Maria Larionescu (1939-2026) – in memoriam

Abstract

Maria Larionescu (1939-2026) passed away quietly, leaving the memory of a dedicated researcher, with numerous achievements throughout a consistent and long career. She developed professionally over more than 60 rather tumultuous years, being part of both the renaissances and the critical periods of sociology that followed. Her accomplishments are recorded in several thematic areas, from field research in industrial sociology (in the 1960s) and rural sociology (in the 1970s), to important chapters in the history of Romanian sociology, and finally to significant contributions to the study of social phenomena such as post-communist deindustrialization or social polarization. Her exemplary moral traits also remain indelibly in the memory of those who knew her.