives and Reformists and formerly a member of the Romanian Democratic L ...

a new political party, M10. Papahagi is currently a lecturer at the

Babeș-Bolyai University The Babeș-Bolyai University ( , , commonly known as UBB) is a public research university located in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Established in 1581 as Academia Claudiopolitana, it underwent several reorganizations over the centuries, eventually taking ...

Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...

Biography

Papahagi has Aromanian ancestry, but has declared that "today, I do not feel more Aromanian than

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

". He is an alumnus of philology at Babeș-Bolyai University, specialized in English studies (1999) and of the University Paris IV-Sorbonne (1998). Between 1997 and 2000, he studied at

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

(Paris). He has a master's degree in medieval studies at University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (1999) and also Ph.D. ("summa cum laude") at the same university. He has taught

old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

at Paris Sorbonne University and at

Catholic Institute of Paris The Institut catholique de Paris (, abbr. ICP), known in English as the Catholic University of Paris (and in Latin as ''Universitas catholica Parisiensis''), is a private university located in Paris, France. History: 1875–present The Institut ...

between 1999 and 2003. Currently, he is a Lecturer at the English department of the Faculty of Letters,

. In 2007 he founded in the university the Centre of History of Books and Texts (CODEX), which aims to valorise the

medieval manuscripts In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

collection from Romania. Between 1996 and 1997, he was Editor-in-chief at the Echinox magazine (Cluj) and between 1999 and 2005, he was co-director at Echinox Publishing. Papahagi is a member of the following institutions: International Society for the Study of Early Medieval England (ISSEME); Association des Médiévistes Anglicistes de l’Enseignement Supérieur (AMAES); Early English Text Society (EETS); European Society for the Study of English (ESSE); Association Paléographique Internationale (APICES); Société des Anglicistes de l’Enseignement Supérieur (SAES);

Medieval Academy of America The Medieval Academy of America (MAA; spelled Mediaeval until ) is the largest organization in the United States promoting the field of medieval studies. It was founded in 1925 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The academy publishes the q ...

Controversy

Papahagi was involved in a public dispute with the Romanian philosopher

Mihai Șora Mihai Șora (; 7 November 1916 – 25 February 2023) was a Romanian philosopher and essayist. Career After travelling back to Romania in 1948, Șora became a member of the Romanian Communist Party (PCR) and was employed by the Ministry of For ...

after attacking his message following

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

's death. On the occasion, Mihai Șora called Papahagi "functionally illiterate". In April 2025, Papahagi created a controversy by referring to

George Simion George Nicolae Simion (; born 21 September 1986) is a Romanian politician and civic activist. He is the founder and chairman of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), the second largest party in both houses of parliament since 2024 Rom ...

(a candidate in the

2025 Romanian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Romania on 4 May 2025, with a second round on 18 May 2025. Nicușor Dan and George Simion were the two candidates who advanced to the second round. Presidency of Nicușor Dan, Dan's term as the seventh preside ...

) as "a cunning

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

, a hoodlum" (later, he modified this to manelist).

References

External links

*
Adrian Papahagi Curriculum Vitae
* * * 1976 births Living people Romanian people of Aromanian descent Politicians from Cluj-Napoca Babeș-Bolyai University alumni Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University alumni École Normale Supérieure alumni Romanian medievalists Romanian philologists Academic staff of Babeș-Bolyai University Conservatism in Romania {{Romania-politician-stub