Professor of Sociology

 Office adress: Bd. Expoziției 30A, room 703

 e-mail:       astoica[at]politice.ro

 Department: Departament of Sociology

 CV: Click for CV 

 Personal webpage: Click

Courses: Methods and Techniques for Social Research; Stratification and Inequality; Social Survey and Public Opinion Polls; Economic Anthropology (graduate level); Social Stratification and Mobility (graduate level)

Research Interests: Social research methodology; social stratification and inequality; economic sociology and anthropology; quantitative methods; conspiracy theories; social movements; sociology of communism and post-communism;

Bio: He is a Professor of Sociology, within the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Political Sciences. In 2005, he obtained his Ph.D. in Sociology from Stanford University; while a graduate student at Stanford, he independently designed and taught courses on “Introduction to Sociology,” “Social Stratification,” and “Sociology of Communism and Post-Communist Societies.” He also holds Masters Degrees in Sociology from Stanford University and Central European University. Between 2007 and 2015, he was the General Manager of the Center for Urban and Regional Sociology (CURS) – a top, private Romanian firm for social and market research. His works have been published in Romanian, US, German, Polish, and Hungarian journals and books. His publications include: „Suspicious Minds in Times of Crisis: Determinants of Romanians’ Beliefs in Covid-19 Conspiracy Theories” (co-author Radu Umbreş, 2020), “Our Martyrs of 1989 Did Not Die for This!’: Political Capitalism in Post-Communist Romania” (2012), “Old Habits Die Hard? An Exploratory Analysis of Communist-era Social Ties in Post-Communist Romania” (2012), “The Multiple Facets of Popular Discontent: A Sociological Outline of the University Square Protests from January 2012” (in Romanian, 2012), “Once Upon a Time There Was a Big Party: The Social Origins of the Romanian Communist Party” (2005, 2006), “From Good Communists to Even Better Capitalists? Entrepreneurial Pathways in Post-Socialist Romania” (2004). He is the author of the books “Introduction to the Study of Social Stratification and Mobility: Theories, Measures, and Models of analysis” (in Romanian, Tritonic Publishing House, 2022) and “Continuous Romania: Change and Adaptation in Communism and Postcommunism” (in Romanian, Humanitas Publishing House, 2018). He has translated from English into Romanian Mark Granovetter’s volume “Society and Economy: Framework and Principles” (Art Publishing House, 2022). He co-edited (with the late Vintilă Mihăilescu) the volume “The Winter of Our Discontent: The Romanian Protests from January-February, 2012,” (in Romanian, Paideia Publishing House 2012).