Day of Aspiring Scholars 3
For the third consecutive year, doctoral students in humanities and social sciences and PhD candidates are invited to apply for the scholarly and creative conference "Day of Aspiring Scholars", which, for the first time, will take place in a hybrid format: the papers will be read in person, but a live internet broadcast will be provided, as well as the opportunity to submit pre-recorded poster presentations.
The aim of the conference is to promote academic growth of future researchers by supporting networking and solidarity. Unlike previous years, when the conference did not have a unifying theme, this year the theme of the conference is creativity in scholarship.
This theme allows highlighting creative and interdisciplinary approaches in research, thus not only creating a space for an exchange of ideas, but also supporting innovative research. Applicants are invited to reflect on what are the main unexpected obstacles encountered while developing doctoral work, and how these obstacles can be overcome using interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, or experimental approaches, collaboration and/or various creative solutions.
The organizers encourage participants to present not only academic papers but also – to prepare interdisciplinary and creative presentations. When creating the program, applications for both academic papers and artistic performances will be considered, emphasizing those that have been developed both individually and collaboratively, and blurring the line between creative self-expression and research.
Read more...The 12th International Conference of Young Folklorists
The 12th International Conference of Young Folklorists "Beyond the Field: Fieldwork in the 21st Century" will take place from 13 to 15 September 2023. Since 2010, conferences have been held alternately in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, and in 2022 for the first time in Finland. It brings together young researchers in the field from the region.
Read more: here
Read more...DHELI project launched to advance digital humanities in Latvia
With the aim to strengthen and develop the humanities in Latvia, a new project of the National Research Programme "Digital Humanities" called "Towards Development of Open and FAIR Digital Humanities Ecosystem in Latvia" or DHELI is being launched at the beginning of this year, with funding from the Science Council of Latvia. The project is coordinated by the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Arts of the University of Latvia with Dr. philol. Sanita Reinsone as its lead, and involves representatives from the National Library of Latvia, Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Latvia Institute of Latvian Language and Livonian Institute, Rēzekne Academy of Technologies, Riga Technical University.
Digital Humanities (DH) is an interdisciplinary area of research that blends fundamental and applied research methods to address questions within the humanities, social sciences, and arts. This field employs computational methods and uses digital resources and tools for data processing, analysis, and visualization. A prime example of the practical application and wide usage of DH is language technology, showcasing the significance of a well-established digital humanities infrastructure that not only supports researchers but also benefits a wider audience.
The DHELI project builds upon the outcomes of the National Research Programme project "Digital Resources for the Humanities: Development and Integration," which was completed in October 2022. This was the first inter-institutional and interdisciplinary project in Latvia devoted to digital humanities and received an exceptional evaluation from international evaluators, affirming its remarkable impact and successful results.
Read more...The Call for Papers in a panel on folklore revivals in non-democratic contexts (SIEF2023 Congress “Living Uncertainty”)
Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia (ILFA) is looking forward to the SIEF2023 Congress “Living Uncertainty” which will take place in Brno in June next year!
Together with colleagues from the University of Tartu and the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore, we are organizing a panel on folklore revivals in non-democratic contexts. We welcome scholars to submit paper proposals on the uncertainties and strategies of people practicing folklore under strong governmental control of public expression during the second half of the 20th century.
The Call for Papers is open until 10 January 2023!
Please share this information with scholars who do research in this field and would be interested in presenting and networking.
The panel is organized within the research project “Folklore Revival in Latvia: Resources, Ideologies and Practices” implemented in 2022–2024 and funded by the Latvian Council of Science (Project No: lzp-2021/1-0243).
Baltic Belles: The Dedalus Book of Latvian Women's Literature
Dedalus Books Ltd has published an anthology of Latvian women's short fiction, compiled and foreworded by Eva Eglāja-Kristsone, senior researcher at ILFA.
It is a period marked by change, war, occupying regimes, and renewed freedom. Much of the early work written by Latvian women writers such as Anna Rumane-Kenina, Angelika Gailite, Anna Brigadere, Alija Baumane, and Mirdza Bendrupe is realist in nature, depicting an upheaval of mores and relationships forged not through tradition, but the pangs of love and passion.The Soviet era brought strict censorship to all forms of the arts, including literature.Despite this, authors like Regina Ezera were able to push their craft deeper into the psychological analysis of their characters. On the other side of the Iron Curtain, US-based Latvian exile writer Ilze Skipsna forged ahead with her own version of the psychological short story.
The work of authors such as Andra Neiburga, Gundega Repse and Nora Ikstena in the late 80s and early 90s heralded a new era of female writers in a country yearning for its freedom which it finally achieved. Authors who appeared after the millennium like Inga Abele, and Inga Zolude, who have shaped and continue to shape contemporary Latvian literature, round out this collection.
The stories have been translated by Ieva Lešinska, Žanete Vēvere, Māra Rozīte, Laura Adlers and Susan McQuade.
More information here.
Online Game “Reassemble a Folk Song!”
The Archives of Latvian Folklore of the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Arts of the University of Latvia has developed a digital, online game "Reassemble a Folk Song!". The game is based on a puzzle principle, where the text of a folk song has to be "broken" into pieces. The game is available for everyone after registration at https://saliectautasdziesmu.garamantas.lv.
Folk songs are one of the cornerstones of Latvian culture. For centuries, they have been considered to be a source of national ideas, history and values. The collection of folklore, and folk songs in particular, in the 19th century was not only a documentation of folk self-expressions, but an important event on the difficult path towards development of the nation. The collection consisting of almost 219,000 folk song texts was gathered and organised by K. Barons at the second half of the 19th century. Collection is stored in the Dainu Skapis (Cabinet of Dainas), which has now become a symbol of Latvian traditional culture. Since 2001, the Dainu Skapis has been included in the International Register of the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme.
Read more...New Letonica is issued
The 45th issue of the humanities journal "Letonica", which brings together research on various topics related to Latvian culture, is now available.
Letonica Nr. 47 is issued
The thematic issue of the journal "Letonica" "Digital Humanities in Latvia" (No. 47) has been published, the aim of which is to provide an overview of the current situation of digital humanities in Latvia. Digital humanities today encompasses several interconnected fields, covering all stages of the data flow – data creation, storage, analysis, research, visualisation, communication and practical use of research results.
The articles provide an insight into the history and development of digital humanities resources and tools in Latvia, describe the principles and problematic situations in the development of individual resources, and analyse their content, illustrating the application of various digital humanities methods in research.
Contents and journal available: http://lulfmi.lv/en/Letonica-Nr-47
"Canonical and Non-canonical in Charming Texts and Practices" conference
On 6-9 September, in collaboration with the International Society for Folk Narrative Research (ISFNR) research group "Committee on Charms, Charmers and Charming", Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of University of Latvia and Archives of Latvian Folklore organised a conference "Canonical and Non-canonical in Charming Texts and Practices" at the National Library of Latvia.
Conference "CANONICAL AND NON-CANONICAL IN CHARMING TEXTS AND PRACTICES"
The Archives of Latvian Folklore (Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art) in collaboration with the ISFNR "Committee on Charms, Charmers and Charming" is organising an international conference "CANONICAL AND NON-CANONICAL IN CHARMING TEXTS AND PRACTICES", which will take place on 6–9 September 2022 at the National Library of Latvia.
Read more...The 44th issue of journal "Letonica" (English edition) is published
The 44th issue of the humanities journal "Letonica" (English edition) goes to readers in July and introduces the paradigm of the environmental humanities and its relation to Latvian history and today's challenges.
The issue is edited by environmental geographer Anita Zariņa (Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Latvia), philosopher Artis Svece (Faculty of History and Philosophy, University of Latvia), and environmental geographer Ivo Vinogradovs (Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Latvia). In the introduction to the issue, the relevance of environmental humanities from a global perspective is stated, and the contribution of Latvian researchers is highlighted.
Read more...Public spaces: new forms of digital discourse(?)
On 14 June, the seminar "Public spaces: new forms of digital discourse(?)" with Stuart Dunn will take place at the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia, organized in cooperation with Riga Technical University.
The seminar will start at 10:00 and will last up to an hour and a half.
Place: The reading room of the Archives of Latvian Folklore, Floor 5, the National Library of Latvia (Mūkusalas street 3).
ILFA welcomes a fellow researcher from Ukraine
During the next few months, Ukrainian researcher Iryna Pupurs will be working at the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia. Iryna Pupurs is a literature researcher from the T. Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv (http://www.ilnan.gov.ua), department of comparative literature. Her main research interests include Orientalism in the Ukrainian and European literatures, Romanticism, imagology, and the problems of comparative literature studies. At the ILFA she will do a study on conceptual principles of creating modern literary encyclopedias by investigating the Latvian experience. She will also do research on comparative history of Ukrainian Romanticism and continue the study of Orientalism in Ukrainian Literature. Iryna Pupurs will be conducting a public seminar sometime in May to introduce her research projects.
An application to the fellowship grant program for Ukrainian scholars of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia and the State Education Development Agency is expected to provide support hosting for Iryna Pupurs.
LFMI continues to actively participate and take a coordinating effort in the international #ScienceForUkraine movement. #ScienceForUkraine movement.
Photo: ILFA’s director Eva Eglāja-Kristsone (on the left) and Ukrainian literature researcher Iryna Pupurs
ILFA support for Ukrainian Humanities scholars
03.10.2022. ILFA short-term grant possibility for Ukrainian hum-soc scholars registered in Latvia
Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art (ILFA) of the University of Latvia welcomes Ukrainian humanities and social sciences researchers already registered in Latvia to contact us in case of interest to prepare an application (first deadline October 19) for a short-term full-time grant (2000 EUR per month, including taxes). Provable research experience in the fields of post-Soviet & decolonial arts (especially folklore and folk music), urban studies, or gender/women studies is required.
Information about the grant program (in Latvian): https://lzp.gov.lv/2022/09/21/par-ukrainas-petnieku-iesaisti-fundamentalo-un-lietisko-petijumu-projektos/
Meanwhile, we are looking for mid-term and long-term grant options. Communication languages: English (preferred), Russian, and we will do our best to answer also in Ukrainian.
For further information, contact: Ieva Vīvere (ieva.vivere@lulfmi.lv)
Read more...A New Study in the History of Latvian Literature and Culture
A study on the history of 19th century Latvian literature performed by the Institute of Literature, Folklore and Art of the University of Latvia was published in February 2022 by the prestigious academic publishing house "Peter Lang" in Berlin, Germany.
The book is published in the series "Cross-roads. Studies of Culture, Literary Theory, and History" in English titled "A New History of Latvian Literature: the Long Nineteenth Century". The aim of the study was to analyse and interpret 19th-century Latvian society and culture in relation to the emergence of modernity. Emphasising the need to approach the history of literature from an interdisciplinary perspective, the work has involved specialists from various disciplines. The book was compiled and edited by literary scholars Pauls Daija and Benedikts Kalnačs, with the participation of art historian Kristiāna Ābele (Art History Institute, Art Academy of Latvia), literary scholar Inguna Daukste-Silasproģe, historian Mārtiņš Mintaurs (National Library of Latvia), folklore researcher Ginta Pērle-Sīle and Germanist Aiga Šemeta (University of Latvia).
Read more...