LETONICA's special issue "German Philosophy and Science Tradition in the Baltics: History and Actuality of a Creative Constellation"
We are pleased to announce an open call for papers for the special issue of LETONICA – a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal dedicated to studying society and culture in Latvia and the Baltic region. The topic of the special issue GERMAN PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE TRADITION IN BALTIC: HISTORY AND ACTUALITY OF A CREATIVE CONSTELLATION is linked to the theme discussed in conferences in Riga (2024, 2025) and Eutin, Germany (2024) organized in the framework of the Project “Forgotten Philosophers. Erica Sehl and Kurt Stavenhagen at the Herder Institute in Riga and in the World” (LZP FLPP) by the Faculty of Humanities of University of Latvia, but is not limited to scope with topics and papers presented in the conferences.
Prof. Dr. Raivis Bičevskis (University of Latvia) and Dr. Kaspar Renner (University of Potsdam) are the guest editors of the special issue.
European philosophy and the history of science are not only a unified process but also the result of specific regions, places, times, and creative constellations. During the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, philosophy and science in the Baltic region were based on the tradition of German-speaking countries. In this tradition, scientific institutions and societies were established in the Baltics, bright personalities appeared, and brilliant texts were written. Romanticism, the expansive development of the natural sciences of the 19th century, the new perspectives of the spiritual sciences, and the creative and ambivalent ideas of the 20th century – the Baltics are not a region where these processes are perceived only passively, but a region whose philosophers, scientists, writers and researchers actively participate in them and even change the course of these processes.
The special issue of the journal is dedicated to the philosophy and sciences of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries in the Baltics, with an emphasis on the German-speaking tradition and on persons, events, institutions, and processes that have influenced the development of philosophy and sciences up to the present day. Thus, the focus of the journal issue is on both specific philosophers and scientists who are biographically connected to the Baltics and creative constellations in which new ideas and methods, ways of thinking, and approaches are being created and in which many scientists, institutions, and societies are involved.
The articles in the magazine issue aim to answer the following questions:
What processes (positive and negative) influenced the development of philosophy and sciences in the Baltics?
What role do German idealism and German romanticism play in Baltic sciences and literature?
What role did scientific societies play in the development of sciences?
What role did higher education institutions (the University of Tartu, the Herder Institute in Riga, and the University of Latvia) play in the development of sciences?
What significant philosophers and scientists were involved in the Baltic constellation?
What were the shared ideological and institutional networks in philosophy and science between Germany and the Baltic states?
What was the significance of the German tradition in the formation of the Baltic states' national philosophical and scientific traditions?
What processes in philosophy and science of that time are significant and still relevant?
Submissions are welcome in English. Submitted abstracts (up to 500 words with a meaningful title and keywords) outlining the paper's problem, research design, results, and conclusions will be reviewed by editors. Authors of selected papers will be invited to submit full papers (from 5000 to 9000 words, including title, abstract, tables, figures, and bibliography; see the guidelines here: https://lulfmi.lv/en/page/view?link=journal-letonica/about). All full papers will be subjected to a double-blind peer review and revision if needed. No editing or administrative charge is foreseen.
Important dates and details:
Submission of abstracts: October 31, 2025
Acceptance letter: December 1, 2025
Submission of full papers: February 2, 2026
Publication of the issue: December 2026
Please send submissions by email: letonica@lulfmi.lv
Last time modified: 18.06.2025 11:02:45
