Claudia Moscovici, born on 1 June 1969 in Bucharest, is a Romanian-American novelist, literary scholar, and co-founder of an international aesthetic movement. Educated at Princeton University and Brown University, she has taught at Boston University and the University of Michigan, publishing across fiction, philosophy, and Holocaust studies. Her debut novel drew on her family’s experience under the Ceaușescu regime and was described by novelist Ken Kalfus as a work that “triumphs on several levels: as a taut political thriller, as a meditation on totalitarianism, as an expose of the Ceausescu regime, and as a moving fictionalized memoir of one family’s quest for freedom.” The Psychopathy Awareness blog she founded in February 2010 had accumulated more than 6.6 million hits according to its own statistics counter.
Key facts
- Born: 1 June 1969
- Birthplace: Bucharest
- Country: United States
- Occupation: novelist
- Employer: University of Michigan; Boston University
- Education: Princeton University
Education and Academic Career
Moscovici earned an A.B. in Comparative Literature from Princeton University, then pursued graduate study at Brown University, where she completed a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature with a focus on French Enlightenment and Romanticism. Both degrees shaped the intellectual range her later writing would cover, from eighteenth-century philosophical thought to contemporary fiction.
Her academic appointments included a position as assistant professor in the Division of Humanities and Rhetoric at Boston University, a role noted in the author biography accompanying her 2001 scholarly book, and a post at the University of Michigan. Her third scholarly book, Double Dialectics: Between Universalism and Relativism in Enlightenment and Postmodern Thought, was published by Rowman and Littlefield in 2001.
Postromanticism
In 2002, Moscovici co-founded with Mexican sculptor Leonardo Pereznieto an international aesthetic movement called Postromanticism. The movement is devoted to celebrating beauty, passion, and sensuality in contemporary art, and it operates across national boundaries, connecting writers and visual artists who share those values.
Fiction
Her debut novel, Velvet Totalitarianism: Post-Stalinist Romania, was published by Rowman and Littlefield in September 2009. The book draws on biographical elements from her family’s life under the Ceaușescu regime, including her father’s defection to the United States and the family’s dealings with Romania’s secret police, the Securitate, though she fictionalized both historical and biographical elements to give the novel a tighter dramatic structure. Ken Kalfus described it as succeeding simultaneously as political thriller, philosophical meditation, political exposé, and fictionalized memoir.
In 2011, a Romanian translation of the novel appeared under the title Intre Doua Lumi, published by Curtea Veche Publishing. The novel’s journey into another language brought the story back to the country whose history it examines.
Another novel, Dangerous Liaisons, was translated into Italian as Relazioni Pericolose and published by Edizioni Sonda in 2017. Its launch took place at the Feltrinelli bookstore in Rome and at the Italian Parliament, the Camera dei Deputati. The Italian publisher described the translation as “il libro che aiuta le donne a riprendersi la vita” (the book that helps women reclaim their lives).
Holocaust Studies
Moscovici also wrote Holocaust Memories, a survey of memoirs and historical accounts of the Holocaust. The book received an endorsement from Guy Stern, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Wayne State University and Director of the International Institute of the Righteous Holocaust Memorial Center, who called it “a valuable and well-written guide to key works on various aspects of the Holocaust.”
Did you know
- The Psychopathy Awareness blog Moscovici founded in February 2010 had accumulated more than 6.6 million hits as recorded in the blog’s own statistics counter. (psychopathyawareness.wordpress.com)
- The Italian translation of Dangerous Liaisons is described by Italian publisher Edizioni Sonda as “il libro che aiuta le donne a riprendersi la vita” (the book that helps women reclaim their lives). (goodreads.com)
- Velvet Totalitarianism is partly inspired by her father’s defection to the United States and the family’s personal dealings with Romania’s secret police, the Securitate, though she fictionalized both historical and biographical elements to give the novel a tighter dramatic structure. (claudiamoscovici.wordpress.com)
Data sources
Data updated: 2026-10-30