VENUE

The conference will be held at the West University of Timișoara, 4, Bd. Vasile Pârvan. The Department of Teacher Training (D.P.P.D.) is a pedagogical and research-oriented unit of the West University of Timișoara which offers training to students and graduates interested in teaching careers. It also focuses on continuing education and further psycho-pedagogical specialization of teachers of all levels of education, from primary to post-graduate.

The largest city in Western Romania, Timişoara is the capital of Timiş County, and the centre of the historical region of the Banat. The fortress built in the 13th century was occupied by the Turks in the 16th century, and conquered by the troops of Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1716. The construction of the modern city started in the 18th century. Timișoara was the first city in Europe which introduced horse-drawn public trams (1869), and the first European city lit by electric street lamps - in 1884 (second in the world, after New York.

The tape script of the first film inspired from Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula (Dracula’s Death 1921) was printed at Timișoara (see Marius Crișan, The Impact of a Myth: Dracula and the Fictional Representation of the Romanian Space, 2013, p. 206). Timișoara is also the birthplace of the actor Johnny Weissmuller (famous for the role of Tarzan in the original Hollywood film Tarzan the Ape Man 1932).

During the centuries, visitors have been impressed by the cultural atmosphere of the city, by the hospitality of the inhabitants, and their open and tolerant views. Andrew A. Paton’s words can be considered a synthesis of foreign travellers’ impressions on Timișoara: “... if a stranger were to have his eyes bandaged, he would suppose that he had been carried back towards the centre of Europe” (A. A. Paton, Researches on the Danube, 1862, p. 31).

For additional information about the city, see : http://romaniatourism.com/timisoara.html