Academic Centre
We are launching a research project "Ethnographer, Society, and Art: Symbiosis of Ethnology and Art and Discourse of the Soviet Colonialism in Latvia" (lzp-2023/1-052), in which for the first time since the restoration of independence, a scientific evaluation of the field of ethnology during the period of the Soviet occupation will be provided. We are also focusing on increasing the public understanding of the influence of the Soviet colonial policy on the system of creating and controlling knowledge, as well as the role of ethnography and art in uniting society and creating a common identity. We want to encourage research of the listed topics in Latvia and look at it in a wider interdisciplinary context.
To outline the framework of the researched topic, we invite researchers and students of humanities and social sciences whose interests include the history of the branches of science related to the ethnography, daily life, or artistic developments during the Soviet occupation period, to the conference section "Ethnographer, Society, Art. 1940–1990" by submitting reports related to any of the following topics:
- The political, administrative and legal regulation affecting the development of the field of ethnography;
- Creation of ethnological knowledge and its use for the purposes of Soviet ideology;
- Ethnological knowledge as a resource for strengthening national identity under colonialism;
- Points of contact between ethnography, archaeology, folkloristics, and other fields of science during the Soviet occupation period;
- The symbiosis of ethnographic cultural heritage and art;
- Ethnographic cultural heritage and its use in education during the Soviet occupation period.
The conference section will be held in person, in Riga, Kalpaka blvd. 4, in room 108. The working language of the section is Latvian and English.
Please submit your proposal to the conference by February 19 by filling out the registration form.
Acceptance of papers for the conference will be announced by February 26.
The collection of theses of the conference will be published in electronic format and placed in the repository of the University of Latvia. Approved referees are asked to submit their thesis (up to 1800 characters long) for the collection by March 11, 2024.
