Facultatea de Litere

HUMLIT: Developing humour literacy: Analysing production, content, and reception of humour to bring positive change in the public sphere
ID 101182860
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) project funded by Horizon Europe
Project duration: 2025-2028
Coordinator for Transilvania University: Răzvan SĂFTOIU
Project team: Stanca MĂDA, Violeta IRIMIE, Noemi URETU
Project details: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101182860
Description: The main objective of the project is to develop “humor literacy”—the ability to decode humorous messages, understand their references, and recognize both the benefits and risks of using humor depending on the target audience. This approach aims to reframe conflicts and controversial issues in the European public sphere, promoting dialogue rather than division. The project facilitates knowledge exchange between 17 academic and 8 non-academic institutions from 12 EU and 3 non-EU countries, with the aim of creating links between various fields, including linguistics, sociology, political communication, and computational analysis. This approach allows theoretical knowledge to be transformed into practical applications for promoting constructive dialogue in European society. Activities include conducting interviews with humor producers, such as stand-up comedians, cartoonists, and satirical journalists, analyzing humorous content in various media, and interacting with humor recipients through questionnaires and focus group discussions at museums and humor exhibitions.

AI-Powered Teaching Guidance for Educators (AI in Higher EDU)
Erasmus+ project, 2024-1-DE01-KA220-HED-000254017
Project duration: 2024-2027
Coordinator for Transilvania University: Cristina DIMULESCU
Project team: Andreea Nechifor, Cristina Dimulescu
Project details: https://www.aiinhigheredu.eu/
Description: The project aims to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into higher education to develop innovative teaching methods and strengthen the skills of teachers and students. The objective is to create personalized, flexible, and ethical approaches tailored to the requirements of digital education. The targeted results include the effective integration of AI tools, the development of practical training modules for teachers, interactive educational resources (videos, podcasts), and guidelines on the ethical use of AI. The project promotes collaboration between universities and AI experts to capitalize on the pedagogical potential of technology and prepare future teachers for digital learning environments. It supports sustainable digital transformation and the modernization of university education, contributing to the creation of more attractive, efficient, and accessible learning experiences.

Empowering Specialized Language Acquisition with Integrated AI (ELITE-AI)
Erasmus+ project, 2024-1-RO01-KA220-HED-000248845
Project duration: 2024-2026
Coordinator for Transilvania University: Andreea NECHIFOR
Project team: Andreea Nechifor, Cristina Dimulescu
Project details: https://elite-ai.unitbv.ro/
Description: The project aims to modernize the process of language acquisition by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and digital tools, focusing on English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The project supports students, teachers, and researchers by developing AI-based methodologies tailored to fields such as tourism, law, education, and marketing. Key objectives include reviewing the literature on the use of AI in education, creating a database of AI tools for ESP, developing training resources, and implementing AI ethically in teaching, learning, and assessment. The distinctive feature of the project is its adaptive approach to learning — AI personalizes content and pace based on learner data, providing real-time feedback and personalized recommendations. ELITE-AI provides teachers and learners with innovative, technology-based strategies that increase engagement, performance, and relevance in language learning, both in professional and academic contexts.

TeachME: The Art and Science of Teaching Host Country Language
Erasmus+ project
Project duration: 2022-2024
Coordinator for Transilvania University: Răzvan SĂFTOIU
Project team: Georgiana BURBEA, Stanca MĂDA, Andreea NECHIFOR, Violeta RUS
Project details: https://www.teachmeproject.eu/ro/acasa/
Description: The project proposes an innovative learning model based on neurodidactics, designed to help students learning the languages of the host country in five European countries. With an emphasis on immersion in language, culture, and civilization, the project promotes grammatical, vocabulary, and real-life communication skills. The project has a dual purpose: to attract more international students to lesser-known European languages and to cultivate a solid framework for teaching and learning foreign languages in partner universities. This initiative aims to improve transnational collaboration, revitalize educational systems, and facilitate exchanges between decision-makers, educators, and all interested parties, encouraging students to integrate their language skills into their life experiences.

Gamification-based instruction in teaching Romanian as a foreign language (GIRO)
PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019-0259
“Young Teams” project funded by UEFISCDI
Project duration: 2021-2023
Project director: Andreea Nechifor
Project team: Răzvan Săftoiu, Georgiana Burbea, Ionuț Căpeneață
Project details: https://giro.unitbv.ro/
Description: The main objective of the project is to introduce the concept of “gamification” into Romanian as a foreign language classes. What is innovative and original is not only the fact that the subject itself is modern and has not been officially addressed in Romania to date from the point of view of foreign language teaching, but also that it could have a major international impact on the teaching of Romanian as a foreign language. All team members have extensive experience in teaching Romanian as a foreign language and believe that gamification may be the best modern teaching method to polarize and unite candidates learning a foreign language from extremely different cultures, religions, education systems, and social environments. When communication in class is hindered by various taboo topics or words, when learning styles are extremely varied, when motivation declines, especially when it comes to learning Romanian as a foreign language, as it is one of the most difficult languages to learn, gamification can be a real answer.

The implicit causality of verbs in relation to discourse structure
Project funded by Transilvania University of Brașov, Romania
Project director: Sofiana Lindemann
Description: This project addresses a niche topic in Romanian research, which is in its early stages and in the international scientific context, investigating the semantic structure of verbs and how it contributes to the reception of discourse. The research method is both empirical and theoretical.

Predictability in reference resolution
PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2020-0731
Exploratory research project funded by UEFISCDI
Project duration: 2021-2023
Project director: Sofiana Lindemann
Project team: Mădălina Matei, Sonia Țîru, Vlăduț Minea, Marta Corcotoi
Project details: https://refproc.unitbv.ro/
Description: The main objective is to investigate the impact of the semantic structure of verbs on discourse. More specifically, we will analyze how verbs with an implicit causal structure constrain the probability of anaphoric repetition and pronominalization of a referent in discourse. We will look at the effect of these verbs on coherence relations within discourse. In this regard, we will also analyze the effect of these verbs on coherence relations within discourse. We will focus on data from the Romanian language, which we will then compare with results from other languages.

An integrative approach to propositional adjuncts in contemporary media discourse in Romance languages
PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2019-0052
Postdoctoral research project funded by UEFISCDI
Project duration: 2020-2022
Project director: Alice-Magdalena Bodoc
Project team: Răzvan Săftoiu (mentor)
Project details: https://roamed.unitbv.ro/
Description: The project explores the syntactic and semantic-pragmatic features of complex syntactic structures with propositional adjuncts in Romanian and compares these features with those in Italian, French, and Spanish, using a corpus of online media texts. The investigation focuses on aspects such as sentence structure, connectors, word order, and informational aspects. The innovation lies in the collection of an original corpus, the construction of an exhaustive database, and the adoption of an integrated theoretical perspective that combines modern syntax with semantics and pragmatics. This comparative approach highlights both the similarities and differences between Romance languages, complementing previous research that has been predominantly descriptive in nature.

Responsabilité et entrepreneuriat social entre équité, appropriation et utilité - RESEAU
Project director: Corina Silvia Micu
Project duration: 2020-2022
Project objectives:
• Creating a support network for social entrepreneurship;
• Strengthening the skills of university teachers and students in the field of social entrepreneurship and sustainable development;
• Developing optional courses and training programs in the field of social entrepreneurship;
• Developing digital tools for social entrepreneurship;
• Strengthening partnerships between universities and associations active in the field of social entrepreneurship.
Activities:
1. Developing presentation materials on social entrepreneurship for the academic community (result: PDF document in French, Les meilleurs pratiques de l'entrepreneuriat social).
2. Creating digital tools for use in the field of social entrepreneurship (results: animations in Romanian and French, videos on social entrepreneurship activities)
3. Training in social entrepreneurship (result: training provided by Mr. Omar Bendjelloun, FINETIC, France, November 2021)
4. Summer school on social entrepreneurship in rural communities (result: Summer school on social entrepreneurship - field visit and round table, July 2021, Saschiz, Viscri)
5. Hackathon on social entrepreneurship (January 2022, result: videos on successful social entrepreneurship activities)

The evolution of Korean culture between 1900 and 2010 from a Romanian perspective
AKS-2020-R47
Project funded by the Academy of Korean Studies (South Korea)
Project duration: February 2020 – December 2021
Project director: Elena Buja
Project team: Jinhee Kim (National Andong University, South Korea)
Description: The main objective of the project was to identify the changes that have taken place in Korean society over the last 150 years. To this end, we used three methods of data collection: 1) reading a considerable number of novels written by Korean authors whose plots cover this period; 2) an online questionnaire; and 3) information obtained from interviews with Korean respondents. The focus was on cultural elements such as “attitudes, social hierarchies, social roles, and beliefs” (Samovar and Porter 2003: 8). The results of the research indicate changes in most of the areas investigated.

LanGuide
Erasmus+ Project
Coordinator for Transilvania University: Cristina Dimulescu
Project duration: 2019-2022
Project team: Cristina Dimulescu, Andreea Nechifor
Description: The project developed a digital language learning tool, focusing on internationalised education and flexible learning paths. It involved six European universities specialising in language acquisition and software development. The project created a universal methodology for language acquisition for specific purposes (LSP), implemented with the help of a software application. This tool, intended for students, teachers, and administrative staff, offers resources in English and the languages of the project partners, covering different levels of difficulty and LSP areas. The impact of the project is due to its widespread use, with the materials, software, application, and monograph available free of charge on the website.

Discursive reference: Processing pronouns and demonstratives
PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2016-1241, PNCDI III
“Young Teams” project funded by UEFISCDI
Project duration: 2018-2020
Project director: Sofiana Lindemann
Project team: Stanca Măda, Laura Sasu
Project details: https://refdisc.unitbv.ro
Description: This project investigates the impact of defined noun phrases on discourse. More specifically, we explore how pronouns and demonstratives structure ongoing discourse in terms of the organization of referents in discourse. We focus on data obtained from German and Romanian. We will design and conduct two discourse continuation experiments. Based on the data obtained, we will develop the referential management model introduced by Chiriacescu (2014) and Brocher, Chiriacescu, von Heusinger (2016).

Identity construction in Romanian and European parliamentary discourse. A pragmatic-rhetorical approach
PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-0056
“Young Teams” project funded by UEFISCDI
Project duration: 2015-2017
Project director: Răzvan SĂFTOIU
Project team: Mădălina MATEI, Stanca MĂDA, Adrian TOADER, Violeta RUS
Description: For over twenty years, researchers from various fields—political science, history, sociology, and linguistics—have been involved in the analysis of parliamentary discourse and have given the subject an interdisciplinary perspective. Political scientists have been mainly interested in the structure, changes, and evolution of Parliament as an institution (Judge 1993, Copeland and Patterson 1997, Heidar and Koole 2000, Strøm et al. 2003) or in the comparative analysis of different parliamentary systems (Searing 1994, Döring 1995, Olson and Norton 1996, Esaiasson and Heidar 2000, Ionescu 2006). The linguistic, discursive, and/or rhetorical characteristics of parliamentary discourse have also been addressed: deliberative parliamentary argumentation (Steiner et al. 2004, Andone 2012), parliamentary question-and-answer models (Franklin and Norton 1993), and issues related to the gender of interlocutors (McDougall 1998, Shaw 2000, Gomard and Krogstad 2001, Christie 2002, Shaw 2013). In this project, the team was mainly interested in continuing the linguistic tradition (van Dijk 2000, 2010, Fairclough 2000, 2005, Fairclough and Fairclough 2012, Ilie 2003, 2010, Chilton 2004), but also in developing an interdisciplinary perspective on parliamentary discourse research through a pragmatic-rhetorical analysis of discourse as a “form of speech” (Goffman 1981).

The theory of contemporary Romanian literary history in a European context. Concepts, methods, strategies
PN-II-RU-TE-2014-4-0240
“Young Teams” project funded by UEFISCDI
Project duration: 2015-2017
Project director: Rodica Ilie

Cultural discourses and forms of legitimation in 20th-century European literature
“Ideas” project funded by PN II, UEFISCDI
Project duration: 2008-2011
Project director: Rodica Ilie

Theoretical database for the interdisciplinary study of contemporary cultural phenomena, current trends in the social sciences and humanities and in literary and artistic creation, postmodern themes and concepts
Project code A 918
Project director: Andrei Bodiu
Completed with the volume: Repertoar de termeni postmoderni (Repertoire of Postmodern Terms), coord. Caius Dobrescu and Andrei Bodiu, Transilvania University Press, Brașov, 2009.

Theoretical models and applications for the differentiated reception of literary works by canonical Romanian writers in accordance with the curriculum reform for secondary education
Project code A 916
Project director: Caius Dobrescu
Completed with the volume: Literatură și civilizație. Scriitorii români canonici și reforma curriculară (Literature and Civilization. Canonical Romanian Writers and Curriculum Reform), vols. I and II, coord. Caius Dobrescu and Andrei Bodiu, Transilvania University Press, Brașov, 2008.

Competitiveness and efficiency in specialized intercultural communication through the optimization of online resources
CNCSIS Type A Project, code 929
Project duration: 2007-2008
Project director: Marinela Burada
Project team: Mona Brigitte Arhire, Andreea Bianca Brătan (Nechifor), Oana Andreea Pîrnuță, Oana Tatu, Raluca Georgiana Sinu – Faculty of Letters; Livia Sângeorzan, Costel Aldea, Kinga Kiss Iakab, Lucian Sasu – Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science.

Institutional language and intercultural communication in multinational companies in Romania
CNCSIS project, code 1052
Project duration: 2007-2008
Project director: Liliana Coposescu.
Project team: Gabriela Chefneux, Gabriela Cusen, Liliana Hamzea, Mihaela Gheorghe, Silviu Coposescu, Florentina Scârneci, Carmen Buzea.

A re-examination of the contemporary literary canon from the perspective of the concept of revelatory experience and European ethos, with application to the interwar Romanian novel
CNCSIS project, code 917
Project director: Virgil Podoabă
Completed in 2007 with the volume of studies: Cărțile supraviețuitoare (The Surviving Books), coord. Virgil Podoabă, Aula Publishing House, 2008.

Professional language in contemporary Romanian. Linguistic patterns and discursive structures
CNCSIS project, code 142
Project duration: 2007-2009
Project director: Mihaela Gheorghe
Project team: Liliana Coposescu, Stanca Măda, Răzvan Săftoiu

Theoretical models of literary reception as a means of achieving educational reform objectives: methods of teaching post-war Romanian poetry in secondary education
CNCSIS project, code 1018
Project director: Andrei Bodiu
Completed with the volume: Poezia română postbelică (Post-war Romanian Poetry), ed. by Andrei Bodiu and Caius Dobrescu, Brașov, Transilvania University Press, 2006.

Representations of corruption in Romanian literary and intellectual modernity – a European context
Project director: Ovidiu Moceanu
Completed with the volume: Dea Munera, coord. Caius Dobrescu, Ovidiu Moceanu, Transilvania University Press, Brașov, 2005.

Rural Education Program
Contract 720/04.10.2005 with MedC-UMPIR.
Coordinator for Transilvania University: Vladimir Mărăscu-Klein
Project team: Andrei Bodiu, Mihaela Gheorghe, Rodica Ilie, Adrian Lăcătuș