{"id":16,"date":"2024-04-04T04:19:24","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T01:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/balticbridge\/vilnius-2021\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T19:15:29","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T16:15:29","slug":"vilnius-2021","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/balticbridge\/vilnius-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Vilnius 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"margin-bottom: 12pt;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"line-height: normal;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: black;\">The <strong>8th Baltic Student Conference \u201cBridges in the Baltics\u201d<\/strong> was held on <strong>October 22-23, 2021<\/strong>, in Vilnius, Lithuania and was organized by <strong>University of Vilnius<\/strong>.<br>\nThe student conference hosted approximately <strong>50 students <\/strong>from 7 countries. In addition to student presentations, three plenary lectures were held.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0cm;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"662\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-64\" style=\"width: 1000px; height: 258px;\" title=\"Opening of the Conference in Vilnius 2021\" src=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/bb_2021_2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"People standing during the opening of the conference Bridges in the Baltics 2021\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/bb_2021_2-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/bb_2021_2-300x78.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/bb_2021_2-1024x265.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/bb_2021_2-768x199.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/bb_2021_2-1536x397.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/bb_2021_2-2048x529.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/bb_2021_2-1920x496.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\"><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/bb_final_programme.pdf\" data-fid=\"65427\">PROGRAMME OF THE CONFERENCE<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/bridges-in-the-baltics_abstracts_final.pdf\" data-fid=\"65428\">ABSTRACTS OF PARALLEL SESSIONS<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?set=a.2978769059013027&amp;type=3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/media\/set\/?set=a.2978769059013027&amp;type=3\"><strong>PHOTOS<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><span style=\"background: white;\"><span style=\"line-height: normal;\"><span lang=\"EN-US\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\">Plenary speakers<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n<p><strong>ALDIS GEDUTIS and K\u0118STAS KIRTIKLIS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-62 alignright\" style=\"float: right;\" title=\"gedutis_and_kirtiklis.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/gedutis_and_kirtiklis.jpg\" alt=\"Aldis Gedutis and K\u0119stas Kirtiklis\" width=\"404\" height=\"239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/gedutis_and_kirtiklis.jpg 1939w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/gedutis_and_kirtiklis-300x177.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/gedutis_and_kirtiklis-1024x606.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/gedutis_and_kirtiklis-768x454.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/gedutis_and_kirtiklis-1536x909.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/gedutis_and_kirtiklis-1920x1136.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 404px) 100vw, 404px\">We are happy to present the speakers of the first plenary session of the conference \u2013 philosophers <strong>Aldis Gedutis<\/strong> and <strong>K\u0119stas Kirtiklis<\/strong> from Lithuania.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cThe Humanities as a Martial Art: 14+ Ways of Self-Defence\u201d. <\/strong>Gedutis &amp; Kirtiklis state that the recent decades have witnessed rapid transformations of the global academia, which are quite often perceived as an assault on the humanities. Various groups put pressure on the humanities, demanding to justify their very existence in the contemporary world where the neoliberal grand narrative of economic value seems to prevail. And this is where self-defense begins.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>K\u0100RLIS V\u0112RDI\u0145\u0160<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Latvian poet <strong>K\u0101rlis V\u0113rdi\u0146\u0161<\/strong> is one of the plenary speakers of the conference this year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>Canonization Post Factum: Baltic Fiction in Central European Classics Series<\/strong>\u201d. <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-60 alignright\" style=\"float: right;\" title=\"Photo by Toms Harjo\" src=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/verdins-3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"K\u0101rlis V\u0113rdi\u0146\u0161\" width=\"318\" height=\"477\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/verdins-3-scaled.jpg 1708w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/verdins-3-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/verdins-3-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/verdins-3-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/verdins-3-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/verdins-3-1366x2048.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/verdins-3-1920x2879.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 318px) 100vw, 318px\">After the regaining of independence in 1991, all three Baltic literatures have experienced an increasing amount of translations in other languages. In 1993, Central European University Press in Budapest founded its Central European Classics book series which both attempted to revisit the canon of Central and Eastern European modern literature and \u201cto take these works of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century classic fiction \u2018out of the ghetto,\u2019 onto the shelves of Western booksellers, and into the consciousness of Western readers.\u201d Among nineteen translations of fiction, published so far, there are works by three Baltic authors: selections of short stories by Friedebert Tuglas and J\u0101nis Ezeri\u0146\u0161 as well as a novel by Kazys Boruta. These three Baltic writers have each his history of national literary fame, influenced by the political shifts of Baltic history of the 20th century, which occasionally spills over the national borders. All of them were more or less involved in the process of circulation of Baltic literature among the three states, and all of them have a bibliography of translations in Baltic languages as well as in other literary markets. However, it is not easy to imagine them \u201cgoing viral,\u201d i.e., suddenly acquiring the status of canonized international writers whose work would irreversibly change the consciousness of Western readers. To present them to the 21st-century readers as Baltic classics is a challenging task. Firstly, their work usually is defined in terms of their literary influences: major European writers of the past or the strong influence of peasant culture and folklore in their work. Secondly, Baltic contemporary literature seems to be seen by the western reader first of all as a depository of tragic and traumatic stories about the cruelty of history, mass deportations, two world wars, as well as Nazi and Soviet occupations. Read against such contemporary narratives, works by Tuglas, Ezeri\u0146\u0161 and Boruta might seem not \u201cauthentic\u201d enough or too \u201clocal\u201d as those writers are not conforming to such stereotypes.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p><strong>KERTTU ROZENVALDE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1448\" height=\"1448\" class=\"wp-image-61 alignright\" style=\"width: 240px; height: 240px; float: right;\" title=\"kertu.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/kertu.jpg\" alt=\"Kerttu Rozenvalde\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/kertu.jpg 1448w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/kertu-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/kertu-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/kertu-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/284\/kertu-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1448px) 100vw, 1448px\"><strong>Kerttu Rozenvalde<\/strong> is currently working as a research fellow of language policy at the University of Tartu. Her academic interests include language issues in society, which she has mainly approached through analysing language policies in higher education. She is currently conducting research on language use and ideologies in a multilingual university in Estonia to understand the relationship between the sustainability of Estonian as language of higher education, and multilingual language use in university.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<strong>The State of Latvia \u2013 Preserver and Developer of Latvian as Language of Higher Education?<\/strong>\u201d. In my presentation I will investigate the positions of state policymakers in Latvia on the use of Latvian, English, and Russian in higher education. By using argumentation analysis, I will explore policymakers\u2019 statements in two recently held public debates: on the use of Russian as a medium of instruction and on the use of English as a language of doctoral theses. I will show that the main difference of opinion among policymakers is about the role of the state in conducting language policies in universities. This explains the question mark in the title of my presentation: is the state of Latvia acting today in the interest of preserving and developing Latvian as language of higher education, and should the state be doing it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 8th Baltic Student Conference \u201cBridges in the Baltics\u201d was held on October 22-23, 2021, in Vilnius, Lithuania and was organized by University of Vilnius. The student conference hosted approximately 50 students from 7 countries. In addition to student presentations, &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-16","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/balticbridge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/balticbridge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/balticbridge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/balticbridge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/balticbridge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/balticbridge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1020,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/balticbridge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16\/revisions\/1020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/balticbridge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}