Faculty of History
7 Universiteto str., LT-01513 Vilnius
Phone +370 5 268 7280
E-mail
www.if.vu.lt
Dean – Dr Loreta Skurvydaitė
STAFF
55 teachers (50 holding research degree), 15 research fellows (11 holding research degree), 36 doctoral students.
DEPARTMENTS OF THE FACULTY
Department of Ancient and Medieval History
Department of Archaeology
Department of Modern History
Department of Theory of History and History of Culture
Bioarchaeology Research Centre
Centre for Stateless Cultures
Centre for Studies of History of East European Jews
RESEARCH AREAS
• History of Lithuania: sources, historiography, heritage, memory
• Prehistory and archaeology of Lithuania
DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS MAINTAINED IN 2022
R. Gliebutė Jewellery in the 13th-17th Centuries in Vilnius Based on Archaeological Data.
V. Kurienė State Protection of Cultural Heritage in the Vilnius Region 1922–1939.
A. Petrilioni Prisoners of War of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Order (14th–15th Centuries).
L. Peluritis The Cave and Two Suns. Philosophy in Soviet Lithuania (1944–1986). Institutions, Personalities, Ideas.
D. Strimaitytė Models of Lithuanian Cultural Diplomacy and Their Narrative Paradigms (1988–2009).
MAIN CONFERENCES ORGANIZED IN 2022
1. International conference National and International Attempt of Rescue World War II Jewish Refugees in Lithuania (1939-1941): Efforts by Lithuania, Poland, Japan, America, and Others.
https://www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/1783-tarptautine-konferencija-skirta-lietuvos-ir-japonijos-dvisaliu-santykiu-100-meciui-2022-02-24
2. International conference Joachimas Lelevelis ir pagalbinių istorijos mokslų praeitis, dabartis bei ateitis.
www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/1841-tarptautine-konferencija-joachimas-lelevelis-joachimas-ir-pagalbiniu-istorijos-mokslu-praeitis-dabartis-bei-ateitis-2022-06-15-17.
3. International conference History from Below: Microhistorical Approaches to the History of East European Jewry.
www.if.vu.lt/rytu-europos-zydu-istorijos-tyrimu-centras/konferencija.
4. University of Cambridge Symposium Baltic Contribution to the Dissolution of the USSR.
www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/1698-vasaros-mokykla-britu-geopolitika-baltijos-valstybese-2022-m-vasara
5. International conference Writing the Soviet Baltic Queerstory: The Sources and Methods.
www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/1863-tarptautinis-seminaras-writing-the-soviet-baltic-queerstory-the-sources-and-methods-2022-09-20.
6. Colloquium War and Society in the Baltic Region (I Half of the XX Century).
www.donelaitis.fi/invitation-war-and-society-in-the-baltic-region-i-half-of-the-xx-century-colloquium-4-11-2022.
International conference Lietuvos ir Prancūzijos diplomatinių santykių šimtmetis.
www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/1958-konferencija-lietuvos-ir-prancuzijos-diplomatiniu-santykiu-simtmetis-2022-12-07.
International online seminar Early Polities of Peripheral Medieval Europe: Alternatives to Feudalism or its Variations?
MAIN SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2022
Event: University of Cambridge Symposium Baltic Contribution to the Dissolution of the USSR.
Selection of documents: Lietuvos užsienio politikos dokumentai. I tomas: 1917–1920 metai. Dokumentų rinkinys [Lithuanian Foreign Policy Documents. Volume I: 1917–1920. A Selection of Documents: prep. Z. Butkus, A. Eidintas, K. Kilinskas, Vilnius: Vilniaus universiteto leidykla, 2022.
Monographs: K. Alenius, S. Kaubrys, Balancing between National Unity and “Multiculturalism”: National minorities in Lithuania and Finland, 1918–1939, Brill/Schoning, 2022; Monograph: Unknown War: Anti-Soviet Armed Resistance in Lithuania and its Legacies, ed. A. Streikus, London: Routledge, 2022.
DEPARTMENT OF ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY
7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7297
E-mail
Head – Assoc. Prof. Liudas Jovaiša
STAFF
Professors: Dr R. R.Trimonienė (part-time).
Associate professors: Dr V. Dolinskas (part-time), Dr L. Jovaiša, Dr E. Saviščevas.
Assistents: Dr N. Dambrauskaitė, Dr T. Čelkis, Dr M. Jakulis, Dr Antanas Petrilionis.
Chief Researchers: Dr I. Valikonytė, Dr A. Ragauskas.
Researchers: Dr N. Dambrauskaitė (part-time), Dr A. Pister-Gainienė (postdoc, part-time).
Junior researchers: N. Šlimienė, S. Viskantaitė-Saviščevienė.
Doctoral students: J. Ambrazas, K. Čižauskas, R. Miškinytė, P. A. Stepavičius, T. Vaitkus.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
• History of Lithuania: sources, historiography, heritage, and memory
• Society of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (henceforth, the GDL) in the 14th–16th centuries
• Research and publication of the 1st Lithuanian Statute (1529) and the Lithuanian Metrica (the so-called Court Record Books of the 1st half of the 16th century)
• History of the GDL in the 2nd half of the 18th century
• Woman’s Status in the GDL in the 16th Century
• Life of Christian Churches and Religions in the GDL in the 16th-18th Centuries
• Jagiellonians in Europe in the 15th-16th centuries
• History of the Teutonic Order
• Culture and Heritage of the GDL
• History of GDL Regions (especially Samogitia)
RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2022
National Research Projects
Local Society and Central Power. Their interactions (Case of Šiauliai Economy in the 17th c. - beginning of 18th c.) (No. S-LIP-20-48). Research Council of Lithuania. Prof. R. R. Trimonienė. 2020–2023.
Cuisine of the Rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th Century and the First Half of the 17th Century (No. MIP-20-226). The Research Council of Lithuania. Dr N. Dambrauskaitė. 2020–2022.
The aim of the project is to explore the cuisine of the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 14th century and the first half of the 17th century by analysing various historical sources, especially rulers’ account books, and also the data of archaeological research.
Legal Culture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: The Rulers’ Court at the End of the 15th–16th Century (No. S-LIP-19-70). The Research Council of Lithuania. Prof. I. Valikonytė, 2019–2022 (2023).
The most important task is to analyse the ruler’s court and the history of the formation of its branches, which has not received researchers’ attention yet. The most important sources are the Ruler’s court books included in the Lithuanian Metrica. These books contain the documents which enable the research of the concept of the Grand Duke’s (as the head of the judiciary) administration of justice, legal consciousness, the development of legal thought, the application of laws and the culture of obeying them, i.e. the principle of the realisation of the concept non rex est lex, sed lex est rex. It also helps to analyse the ruler’s (as the head of the legislative institution) contribution and role in the perfection of juridical norms and, concretely, the content of the Lithuanian Statute.
Between Vocation and Profession: Protestant Clergy (Calvinists) in the GDL in the XVI–XVIII c. (No. S-MIP-19-12). The Research Council of Lithuania. Dr R. Ragauskienė. 2019–2022.
The idea of the project is to concretise and personalise the Protestant Christian identity of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by researching a long-standing group of evangelical Reformed clergy. The project aims to fully analyse the 16th–18th centuries with the help of modern research methods. Further stages in the project are to publish the results obtained as a scientific monograph, ensuring the national and international dissemination of the research.
Former Jesuits in Lithuania after 1773: A Collective Biography (No. S-MIP-22-41). The Research Council of Lithuania. Prof. L. Jovaiša. 2022–2025.
The idea of the project (research) is to examine the fate of the Jesuits who lived and worked in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania after the abolition of the Jesuit order in 1773. The activities of the former Jesuits after 1773 in Lithuania have not been systematically studied; more information is available only about the Jesuits who worked in the Education Commission system, and the biographies of the Jesuits who did not teach are very little known. The research should ascertain the answers to the following questions. How many Jesuits were there, and why did they choose one or another way of life (to be a teacher, to be a priest in a parish, to join the Jesuits who were officially active in Belarus, to return to private life)? What part of the Jesuits remained faithful to the old identity and continued to maintain mutual relations; what were the mutual relations of this informal group, and what was their significance? What was the contribution of the former Jesuits to the church and cultural life of Lithuania at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century? The results of the research will be published in a monograph with an appendix – a compendium of biographies of former Jesuits active in the LDK after 1773.
Music at the Public Relations and Cultural Diplomacy Service at the Manors of the Ruler and Nobles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (No. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-19-0066). The Research Council of Lithuania. Postdoctoral internship project. Dr A. Pister-Gainienė. 2020–2022.
Combining the musicological and historical perspectives, the project will investigate the representative functions of music in the manors of the rulers and nobles of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The project will seek to expand knowledge of significant phenomena in the history of music in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and evaluate them from the perspective of (modern) discourses – public relations and cultural diplomacy, to achieve new results in researching and updating the history of early modern Lithuanian music. Relevant narrative and notographic sources will be explored. The results of the interdisciplinary research will be integrated into the knowledge of the 16th –17th centuries in the context of Central European music. The aim of this project is to solve the problem of the shortage of young researchers researching the history of music in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, to raise the qualification of a young researcher, and the scientific competency of an intern. The results of the project are planned to be published in Lithuanian and foreign scientific publications, as well as in the Lithuanian media.
MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
Chamber of Notaries (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Institute of History (Lithuania)
National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (Lithuania)
OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Prof. R. R. Trimonienė
• editorial board member of the journal Istorija (History), https://ejournals.vdu.lt/index.php/istorijoszurnalas/about/editorialTeam.
Assoc. Prof. V. Dolinskas
• editor in chief of the serial publication Chronicon Palatii Magnorum Ducum Lithuaniae, www.valdovurumai.lt/muziejaus-veikla/leidiniai/chronicon-palatii-magnorum-ducum-lithuaniae-vol-4-mmxivmmxvi;
• member of the scientific council of the year-book Muzealnictwo (Museology), https://muzealnictworocznik.com/resources/html/cms/SCIENTIFICCOUNCIL;
• editorial board member of the journal Acta Museologica Lithuanica, www.journals.vu.lt/acta-museologica-lithuanica/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the publication Kronika Zamkowa. Roczniki (Castle Chronicle), www.zamek-krolewski.pl/historia/kronikazamkowaroczniki;
• editorial board member of the serial publication Fontes et studia historiae universitatis Vilnensis, www.vu.lt/studijos/priemimas/133-apiemus/fontes-et-studia/4207-redaktoriu-kolegija;
• editorial board member of the serial publication Artifex Novus. Pismo Instytutu Historii Sztuki Uniwersytetu Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego w Warszawie (Journal of the Institute of Art History of the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw).
Assoc. Prof. L. Jovaiša
• academician of the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science, www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=19&lng=1;
• editor in chief of the journal Bažnyčios istorijos studijos (Studies in Church History), www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=111&lng=1;
• editorial board member of the journal Fontes Historiae Lituaniae, www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=123&lng=1;
• editorial board member of the journal Lietuvių katalikų mokslo akademijos metraštis (Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science Annuals), www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=105;
• editorial board member of the journal Religinės kultūros paveldo studijos (Studies in Cultural Heritage of Religions);
• editorial board member of the journal Studia Franciscana Lithuanica;
• editorial board member of the series Lietuvos sakralinė dailė (Sacral Art of Lithuania).
BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
1. International conference XXXI Conference of the Lithuanian Studies Committee at the Committee of Historical Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences Local Authority and Impact Groups in the Lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (16th–19th centuries), Warsaw (Poland). Report Prof. R. R. Trimonienė The Power Structure of the Šiauliai Economy and its Impact on the Local Society in the 17th Century.
2. International conference 4th International Congress of Polish History, Krakow (Poland). Report Dr M. Jakulis People from the Other Side: Perceptions of the Inhabitants of the Borderland between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Prussia in the 18th Century.
3. International conference Oriental Cultures and Scolarship in the Baltic Sea Area, Greifswald (Germany). Report Assoc. Prof. L. Jovaiša with Prof. E. Račius Acquaintance with the Orient in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
MOST IMPORTANT RECEIVED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS FOR R&D ACTIVITIES
Assoc. Prof. V. Dolinskas The Award of Prof. Alexander Gieysztor (Poland).
Assoc. Prof. V. Dolinskas The Order of Merit for Poland.
MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Prof. R. R. Trimonienė
• member of the State Independence Scholarship Award Commission at the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania, www.lrs.lt/sip/portal.show?p_r=36615&p_k=1.
Assoc. Prof. V. Dolinskas
• chairman of Commission for Culture and Art Awards of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, https://lrkm.lrv.lt/lt/naujienos/patvirtinta-nauja-vyriausybes-kulturos-ir-meno-premiju-komisija;
• member of Board of the Vilnius Academy of Arts, www.vda.lt/lt/apie-vda/akademijos-struktura/taryba/tarybos-nariai.
Dr T. Čelkis
• member of the Young Academy of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, www.lma.lt/lmaja-sudetis-ir-kontaktai-2.
Dr N. Dambraukaitė
• member of the Lithuanian Heraldry Commission (The Office of the President of the Republic of Lithuania), www.lrp.lt/lt/prezidento-institucija/prezidento-funkcijos/heraldika/34206;
• member of the Commission for Granting Permits to Use Official Symbols of the Republic of Lithuania in a Trademark or Design.
7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7284
E-mail
Head – Prof. Albinas Kuncevičius
STAFF
Professors: Dr A. Kuncevičius, Habil. Dr M. Michelbertas (professor emeritus).
Associate professors: Dr A. Luchtanas, Dr A. Merkevičius, Dr G. Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen (part-time), Dr G. Piličiauskienė (part-time), Dr J. Poškienė, Dr E. Šatavičius, Dr G. Vėlius.
Assistant professors: Dr J. Kozakaitė (part-time), Dr K. Minkevičius (part-time).
Lecturers: A. Žilinskaitė (part-time).
Teaching assistants: R. Augustinavčius (part-time).
Doctoral students: I. Brindzaitė, J. Čičiurkaitė, E. Marcinkevičiūtė-Šatavičė, L. Muradian, A. Rusteikytė, A. Zagurskytė.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Prehistoric and historical archaeology of Lithuania and neighbouring countries (research of material and spiritual culture, landscape studies)
• Archaeology of the Balts
• Methodology of archaeological research
• Bioarchaeology
• Zooarchaeology
• Archaeological heritage management
RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2022
National Research Projects
Functional Development of Mounds: From the Fortified Settlement to the Residence of the Duke (No. S-MIP-21-22). The Research Council of Lithuania. Assoc. Prof. G. Vėlius. 2021–2024.
In 2022, a trench of 40 m2 was excavated near the eastern slope of the Aukuro hill fort in Kernavė. A large electromagnetic anomaly was detected in this area by geophysical surveys. The remains of a 13th–14th-century building and a defensive rampart from the same period were found here. During archaeological investigations, a large number of samples were collected for AMS 14C dating, as well as a large amount of zooarchaeological material and soil samples were taken for palaeobotanical studies. To date, 4280 animal bone fragments have been identified, including 76 fish bones, and preliminary zooarchaeological analysis has been carried out. The final calculations have not yet been made, but it is already possible to make the first insights into the economy and diet of the inhabitants of Kernavė from the 8th century BC to the 14th century. Plant remains in the Kernavė Museum collections were reviewed, and data on material from the Aukuro Hill Hillfort and its surroundings were analysed; 1503 burnt plant macro-residues were identified in the samples, the majority of which are cultivated plants (91.08%, n=1369). To date, 30 samples taken from the cultural layers and the objects recovered have been dated by AMS 14C. The dates obtained cover the period from the 8th century BC to the 14th century AD.
Dogs in Lithuania during the 13th–18th C.: Origin of the Breeds, Function and Breeding Culture (No. S-MIP-20-5). The Research Council of Lithuania. Dr P. Blaževičius. 2020–2022.
In 2022, the project participants analysed all the zooarchaeological, historical, and archaeological data received, and one paper about the hunting dogs in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania has already been submitted for publication. The authors are currently working on another publication on the diet of dogs and a monograph about dogs in the Medieval and Early Modern Period in Lithuania, which will be published in early 2023.
MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
University of Tartu (Estonia)
University of Latvia (Latvia)
Institute of Archaeology University of Wrocław (Poland)
University of Stockholm (Sweden)
Administration of the State Cultural Rezerve of Kernavė (Lithuania)
OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Prof. A. Kuncevičius
• board member of The Society of Lithuanian Archaeology, http://lad.lt/lietuvos-archeologijos-draugija/vadovybe.
• editor-in-chief of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Baltica, http://journals.ku.lt/index.php/AB/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the journal Lituanistica, www.lmaleidykla.lt/ojs/index.php/lituanistica.
Prof. emeritus M. Michelbertas
• foreign corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute (Deutsches Archäologisches Institute);
• editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the journal Kultūros paminklai (Cultural Monuments), www.paveldas.lt/leidiniai.
Assoc. Prof. A. Merkevičius
• member of the organizing committee of the international scientific seminar Baltic archaeological seminar (BASE);
• editorial board member of the journal Estonian Journal of Archaeology, https://kirj.ee/estonian-journal-of-archaeology-editorial-board;
• editorial board member of the journal Acta Archaeologica, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/16000390/homepage/editorialboard.html;
• editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the journal Interarchaeologia, https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/activities/interarchaeologia-journal;
• editorial board member of the journal Lietuvos archeologija (Lithuanian Archaeology), www.istorija.lt/leidiniai/mokslo-zurnalai-ir-testiniai-leidiniai/lietuvos-archeologija/674#tab-editorial_board;
• editorial board member of the journal Kultūros paminklai (Cultural Monuments), www.paveldas.lt/leidiniai.
Assoc. Prof. E. Šatavičius
• editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam;
• member of Union of Prehistorical and Protohistorical Sciences Commission The Final Paleolithic of Northern Eurasia, www.uispp.org.
Assoc. Prof. G. Vėlius
• editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam.
A. Žilinskaitė
• chairwomen of The Society of Lithuanian Archaeology, http://lad.lt/lietuvos-archeologijos-draugija/vadovybe.
BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
Union of Prehistorical and Protohistorical Sciences Commission meeting The Final Paleolithic of Northern Eurasia, Warsaw (Poland). Report Assoc. Prof. Egidijus Šatavičius Swiderian Sites in Southern and Eastern Lithuania;
XXVIII European Congress of Archaeologists (EAA), Budapest (Hungary). Report Dr Karolis Minkevičius Hillforts Revised: Integrated Legacy Data into a Modern Archaeobotanical Research.
MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Prof. A. Kuncevičius
• chairman of the Board of the Research Council of Lithuania, www.lmt.lt/lt/apie-taryba/kontaktai/86/valdyba/d1.
Assoc. Prof. A. Luchtanas
• member of 4nd Assessment Council for Immovable Cultural Heritage, Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/3c41c1517bff11e98a8298567570d639?jfwid=zjgvs4rs8.
Assoc. Prof. A. Merkevičius
• member of 4nd Assessment Council for Immovable Cultural Heritage, Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/3c41c1517bff11e98a8298567570d639?jfwid=zjgvs4rs8.
Assoc. Prof. J. Poškienė
• vice chairwoman of the Committee of Humanities and Social Sciences, Research Council of Lithuania, www.lmt.lt/en/about-the-research-council/vice-chair/2684;
• chairwoman of the Board of the State Cultural Reserve of Kernavė, www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/4bf93a30174c11ebb0038a8cd8ff585f;
• chairwoman of the Steering Group for the Management Plan of the UNESCO World Heritage Kernavė Archaeological Site, www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/140637e0fde611ec8fa7d02a65c371ad.
7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7286
E-mail
Head – Prof. Arūnas Streikus
STAFF
Professors: Dr Z. Butkus, Dr A. Streikus.
Associate professors: Dr D. Bukelevičiūtė, Dr A. Jakubčionis, Dr S. Kaubrys, Dr R. Kraujelis (part-time), Dr T. Vaiseta.
Assistents: Dr N. Černiauskas (part-time), Dr M. Ėmužis (part-time), Dr R. Gaidis, Dr K. Kilinskas, Dr V. Klumbys (part-time), Dr I. Zakšauskienė.
Lectures: Dr A. Abromaitis (part-time), A. Grodis (part-time).
Research fellows: Dr T. Boriak (part-time), Dr V. Bukaitė (part-time), Dr E. Jekabsons (part-time), Dr I. Ėmužienė (postdoc, part-time), A. Grodis (part-time), Dr Mingailė Jurkutė (part-time), Dr Monika Šipelytė (part-time).
Doctoral students: K. Bėčiūtė, D. Indrišionis, P. Japertas, L. Nekrašas, I. Rasickaitė, R. Roženė, I. Stanevičius, A. Suchodolskytė, D. Tarvydaitė, A. Terleckas, T. Vaitelė, A. Žirlys, T. Žukas.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Lithuanian history in the 19th century
• History of the Russian Empire in the 19th century
• Lithuanian international relations in the 1920s–1930s
• Political, social and cultural life in Lithuania during the interwar period
• Problems of the national and religious minorities in Lithuania and the Klaipėda district
• Military history. War and society
• Soviet occupation and re-occupation of Lithuania
• Anti-Soviet resistance in Lithuania: armed and unarmed resistance
• Soviet Lithuania and Western countries during the Cold War
• Religion and society in 20th-century Lithuania
• Cultural, social and everyday life in Soviet Lithuania
• Research on the modernisation of history studies
• Cold War radio broadcasting to the Baltic States
RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2022
National Research Projects
Cross Junction of the Interests of England, France, Russia, and Germany in the Baltic States in 1918–1920 (No. S-MIP-21-46). The Research Council of Lithuania. Prof. Z. Butkus. 2020–2024.
Searches of the primary sources in the Lithuanian Central State Archives and Latvian State Historical Archive were performed.
The Vatican and Lithuania during World War II and the Cold War (1939–1958) (No. S-LIP-22-59). The Research Council of Lithuania. Prof. A. Streikus. 2022–2024.
A search of primary sources in the Vatican archives was performed.
Memory of Participants of Violent Events: The Case of the Lithuanian Partisan War (No. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-19-0134). The Research Council of Lithuania. Postdoctoral internship project. Dr M. Jurkutė. 2020–2022.
Analysis of relevant historiography was conducted, and 183 cases of family massacres in the post-war period were researched in the archives of The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania.
Juozas Gabrys and His Colleagues at the League of Nations in 1927–1939: Actions and Collective Biography (No. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712). The Research Council of Lithuania. Postdoctoral internship project. Dr M. Šipelytė. 2020–2022.
The goals of this project were fulfilled by three scientific publications.
Publications: M. Šipelytė, “Lithuania in the League of Nations: An (Un)official Collective Biography of Diplomats”, Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Geschichte/Revue Suisse d’Histoire/Rivista Storica Svizzera, vol. 72/3, 2022.
Soviet Lithuanian Public Communication for the Lithuanian Diaspora in North America (1944–1991): Participants, Channels, Responses. Postdoctoral internship project. Research Council of Lithuania. (No. S-PD-22-8). Dr I. Ėmužienė. 2022–2024.
MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
Oulu university (Finland)
The International Border Studies Center (IBSC) at the University of Gdańsk (Poland)
Gdansk University, Faculty of History (Poland)
Cambridge University Center for Geopolitics, Baltic Geopolics Programme (UK)
Stanford University, Stanford Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies (USA)
Genocide and Resistance Research Center (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Institute of History (Lithuania)
National Museum of Lithuania (Lithuania)
OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Prof. Z. Butkus
• editorial board member of the journal Latvijas Universitātes Raksti. Vēsture (Scientific papers of University of Latvia. History)
• editorial board member of the journal Acta Humanitarica Universitatis Saulensis, www.su.lt/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=597&Itemid=538&lang=lt;
• editorial board member of the journal Kultūros paminklai (Cultural Monuments), www.paveldas.lt/leidiniai;
• editorial board member of the journal Lietuvos istorijos studijos (Studies of Lithuania’s History), www.journals.vu.lt/lietuvos-istorijos-studijos/about/editorialTeam;
• editorial board member of the journal Lituanistica, www.lmaleidykla.lt/ojs/index.php/lituanistica.
Prof. A. Streikus
• academician of the Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science, www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=19&lng=1;
• editor in chief of the journal Lietuvių katalikų mokslo akademijos metraštis (Lithuanian Catholic Academy of Science Annuals), www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=105;
• editorial board member of the journal Bažnyčios istorijos studijos (Studies in Church History), www.lkma.lt/index.php?id=111&lng=1;
• editorial board member of the journal Lietuvos istorijos studijos (Studies of Lithuania’s History), www.journals.vu.lt/lietuvos-istorijos-studijos/about/editorialTeam.
Assoc. Prof. D. Bukelevičiūtė
• a member of Advisory board of of the Transcultural Encounters Research Center of the University of Oulu, Finland, www.oulu.fi/transculturalencounters/node/53304;
• editorial board member of the journal Studia Politica Slovaca, www.sav.sk/?lang=en&doc=journal-list&journal_no=80;
• editorial board member of the journal Istorija. Mokslo darbai (History. Research Papers), www.istorijoszurnalas.lt/index.php/IS/about/editorialTeam.
Assoc. Prof. A. Jakubčionis
• member of the council of War History Centre;
• editorial board member of the journal Genocidas ir rezistencija (Genocide and Resistance), http://genocid.lt/centras/lt/1199/a;
• adviser of the journal Politologija (Politology), www.journals.vu.lt/politologija/about/editorialTeam;
• council member of the book series Lietuvos valsčiai, www.versme.lt/projektas.htm.
Assoc. Prof. S. Kaubrys
• editorial board member of the journal Faravid, www.pro.tsv.fi/pshy/english.htm;
• editorial board member of the journal Revista Romana de Studii Baltice si Nordice (The Romanian Journal for Baltic and Nordic Studies), www.scipio.ro/web/rrsbn;
• editorial board member of the journal Acta Historica Universitas Klaipedensis, http://briai.ku.lt/leidiniai/acta-historica-universitatis-klaipedensis/redaktoriu-kolegija/;
• editorial board member of the journal Lituanistica, https://www.lmaleidykla.lt/ojs/public/journals/8/Editorial_EN.pdf;
• editorial board member of the series Lietuvos valstybingumo paveldas (Heritage of Lithuania’s Statehood).
Assoc. Prof. T. Vaiseta
• executive secretary of the journal Lietuvos istorijos studijos (Studies of Lithuania’s History), www.zurnalai.vu.lt/lietuvos-istorijos-studijos/about/editorialTeam.
BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
International conference Modernism and Censorship in Eastern Europe, Brussels (Belgium). Report Prof. A. Streikus ‘Quiet Modernism’? On the Particularities of the Art Censorship in the Soviet Baltic Republics.
Colloqiuim War and Society in Baltic Region (I half XX century), Helsinki (Finland). Report Dr V. Bukaitė The Efforts of the Baltic States to Obtain the Support of France for Defense against the Germans and Soviets in 1918–1919; Assoc. Prof. Saulius Kaubrys Waiting for war? Fears and expectations of Lithuanian society (July–August), 1939; Dr Kęstutis Kilinskas Relations between Lithuanian and Finnish Defense and Security Institutions in Assessing (or Analyzing) the Communist Threat in the 1920’s; Dr Inga Zakšauskienė Western Political Warfare in the Baltic States during the First Years of the Cold War.
University of Cambridge Symposium Baltic Contribution to the Dissolution of the USSR, Vilnius (Lithuania). Report Assist. Inga Zakšauskienė Historical Propaganda in Pro-Kremlin Media: the Case of the Collapse of the Soviet Union.
MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Prof. Z. Butkus
• member of the Commission of Scholarship Nomination of the Vilnius City History Researchers.
Prof. A. Streikus
• chairman of the council of Adolfas Damušis Democratic Studies Centre at Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania;
• member of the working group for the exhibition The Theatre of Censorship: Audio-visual Arts in Soviet Lithuania and their Ideological Control, Museum of Lithuanian Theatre, Music and Cinema.
Assoc. Prof. D. Bukelevičiūtė
• member of Jonava District Municipality Pranas Dovalga Award Commission.
Assoc. Prof. A. Jakubčionis
• member of the research group of the International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in Lithuania.
Assoc. Prof. Tomas Vaiseta
• head of the curators group of MO Museum for exhibition Kaunas-Vilnius: Moving Mountains (2022).
Dr N. Černiauskas
• member of the Council of Lithuanian Radio and Television;
• member of the Historical Memory Commission in Vilnius City Municipality;
• member of the Commission of the Vilnius City Municipality Programme “Create Vilnius”;
• member of the Commission of Scholarship Nomination of the Vilnius City History Researchers.
Dr M. Ėmužis
• chairman of 5th Assessment Council for Immovable Cultural Heritage, Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture;
• member of the Historical Memory Commission in Vilnius City Municipality;
• member of the curators group at the National Museum of Lithuania (exhibition Fighting Women).
Dr R. Gaidis
• member of 2th Assessment Council for Immovable Cultural Heritage, Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture.
MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES
Radio podcast “Ko tyli istorikai?” [“Why Historians Stay Silent?”] (on Youtube, Podbean, Spotify, Souncloud), organisers Dr M. Ėmužis, A. Terleckas.
DEPARTMENT OF THEORY OF HISTORY AND HISTORY OF CULTURE
7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7288
E-mail
Head – Prof. Alfredas Bumblauskas
STAFF
Professors: Habil. Dr T. Bairašauskaite (part-time), Dr A. Bumblauskas, Dr M. Dremaitė, Dr I. Vaišvilaitė, Dr J. Verbickienė.
Associate professsors: Dr N. Babinskas (part-time), Dr D. Brandišauskas (part-time), Dr A. Gieda, Dr G. Kirkienė, Dr S. Kulevičius (part-time), Dr G. Potašenko, Dr E. Raila, Dr N. Šepetys, Dr R. Šermukšnytė, Dr A. Švedas (part-time).
Assistents: Dr V. Janušauskaitė (part-time), Dr A. Naudžiūnienė (part-time), Dr L. Skurvydaitė (part-time), Dr D. Troskovaitė.
Lecturer: D. Vitkauskaitė.
Research fellows: Dr I. Leonavičiūtė.
Doctoral students: D. Čypaitė, L. Hall, T. Krutulys, I. Kudrešova, D. Misevičius, L. Mumgaudytė, V. Pilkauskienė, R. Puodžiūnienė, D. Skarolskis, M. Valančiauskienė, S. Valiūnaitė.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Theoretical, methodological and historiographical problems of history
• History of Lithuanian culture
• Theoretical and didactical aspects of the history of Lithuanian culture
• Historical culture and forms of cultural identity of Lithuanian society
• Individual and collective forms of historical memory
• Cultural heritage studies
• Studies of Lithuanian ethnic and confessional minorities
• Everyday life and domestic history
• Functions of history in contemporary society
RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2022
National Research Projects
Early Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Typological Context of Peripheral European Societies: Revision of the Concept of Early Feudalism (No. S-LIP-21-32). The Research Council of Lithuania. Assoc. Prof. N. Babinskas. 2021–2024.
The project’s research is a systemic analysis and typological reinterpretation of the social structure of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) in the 13th–14th centuries in the comparative context of peripheral European societies. It would contribute to the comparative historical sociology of pre-capitalist societies and would question or at least modify the thesis of the early feudalism (perceived as a mode of production) of GDL. The goal of the project is to verify the concept of the early feudalism of pre-Christian GDL with the help of the model of the Early Central European state (ignored so far by the Lithuanian historiography).
Publications: N. Babinskas, „Ankstyvosios Vidurio Europos valstybės modelis ir ikikrikščioniška LDK“ [The Model of Early Central European State and the Pre-christian Grand Duchy of Lithuania] in the journal Istorija / History, 2022, vol. 126, no. 2, p. 23–45.
Modernization of Vilnius Residential Infrastructure in 1870–1940 (No. S-MOD-21-5). The Research Council of Lithuania. Dr A. Ambrulevičiūtė. 2021–2022.
The project will analyse the socio-topographic changes in Vilnius in 1870–1940 by applying the theoretical (sectoral) model of urban space structuring. The project expands the field of historical research of Lithuanian cities and ensures the complex continuity of Vilnius infrastructure research. Such a study will allow the reinterpretation of the known facts, introduce new sources into the context of Lithuanian urban research, and study the change of Vilnius housing and its forms in the context of urban development. The implementation of the project would combine the independently initiated research on the historical sociology of two scientists and ensure the continuity of research on Lithuanian cities.
Publications: M. Drėmaitė, “Housing-based Urban Planning and New Housing Standard in Vilnius, 1919–1939”, Architecture and Urban Planning, 2022, vol. 18, iss. 1, p. 139–147.
Tadas Daugirdas: Archaeology of the “Three-Colors” Identity (No. S-LIP-20-13). The Research Council of Lithuania. Assoc. Prof. E. Raila. 2020–2023.
The aim of the project is to prepare the academic study devoted to the biography of Tadas Daugirdas (1852–1919). Daugirdas belonged to the ranks of the activists of the Lithuanian national reawakening that had a significant impact on the making of the national self-awareness and creation of the statehood symbols but who were left behind in the backyard of historical memory. His personality reflects well the transformations of the Lithuanian identity, marking the formation of the type of Lithuanian intelligentsia that was emerging at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. His activities covered at least a few areas of cultural and social life: painting, archaeology, museology, ethnology, and journalism. His biography is an integral part of the cultural history of Lithuania.
Publications: E. Raila, “The Activity of Tadas Daugirdas in Warsaw (1877-1891): From a Painter to an Archaeologist”, Lietuvos istorijos studijos, t. 49, p. 30–42.
Pranciškus Smuglevičius – an Outstanding Representative of European Enlightenment in the Lithuanian–Polish Commonwealth (No. S-LIP-22-70). The Research Council of Lithuania. Prof. I. Vaišvilaitė. 2022–2024.
The purpose of this project is to research the important but little-studied or totally neglected aspects of Pranciškus Smuglevicius’ personality and the scope of his activities, as well as to present Smuglevičius as a cultural actor in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and wider Europe. His personality and activities will be examined in the context of the ideas of the Enlightenment Age in order to reveal the originality and individuality of Smuglevičius as an Enlightenment personality. The project intends to research the environment of Smuglevičius and analyse the political aspects of his art and its influence.
Art Creation in Kaunas Ghetto: Issues of the Representation of Reality (No. S-LIP-22-71). The Research Council of Lithuania. Assoc. Prof. N. Šepetys. 2022–2024.
Research on the memory and representation of the reality of the ghettos of Lithuanian Jews has been developed in various ways both in Lithuania and abroad. The analysis focuses on photography, the artistic legacy of individual artists, and, less frequently, on groups of artistic phenomena (portraits, children’s drawings, images of terror, etc.). A deepening approach to the history of the Second World War, the widening knowledge of daily life in Lithuanian ghettos, and the growing amount of factual information (reconstruction of biographies of artists who were marginalised for a long time, etc.) encourage us to perceive and interpret the visualisation of life in the ghetto as a holistic phenomenon by identifying its peculiarities, origin, genesis, forms of expression, functioning at the time of creation, and the impact and role in formation of the discourse of Holocaust memory.
The project, whose activities are based on a case study – a research of the representation of the reality of the Kaunas Ghetto – would help to reconstruct the phenomenon of the visualisation of the ghetto’s reality in a multifaceted way, highlighting the perspective of the victims of the Shoah – both the survivors and the victims – and to offer a new powerful way of reading this information which sparks the modern imagination. The research would allow us to fill in some important factual gaps and theocratically assess the state of the historiography that relies on or even replicates the abundant but sometimes haphazard use of primary sources: it is hoped to consistently reconstruct the history of the creation and discovery of the Abraham Tory archive, to broaden the understanding of the intentions of the archive’s creator, to reveal the connections between artists and their clients, to investigate the biographies of the artists who were active in the Kaunas ghetto, both local Jews and the Jews from abroad, and to explore the motives and forms of their activities.
Evaluation and Preservation of Post-War Concrete Architecture. The case of Lithuania Postdoctoral internship project. Research Council of Lithuania. (No. S-PD-22-88). Dr A. Černauskienė. 2022–2024.
MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
Delft Technical University (Netherlands)
Institute of Ukrainian History (Ukraine)
Lviv Polytechnic National University (Ukraine)
Ukrainian Catholic University (Ukraine)
Department of Cultural Heritage (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Institute of History (Lithuania)
Polish Institute in Vilnius (Lithuania)
OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Prof. A. Bumblauskas
• editorial board member of the journal Studia dziejów Panstwa i Prawa Polskiego (Studies in History of Polish State and Law), http://szd.ka.edu.pl;
• editorial board member of the journal Archiwum Emigracji. Studia–Szkice–Dokumenty (Archives of Emigration. Studies–Essays–Documents), www.bu.umk.pl/Archiwum_Emigracji/gazeta/rada-naukowa.html;
• member of the Scientific Council of the the journal Polish Journal of Eastern Studies;
• editor in chief of the journal Lietuvos istorijos studijos (Studies of Lithuania’s History), www.journals.vu.lt/lietuvos-istorijos-studijos;
• editorial board member of the journal Kultūros barai (Culture Fields), www.kulturosbarai.lt/viesieji-oirkimai;
• editorial board member of the journal Naujasis židinys-Aidai, https://nzidinys.lt/redakcija.
Prof. M. Drėmaitė
• member of Architectural Historians Network EAHN;
• national coordinator COST Action Middle Class Mass Housing, coordinator ISCTE-IUL (Lisbon, Portugal), www.cost.eu/actions/CA18137/#tabs+Name:Management%20Committee
• member of the Lithuanian Society of Art Historians;
• member of Scientific Council of Lithuanian Institute of History, www.istorija.lt/apie/struktura/mokslo-taryba/44;
• editorial board member of the journal Architecture and Urban Planning, https://aup-journals.rtu.lv.
Dr L. Skurvydaitė
• member of the organizing committee of the international scientific conference “Joachim Lelewel and the past, present and future of auxiliary historical sciences”, held on 2022 in Vilnius University.
Prof. I. Vaišvilaitė
• editorial board member of the journal Naujasis Židinys-Aidai https://nzidinys.lt/redakcija;
• editorial board member of the journal Tsaitschrift (European Humanities University, Vilnius).
Assoc. Prof. D. Brandišauskas
• National Geographic Society explorer;
• honorary research fellow, Department of Anthropology in Aberdeen University (Scotland);
• associated research fellow, European Centre for the Arctic, University of Versailles (France);
• member of International Association for the Arctic Social Sciences;
• member of International Association of Hunters and Gatherers Societies;
• editorial board member of the journal Lithuanian Journal of Anthropology, www.anthropology.lt/editorial.html.
Assoc. Prof. S. Kulevičius
• member of Scientific Council of Lithuanian Institute of History, www.istorija.lt/apie/struktura/mokslo-taryba/44;
• editorial board of the journal Iсторико-культурні студії (Historical and Cultural Studies), http://science.lpnu.ua/hcs/editorial-board.
Assoc. Prof. N. Šepetys
• special editor of the journal Naujasis židinys-Aidai, https://nzidinys.lt/redakcija.
Assoc. Prof. A. Švedas
• member of Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies;
• member of the International Commission for the History and Theory of Historiography;
• member of International Network for Theory of History, www.inth.ugent.be;
• participant of Annual ASEEES (Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies);
• co-founder and organiser Vilnius Symposium on Late and Post-Soviet Issues.
Dr N. Babinskas
• chairman of the Association of Transnational History;
• member of the European Network in Universal and Global History (ENIUGH);
• member of the Romanian Association for Nordic and Baltic countries;
• editorial board member of the journal Valahian Journal of Historical Studies, www.vjhs.ro/editorial-board.
BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
International online seminar Early Polities of Peripheral Medieval Europe: Alternatives to Feudalism or its Variations? (Lithuania, Poland). Report Assoc. Prof. N. Babinskas Early Central European Model of State (Ius ducale system) in the Context of Alternative Pre-Capitalist Modes of Production.
63rd International Scientific Conference of Riga Technical University, section Architecture and Urban Planning, Riga (Latvia). Report Prof. M. Drėmaitė Housing-based Urban Planning and New Housing Standard in Vilnius, 1920–1940.
International conference Neutrality and Non-Government Networks after the Helsinki Accords 1975–1991, Fribourg (Swiss). Report Prof. I. Vaišvilaitė Catholic and other Christian Groups in the Soviet Union versus Helsinki Process.
International conference Joachim Lelewel and the Past, Present and Future of Auxiliary Historical Sciences, Vilnius (Lithuania). Report Dr I. Leonavičiūtė Documentary Heritage of Joachim Lelewel at Stephen Batory University: the Path of Collections to Vilnius, Expansion, Actualization.
International conference Cultural Heritage: Innovative Approaches and Sustainable Development, Lviv (Ukraine). Report Ass. Prof. Rūta Šermukšnytė Museum as an Education, Memorial and Demythologizing Space: the Topic of the Rescue of Jews in Lithuania during IIWW in Lithuanian Museums Narratives.
MOST IMPORTANT RECEIVED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS FOR R&D ACTIVITIES
Prof. A. Bumblauskas 3rd most influential person in Lithuania (according to A public survey, Delfi).
Asocc. Prof. G. Kirkienė The Department of National Minorities under the Government of the Republic of Lithuania award for active scientific activity in researching the common history of Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Poles.
Asocc. Prof. G. Kirkienė Vilnius University Rector's Prize, Best Lecturer of the Year (2022).
MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Prof. T. Bairašauskaitė
• member of the Committee of Humanities and Social Sciences, Research Council of Lithuania , www.lmt.lt/en/about-the-research-council/contacts/2279/committee-of-humanities-and-social-sciences/d22.
Prof. M. Drėmaitė
• member of the Scientific Board of the Joint Programming Initiative Cultural Heritage (2020-2023, EU), www.heritageresearch-hub.eu/homepage/joint-programming-initiative-on-cultural;
• leader of the expert group preparing the Kaunas Modernism nomination file for the UNESCO World Heritage Centre;
• member of the Lithuanian Culture and Arts Council, https://lrkm.lrv.lt/lt/struktura-ir-kontaktai/tarybos-kolegijos-komisijos-ir-darbo-grupes/lietuvos-kulturos-ir-meno-taryba;
• member of Commission of Experts on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/4ca716d2eeb911e99ab7ff5a9ea34fcc?jfwid=oou0hruq2.
Prof. I. Vaišvilaitė
• member of the Council of Lithuanian Radio and Television;
• chair of the International Board Trustees of the Thomas Mann Cultural Center, www.mann.lt/index.php;
• member of the National ICOMOS Committee.
Assoc. Prof. S. Kulevičius
• member of Commission of Experts on the Protection of Immovable Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/4ca716d2eeb911e99ab7ff5a9ea34fcc?jfwid=oou0hruq2;
• member of the National Commission for Cultural Heritage, https://vkpk.lt/en/about-us/commission-members.
Assoc. prof. N. Šepetys
• member of the Working Group of the Freedom Struggle and State Historical Memory Commission of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania;
• chairman of the Expert Commission of the Lithuanian Science Council;
• chairman of the Vilnius university Senate Studies Committee.
Assoc. Prof. R. Šermukšnytė
• member of the Council National Museum of Lithuania;
• member of the Council of Trakai History Museum.
Assoc. prof. A. Švedas
• member of the Council of the Lithuanian Institute of Culture;
• member of the Council of the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore;
• member of the curatorship of the Thomas Mann Center;
• member of the Art Council of the Vilnius Small Theater;
• member of the Council of the National Museum of Lithuania.
Dr V. Janušauskaitė
• member of the National Commission for Cultural Heritage, https://vkpk.lt/en/about-us/commission-members;
• member of the Vilnius City Immovable Heritage Assessment Council, Vilnius City Municipality, https://aktai.vilnius.lt/document/30294152;
• member of the Architects’ Chamber of Lithuania;
• Member of the Architects’ Professional Certification Commission.
Dr L. Skurvydaitė
• expert in CHINLONE project (Connecting Higher Education Institutions for a New Lydership on National Education in Myanmar), project coordinator University of Bologna (Italy);
• chairwoman of the working group of the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education for preparation of Description of Cultural Studies.
MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES
Prof. A. Bumblauskas participation in the documentary film 700 years of Vilnius. A journey through time with prof. A. Bumbblauskas.
Assoc. Prof. A. Švedas host a radio show “The Territory of the Historian” on LRT Klasikos radijas.
Organization and implementation of the largest heritage festival in Lithuania Heritas (together with partners).
BIOARCHAEOLOGY RESEARCH CENTRE
21 Čiurlionio str., LT-03101 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7284
E-mail
Head – Assoc. Prof. Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen
STAFF
Associate professors: Dr Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen, Dr G. Piličiauskienė
Lecturers: Dr J. Kozakaitė (part-time)
Assistants: K. Bojarskaitė (part-time), R. Karaliūtė (part-time)
RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Palaeodiet
• Crop cultivation and processing strategies
• Plant remains
• Zooarchaeological remains
• Earliest appearance and geographical origins of agriculture in the East Baltic Region
• Economy of prehistoric populations in Central Asia
• Human osteology and paleopathology
• Epidemiology
• Forensic bioarchaeology
RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2022
National Research Projects
Margins or Nodes? Dietary Adaptation Strategies and the Role of Inner Asian Mountain Communities in Prehistoric Food Globalization (No. MTEP 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-01-000). European Social Fund. Assoc. Prof. Dr Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen. 2018–2022.
The project has generated new scientific knowledge on the timing and the origins of food production in Central Tian Shan. By applying cutting-edge methodology to the study of past diets, animal transhumance, and plant irrigation technologies, the project has become a key Global player in understanding food dispersal across the Eurasia processes. The results of the research have so far been presented at prestigious international conferences and published in high-profile journals. In addition, the application of landscape investigations using magnetic susceptibility and UAV technologies has led to the discovery of a large spectrum of new archaeological sites of global and regional importance. The development of research methodologies and the accumulation of new research material in the course of the project have generated high-resolution datasets that are highly transferable in other cultural and chronologic frameworks, opening up new vistas for expanding the studies onto the important topics that were previously closed due to the shortage of research material and insufficient methodologies.
Main publications:
1. P. N. Doumani Dupuy, G. Motuzaite Matuzeviciute Keen, “A Wooly Way? 3000-Year-Old Textiles along the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor“, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 2022.
2. M. Dal Corso, et al., “Between Cereal Agriculture and Animal Husbandry – Millet in the Early Economy of the North Pontic Area”, World Archaeology, 2022.
3. E. Luneau, et al., “Assessing Variability in the Andronovo Ceramic Production of Northern Kyrgyzstan in the Light of Social Complexity, Economy and Mobility”, Eurasia Antiqua, 2022, vol. 24.
Contractual Research
Permanent contracts (analysis of the archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological material).
MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
University of Tartu (Estonia)
Center for Baltic and Scandinavian Archeology (ZBSA) (Germany)
Max Planck Institute for the Science and Human History Jena (Germany)
Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties (Japan)
Turkish-Manas University (Kyrgyzstan)
Institute of Archaeology, Nicolaus Copernicus University (Poland)
Stockholm University (Sweden)
School of Archaeology, University of Oxford (UK)
National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (Lithuania)
National Museum of Lithuania (Lithuania)
Kaunas T. Ivanauskas Zoology Museum (Lithuania)
OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Assoc. Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen
• Reviewer in: Nature: Scientific Reports; Open Archaeology; Archaeological Research of Eurasia; Antiquity; Quaternary International; STAR; Science;
• head editor of a special issue (together with Xinyi Liu) Millet and Pseudocereals: New Insights into Archaeobotany, Plant Domestication and Global Foodways, www.mdpi.com/journal/agronomy/special_issues/millet_archaeobotany_domestication;
• editor of a Frontiers Journal: Human Evolution and Environment. Special issue: Effects of Novel Environments on Domesticated Species, www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/26304/effects-of-novel-environments-on-domesticated-species;
• ICOMOS & ICAHM Lithuanian expert;
• editorial board member of the journal Historical and Cultural Studies / Iсторико-культурнi студii;
• scientific adviser of a project by Shinya Shoda MEROS: JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas (A) 20H05820.
Assoc. Prof. G. Piličiauskienė
• review editor of Zooarchaeology specialty section of a multidisciplinary journal Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-archaeology/sections/zooarchaeology/editors.
BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
1. XXVIII European Congress of Archaeologists (EAA), Budapest (Hungary). Assoc. Prof. Report Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen (with co-authors) Detection of Miliacin in Archaeological Deposits Illustrates the Extent of Broomcorn Millet Cultivation in Ancient Central Asia; International Workgroup for Palaeoethnobotany (IWGP), Českobudějovické (Czech Republic). Report Giedrė Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen Pioneer Crops in the High Altitude Mountain Zones of Central Asia.
2. International conference Международной научно-практической конференции Археологические исследования в Казахстане: история, тенденции, проблемы, перспективы, Saumalkol, (Kazakhstan). Report Assoc. Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen Ботайская культура в свете глобализации продуктов питания в доисторические времена.
3. Assoc. Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzeviciutė Keen, Invited lecture at Washington University of St. Louis Globalization in Prehistory: Reflection and Perspectives.
4.International conference XXVIII European Congress of Archaeologists, Budapest (Hungary). Report Assoc. Prof. G. Piličiauskienė (with co-authors) Tasty and Expensive: Foreign Animals and Plants on the Kings’ Table.
MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Assoc. Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė Keen
• member of Scientific Commission of Archaeology of the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, https://e-seimas.lrs.lt/portal/legalAct/lt/TAD/9de3400296e311eaa51db668f0092944?jfwid=2r1mnh0a
MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES
Assoc. Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzeviciutė Keen, Invited lecture at Washington University of St. Louis Globalization in Prehistory: Reflection and Perspectives.
7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7293
E-mail:
Head – Assoc. Prof. Grigorijus Potašenko
STAFF
Associate professor: Dr G. Potašenko
RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Region’s stateless minority cultures (cultures that do not benefit from the moral and material support of a “home country” anywhere): Yiddish, Old Believers, Tatars, Crimean Karaites, Roma multicultural studies.
RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2022
National Research Projects
The Old Believers’ Church in Lithuania (1918–2018) (No. S-LIP-19-69). The Research Council of Lithuania. Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko. 2018–2022.
The aim of the project is to continuously study the history of the Lithuanian Old Believers’ Church from 1918 to 2018, updating it significantly in terms of sources and research methods, exploring the most important problems of this community, and developing new historical plots. The main object of this research in 2022 was the development of the Lithuanian Old Believers’ Church from 1945 to 2018.
MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
Old Believers Research Commission of the International Committee of Slavists
Torun Mikołaj Kopernik university (Poland)
Institute of Social Research (Lithuania)
National Minorities Department under the of Lithuania Republic Government (Lithuania)
OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES
Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko
• member of Old Believers Research Commission of the International Committee of Slavists (www.staroobr-kom.ru);
• member of Lithuanian Slavists Society;
• editorial board member of the journal Przegląd Wschodnioeuropejski (East European Review), www.uwm.edu.pl/cbew/p.wschodnioeuropejski.html;
• editorial board member of the journal Fontes Slaviae Orthodoxae, http://www.uwm.edu.pl/slowianie/index.php/czasopisma/Fontes_Slaviae_Orthodoxae.
BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
International Conference Language and Culture of the Old Believe, Tartu (Estonia). Report Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko (with coauthor) G. Frolov and Rezekne Icon Painting Center (online).
Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko
• member of the Academic Committee on National Minorities (Department of National Minorities, Ministry of Culture of Lithuania).
CENTRE FOR STUDIES OF HISTORY OF EAST EUROPEAN JEWS
7 Universiteto, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 67 212902
E-mail:
Head – Prof. Jurgita Verbickienė
STAFF
Professors: Dr J. Verbickienė.
Assistants: Dr A. Naudžiūnienė (on the maternity live), Dr D. Troskovaitė.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
• Studies of the history and heritage of East European Jews (including the Crimean Karaite communities)
• Socio-economic and socio-cultural history of Jews in Lithuania (14-20th century)
• Education and presentation of Jewish heritage in contemporary society
• Antisemitism studies
• Jewish migration from Eastern Europe
RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2022
National Research Projects
The Infrastructure of the GDL Border with Prussia: A Study of Social Environment and Economic Efficiency in the Second Half of the 18th Century (S-MIP-21-50). The Research Council of Lithuania. Prof. J. Verbickienė, 2021–2024.
The borderland between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) and Prussia was one of the major locations of foreign trade. It comprised the movement of goods by land and waterway, as well as a wide infrastructure of trade, services for travelling tradespeople, and border control. Using the documents prepared by the officials of the GDL Treasury, which provide a detailed description and evaluation of the existing infrastructure, reveal the different capacities of separate customs, the extent of smuggling, and the movement of goods, as well as the accounts of transportation of goods composed by nobles’ officials, and other sources, the project aims to examine the infrastructure of the GLD-Prussian borderland, its social environment and economic efficiency. The analysis of the movement of goods to and from the border (their assortment, quantities, and modes of transportation in relation to seasonal change) enables the network of individuals responsible for the transportation to be revealed, as well as the duration of the process and to explore other hitherto largely ignored topics, such as the modus operandi of tradespeople, alternative ways of trading (smuggling), ways to circumvent the border control, and the everyday life of the people and officials living and operating on the borderland between Prussia and the GDL. The central research question is how the region that supposedly enabled the largest flow of goods functioned. The research also seeks to ascertain what its economic throughput was, which objects constituted the borderland’s infrastructure, and what changes it underwent in the course of time. The research seeks to examine the development of the travelling algorithm and to provide an analysis of topics related to the quality and quantity of the infrastructure, as well as the economic and social functioning of the borderland region and neighbouring localities in the second half of the 18th century. The research will be based on historical research methods and techniques from the digital humanities. The project started on 2021/05/01, and by the end of 2021, a few papers had been presented at international conferences.
MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INOVATION) PARTNERS
Graz University (Austria)
German Historical Institute (Poland and Vilnius Brunch)
Hebrew University Jerusalem (Israel)
Tel-Aviv University (Israel)
Jewish Historical Institute (Poland)
Warsaw University (Poland)
Southampton University (UK)
Texas State University (USA)
Yeshiva University (USA)
YIVO Institute (USA)
Association of Jewish Cultural Road / Jewish Heritage Lithuania (Lithuania)
Institute of Lithuanian History (Lithuania)
Kėdainiai Regional Museum (Lithuania)
Lituanian Radio and Television (LRT) (Lithuania)
Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (Lithuania)
Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History (Lithuania)
OTHER REEARCH ACTIVITIES
Prof. J. Verbickienė
• member of the Association of Baltic Regional Studies;
• member of European Association of Jewish Studies;
• member of the World Union of Jewish Studies;
• member of the National Congress of Lithuanian Historians;
• editorial board member of the journal Przeszłość demograficzna Polski. Materiał i Studia (Poland’s Demographic Past, https://wnus.edu.pl/pdp/pl/page/1457673467,
• editorial board member of the journal Цаитшрифт (European Humanities University, Vilnius).
Dr D. Troskovaitė
• member of the Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies;
• member of the European Association of Jewish Studies;
• member of the World Union for Jewish Studies.
BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD
1. World Congress of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem (Israel). Report Dr D. Troskovaitė In the Footsteps of our Jewish Brethren. Karaite Migration and Settlement in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
2. Changing Societies – Dimensions of Europeanization, Arqus research focus forum, Gratz (Austria). Report Dr D. Troskovaitė From Multilingualism to a National Language – (Un)successful National Project of Polish–Lithuanian Karaite Community in 20th – 21st Century.
MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES
Prof. J. Verbickienė
• member of the Advisory Committee on Foundation of Jewish Heritage, London (UK), www.foundationforjewishheritage.com/panel.html;
• chairman of the Commission for Providing a “Diploma of Memory”, Vilnius University;
• chairman of the Board of the Jewish Cultural Heritage Road Association, Lithuania;
• member of the Academic Committee on National Minorities (Department of National Minorities, Ministry of Culture of Lithuania);
• senior research advisor of the Rumšiškės market town museum.