The Cantemir Institute (CI) is a recently established centre of research at the Faculty of History, University of Oxford, which focuses on the interdisciplinary study of Central and Eastern Europe in its wider European, Eurasian, Mediterranean, and global contexts. The creation of the institute has been made possible through a generous donation from the Berendel Foundation, London.
The Cantemir Institute aims to reflect critically on the legacy of intercultural humanism bestowed by two humanist princes: Demetrius Cantemir (1673-1723), the ruling prince of Moldavia (1693; 1710-11), and his son Antiochus (1709-1744), Russia’s ambassador to London and Paris (1731-1744). These distinguished polymaths were steeped in the intellectual culture of both Eastern and Western Europe and knowledgeable about the Ottoman and the Russian empires. Their writings and visions encompass vast spaces, different periods and various cultures. They were cosmopolitan and enlightened personalities who, while rooted in particular societies and worldviews, transcended borders of many sorts and aspired to intercultural knowledge and universality.
In its initial phase (2011-2012), the Cantemir Institute will finance the following activities:
1. D Phil Fellowships
2. The Cantemir Senior Fellowships
3. The Cantemir Junior Fellowships
4. The Cantemir Lectures
5. The East & East-Central European Seminar
6. An international conference
Director: Dr Marius Turda
Chair of the Management Committee: Prof Ruth Harris
Management Committee: Prof Robert Evans, Prof Ruth Harris, Prof Howard Hotson, Dr David Parrott, Dr David Rechter, Prof Lyndal Roper, Dr Richard Sykes
