Yale Baltic Studies Visiting Fellows Reunion Conference

Wednesday & Thursday, November 20 - 21, 2019

Location: Sterling Memorial Library, Lecture Hall

Conference Program

This event will bring to the Yale campus past Yale Baltic Studies Fellows. These scholars are from Lithuania – those who received the Joseph P. Kazickas Fellowship – and from Latvia and Estonia – those who received the Juris Padegs Fellowship. At the conference, the fellows will discuss their scholarly work after their time spent at Yale.

Participants (year of fellowship and current academic/professional affilitation):

Irina Matijošaitienė (2013-2014), Verisk-ISO Insurance Analytics / Saint Peter’s University, New Jersey
Violeta Davoliūtė (2015-2016), Vilnius University
Jolanta Mickutė (Spring 2017), Lost Shtetl Museum, Vilnius
Vaidotas Vaičaitis (Spring 2017), Vilnius University Law School
Arvydas Grišinas (Fall 2017), Kaunas University of Technology
Mindaugas Šapoka (Fall 2018), Lithuanian Institute of History
Monika Kareniauskaitė (Spring 2019), Central European University
Eneken Laanes (2013-2014), Under and Tuglas Literature Centre / Tallinn University
Inta Mieriņa (Spring 2016), University of Latvia
Andres Kurg (Spring 2017), Estonian Academy of Arts
Eva Piirimäe (Spring 2017), University of Tartu
Andris Saulītis (Fall 2017), Riga Stradiņš University
Ardi Priks (Spring 2018), Central European University
Juhan Hellerma (Fall 2018), University of Tartu
Maija Spuriņa (Fall 2018), Latvian Academy of Culture
Mari-Liis Jakobson (2019-2020), Tallinn University

Conference Schedule:

Day 1 ~ November 20

12- 1:00 pm Bradley Woodworth, Opening Remarks & Lunch

1:00-2:30 Session I

• Eva Piirimäe (University of Tartu)
  • “Self-Determination of Peoples and the Principle of Nationality”
•   Andres Kurg (Estonian Academy of Arts)
  • “Estonians on the Scaffoldings: Single-Family Housing in Late Socialism”
•   Andris Saulītis (Riga Stradiņš University)
  • “The Debt and the Kin: Collateral Damage of the Insolvency Process”

2:30-2:45  Coffee break

2:45-4:15 Session II

•   Juhan Hellerma (University of Tartu)
  • “Discovering Historicity and the Cosmopolitan Perspective”
•   Inta Mieriņa (University of Latvia)
  • “Connecting with the Diaspora: Research and Practice in Latvia”
•  Mari-Liis Jakobson (Tallinn University)
  • “Political Engagement of Estonians Abroad”

6:30 Dinner for Invited Guests Only

Day 2 ~ November 21

9:00-10:30 Session III

•   Vaidotas Vaičaitis (Vilnius University Law School)
  • “The Concept of Contemporary Constitutionalism – Some Reflections on My Time at Yale in 2017”
•   Monika Kareniauskaitė (Central European University)
  • “Rethinking Soviet and Post-Soviet Violence: Crime and Gender” 
•   Arvydas Grišinas (Kaunas University of Technology)
  •    “Central and Eastern Europe in the Epoch of Post-Truth”

10:30-10:45  Coffee break

10:45-12:15 Session IV

•   Eneken Laanes (Under and Tuglas Literature Centre / Tallinn University)
  •    “Translating Memories: The Eastern European Past in the Global Arena”
•   Violeta Davoliūtė (Vilnius University)
  • “Writing About the Traumatic Past from Inside and Outside the Lithuanian Scholarly Tradition”
•   Jolanta Mickutė (Lost Shtetl Museum, Vilnius)
  •    “The Lost Shtetl Museum: Jewish Museum-Making in the Digital Age”

12:15-1:15 Lunch

1:15-2:45 Session V

•  Irina Matijošaitienė (Verisk-ISO Insurance Analytics / Saint Peter’s University, New Jersey)
  •    “The impact of my Yale University Experience in My Career and Life”
•   Maia Spuriņa (Latvian Academy of Culture)
  •    “Fall 2018 at Yale on My Academic Path”
•   Ardi Priks (Central European University)
  •    “Reflections on Agricultural Politics in Europe” 
•   Mindaugas Šapoka (Lithuanian Institute of History)
  •    “Reflections on Work in the Early Modern Slavic and East European Collection at Yale”

2:45-3:00  Coffee break

3:00-4:30 Session VI ~ Open discussion with all fellows

6:30 Dinner for Invited Guests Only