LITBEL Researchers at an International Conference
LITBEL Researchers Explore Literature, Belonging, and Digital Culture at an International Conference in Riga
From 16 to 18 September 2026, the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (ILFA) hosted the international scholarly conference “What Makes Literature? Redefining Realism, Poetics, and Belonging” in Riga. Organised as part of ILFA’s 80th anniversary celebrations, the conference brought together literary and cultural scholars from Latvia and 17 other countries, featuring 66 presentations. Seven papers were delivered by researchers involved in the State Research Programme project LITBEL.
The conference explored fundamental questions about what constitutes literature, how literary traditions are shaped and transformed, and how literature contributes to individual and collective identities, cultural memory, and a sense of belonging. Over three days, participants discussed realism and literary poetics, the relationship between literature and political power, cultural boundaries and migration, as well as the changing conditions of literary production, circulation, and reception in the digital age.
The keynote speakers were Riikka Rossi (University of Helsinki), Rosa Mucignat (King’s College London), and Dirk Göttsche (University of Nottingham). Their contributions addressed the relationship between realism and emotion, linguistic diversity, and memory politics, while the thematic sessions situated Latvian literary scholarship within broader European and global comparative perspectives.
The conference was jointly organised within the framework of two ILFA research projects: “Latvian Literature as Belonging: Personalities, Poetics, and the Public Sphere” (LITBEL), led by Eva Eglāja-Kristsone, and “Recovering Latvian Realism: Literary Innovations as a Search for Identity” (REALT), led by Benedikts Kalnačs.
LITBEL Research: From Literary Form to Digital Culture
LITBEL researchers presented findings across three interconnected research areas: literary poetics and canon dynamics, periodicals and public culture, and digital environments and the literary ecosystem.
The research strand “Poetics and Canon Dynamics: Form, Voice, Politics” (WP2) was represented by Sandra Meškova, Ilze Ļaksa-Timinska, and Anda Baklāne.
In her paper “Representation of Places of Memory in Anita Liepa’s and Māra Zālīte’s Life Writing”, Sandra Meškova examined representations of memory sites in the autobiographical writing of Anita Liepa and Māra Zālīte. Her research explored the relationship between place, individual experience, and cultural memory, highlighting the role of life writing in shaping personal and collective identities.
Ilze Ļaksa-Timinska, in “Everyday Stalinism in Latvian Short Prose of the 1920s–1930s USSR”, investigated representations of everyday Stalinism in Latvian short prose produced in the Soviet Union during the 1920s and 1930s. Her paper examined the interaction between literary form and ideological circumstances, drawing attention to Latvian literary experiences beyond the borders of the Latvian state.
Anda Baklāne (National Library of Latvia) presented “Mapping Realism: Rural and Urban Space in Latvian Novels, 1879–1940”. Her research explored representations of rural and urban space in Latvian novels between 1879 and 1940, connecting questions of realist poetics, literary modernity, and spatial analysis. The presentation also demonstrated the potential of digital humanities methods for investigating literary history.
The research strand “Literature, Public Culture and the Periodical Press” (WP3) was represented by Paula Lāce and Jānis Oga.
In “Taking Literature Outside: Literatura.lv, Literary Routes, and Public Humanities”, Paula Lāce explored how the digital literary resource Literatura.lv can be used to communicate literary heritage to wider audiences, with particular attention to literary routes and public humanities initiatives. Her presentation demonstrated how digital research infrastructures can connect scholarship, cultural heritage, and public participation, making literary history accessible beyond academia.
Jānis Oga, in “Authorial Activism and Cultural Belonging in Late Soviet Latvian Periodicals (1982–1985)”, examined writers’ public engagement and discourses of cultural belonging in Latvian periodicals during the late Soviet period. His research approached the periodical press not merely as a medium for publishing literary texts but as a space of public communication in which ideas about culture, identity, and civic participation were articulated and negotiated.
The research strand “Digital Environments and the Literary Ecosystem” (WP4) was represented by Madara Stāde and Anete Saulīte-Stačkune.
In “Representation and Reinterpretation of Literature in Video Games: the Baltic Context”, Madara Stāde examined how literature is represented and reinterpreted in video games within the Baltic cultural context. Her research addressed transformations of literary content across digital media, raising questions about the boundaries of literature and emerging forms of literary expression and reception.
Anete Saulīte-Stačkune (National Library of Latvia) presented “Digitalizing the Tangible Experience: Screen-Mediated Practices in the Contemporary Latvian Publishing Industry”. Her paper analysed the influence of digital technologies and screen-mediated practices on contemporary Latvian publishing. It explored the interaction between traditional book culture and digital communication and distribution, highlighting transformations in the infrastructures through which literature reaches its audiences.
Strengthening International Collaboration and Advancing the LITBEL Research Agenda
The conference represented one of the major scholarly achievements of LITBEL’s first year, bringing together the project's research directions within an international academic forum.
The presentations reflected LITBEL’s central objective: to investigate Latvian literature as a historically changing cultural system in which literary forms, authorial experiences, periodical culture, public communication, and digital technologies interact with processes of identity formation and belonging.
The international scope of the conference provided an opportunity to discuss Latvian literary history and contemporary literary culture in a comparative framework, connecting research on Latvia with wider debates in European and global literary studies. It also strengthened collaboration among the project's partner institutions and the international research community.
LITBEL researchers made a substantial contribution not only to the scholarly programme but also to the organisation of the conference. Eva Eglāja-Kristsone, Director of ILFA and Principal Investigator of LITBEL, was one of the conference's principal organisers alongside Benedikts Kalnačs. Jānis Oga and Anda Baklāne also served on the conference's International Scientific Committee, contributing to the development of its academic programme and international research networks.
The conference demonstrated the relevance of LITBEL’s integrated approach to literary research. Understanding Latvian literature requires examining not only texts and their aesthetic qualities but also the historical, social, and technological conditions under which literature is produced, circulated, read, and interpreted.
By bringing these perspectives into dialogue, “What Makes Literature?” contributed to the international visibility of Latvian literary scholarship and reinforced the role of literature as a dynamic cultural practice through which communities negotiate memory, identity, and belonging.
Conference materials:
The conference was organised within the framework of the State Research Programme project “Latvian Literature as Belonging: Personalities, Poetics, and the Public Sphere” (LITBEL, No. VPP-IZM-Letonika-2025/1-0006) and the Fundamental and Applied Research Project “Recovering Latvian Realism: Literary Innovations as a Search for Identity” (REALT, No. lzp-2024/1-0341).
LITBEL is funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia under the State Research Programme “Letonika for the Development of a Latvian and European Society”. The conference also received support from the State Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, Riga Municipality's Live Riga programme, and the University of Latvia.