Faculty of History

Sukurta: 12 May 2022

if

Universiteto 7, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7280
E-mail
www.if.vu.lt

Dean – Dr Loreta Skurvydaitė

 

STAFF

45 teachers (incl. 44 holding research degree), 18 research fellows (incl. 13 holding research degree), 33 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
Centre for Stateless Cultures
Centre for Studies of History of East European Jews
Bioarchaeology Research Centre

RESEARCH AREAS

History of Lithuania: sources, historiography, heritage, memory
Prehistory and archaeology of Lithuania

DOCTORAL DISSERTATIONS MAINTAINED IN 2021

M. Grikpėdis. The Origin of Cultural Plants in Lithuania in the Context of Eastern Baltic Based on Archaeobotanical Material Dated up to 14th Century A.D.
R. Leonavičiūtė-Gecevičienė. Bona Sforza and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Strengthening of the Jagiellonian Dynasty.
Š. Sederevičiūtė. Photography in German-occupied Lithuania (1941–1944): Between Historical Source and Interpretations.
M. Šiupšinskas. Urban and Socio-cultural Aspects of the Collective Garden Phenomenon. The Case of Soviet Lithuania.

MAIN CONFERENCES ORGANIZED IN 2021

International hybrid conference The New Old Europe. The Centennial of Marija Gimbutienė Birth (11th International Scientific Readings of Prof. Jonas Puzinas), organized with partners, www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/1729-11-oji-tarptautine-jono-puzino-skaitymu-konferencija-atgimstanti-senoji-europa-2021-09-23-24
International online conference Beyond being a Pastoralist in Central Asia, organized with partners / www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/1653-online-conference-beyond-being-a-pastoralist-in-central-asia-2021-03-26
International conference A Divisive Past: The Soviet-German War and Narratives of Mass Violence in East Central Europe, organized with partners / www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/1695-tarptautine-konferencija-skaldanti-praeitis-ssrs-vokietijos-karas-ir-masinio-smurto-naratyvai-vidurio-rytu-europoje-2021-06-4-5-d
International conference 100 years of Diplomatic Relations between Lithuania and Finland, organized with partners / https://valtioneuvosto.fi/en/-/centenary-of-diplomatic-relations-between-lithuania-and-finland.
International online symposium New Directions in Visas for Life Studies. A Memorial Symposium, Honoring Simonas Dovidavičius, organized with partners, www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/1627-new-directions-in-visas-for-life-studies-a-memorial-symposium-honoring-simonas-dovidavicius-2021-02-19
International conference Tatars in the History and Culture of Lithuania from the 14th to the 21st Centuries: The Latest Researches, organized with partners, http://www.totoriuistorijosirkulturosmetai.flf.vu.lt
National conference Mausoleum ot the Radziwiłł family: Spaces, Remains, Objects. Cases of Dubingiai and Kėdainiai, www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/1675-konferencija-ir-diskusija-radvilu-mauzoliejai-erdves-palaikai-daiktai-dubingiu-ir-kedainiu-atvejai-2021-05-28
National conference University of Jonas Kubilius (1958-1991), www.if.vu.lt/naujienos1/renginiai/1733-konferencija-jono-kubiliaus-universitetas-1958-1991-2021-10-01
National seminar Alternative Discussion Space. Heritas’21: Recharge the Heritage,/ https://heritas.lt/festivalis/alternatyvi-diskusiju-erdve

MAIN SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2021

Significant investigations: scientific archaeological excavations in the framework of the Gas Interconnection Poland-Lithuania (GIPL) project (Prof. A. Kuncevičius, et al.).
 
DEPARTMENT OF ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL HISTORY

Universiteto 7, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7297
E-mail
Head – Assoc. Prof. Liudas Jovaiša

STAFF

Professor: Dr I. Valikonytė (part-time).
Associate professors: Dr V. Dolinskas (part-time), Dr L. Jovaiša, Dr E. Saviščevas.
Teaching assistants: Dr N. Dambrauskaitė, Dr T. Čelkis, Dr M. Jakulis.
Research professor: Dr A. Ragauskas.
Researchers: Dr N. Dambrauskaitė (part-time), Dr A. Pister-Gainienė (postdoc, part-time).
Research assistants: N. Šlimienė, S. Viskantaitė-Saviščevienė.
Doctoral students: K. Čižauskas, R. Miškinytė, P. A. Stepavičius, T. Vaitkus.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

History of Lithuania: sources, historiography, heritage, 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

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2021

National Research Projects

Research Council of Lithuania. 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). 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.

Research Council of Lithuania. Legal Culture of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania: The Rulers Court in the End of the 15 th-16th Century (No. S-LIP-19-70). Prof. I. Valikonytė. 2019–2022.

The most important task is to analyse the ruler’s court and its’ branches formation history which has not received researchers’ attention yet. The most important sources are the Ruler’s court books included in 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 its obeying i.e. the principle of 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.

Research Council of Lithuania. Between Vocation and Profession: the Protestants’ Clergy (Calvinists) in the GDL in the XVI–XVIII c. (No. S-MIP-19-12). 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 aim of the project is to fully analyse the 16th–18th centuries with the help of modern research methods. To publish the results obtained as a scientific monograph and to ensure the national and international dissemination of research.

Research Council of Lithuania. Postdoctoral internship project: Music of 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). Dr A. Pister-Gainienė. 2020–2022.

Combining the musicological and historical perspective, 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, 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 competence of an intern. The results of the project are planned to be published in Lithuanian and foreign scientific publications and in the Lithuanian media.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION) PARTNERS

Chamber of Notaries (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Institute of History (Lithuania)
National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (Lithuania)

OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

Prof. I. Valikonytė –

  • editorial board member of the journal Istorijos šaltinių tyrimai (Studies in Historical Sources), www.istorija.lt/leidiniai/testiniai-leidiniai/istorijos-saltiniu-tyrimai.

Assoc. Prof. V. Dolinskas –

  • editor-in-chief of the serial publication Chronicon Palatii Magnorum Ducum Lithuaniae;
  • 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.

Assoc. Prof. L. Jovaiša –

  • member 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

  • Assoc. Prof. E. Saviščevas. The Old Europe of Marija Gimbutas and Civilisation as a Keyword of Historical Discourse. International hybrid conference The New Old Europe. The Centennial of Marija Gimbutienė Birth, Vilnius (Lithuania).
  • Dr T. Čelkis. The Importance of "Old People" (Witnesses) in Identifying the Correct Boundaries of Lands in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania 15–16 Centuries. International conference Real and Imagined Borders of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ciechanowiec (Poland).

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. V. Dolinskas –

  • chairman of Commission for Culture and Art Awards of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania;
  • 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.
     

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGY

Universiteto 7, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7284
E-mail
Head – Prof. Albinas Kuncevičius

STAFF

Professors: Dr A. Kuncevičius, Dr Habil. 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).
Lecturer: A. Žilinskaitė (part-time).
Teaching assistant: R. Augustinavčius (part-time).
Doctoral students: I. Brindzaitė, S. Ardavičiūtė-Ramanauskienė, 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 2021

National Research Projects

Research Council of Lithuania. Functional Development of Mounds: from the Fortified Settlement to the Residence of the Duke (No. S-MIP-21-22). Assoc. Prof. G.Vėlius. 2021–2024.

Complex research was carried out in the UNESCO protected Kernavė Archaeological Site in 2021. The four geophysical surveys using georadar were carried out in the territory of the mounds. 300 wells have been drilled in the central mound of Aukuras Hill, the stratigraphy of this heritage object has been determined. Archaeological excavations at the mound site investigated 36 sq m overpass. The study uncovered many artefacts dating back to the Iron Age and Middle Ages, a large paleozoological bone collection was collected and 50 soil samples were taken for paleobotanical studies. Also over 200 samples were collected from various cultures from different periods for C14 dating.

Research Council of Lithuania. Dogs in Lithuania during the 13th–18th C.: Origin of the Breeds, Function and Breeding Culture (No. S-MIP-20-5). Dr P. Blaževičius. 2020–2022.

In 2021, the project participants have collected all the data they had planned to collect on historical, iconographic and archaeological sources. Working with primary sources, the project participants prepared and presented 5 papers at international scientific conferences and 2 papers at conferences in Lithuania. In 2021, an article on dog tracks was prepared and published in the journal Lituanistica. An article based on historical sources was also prepared for the press on the conditions of keeping dogs in the manors and towns of the leaders and nobility in the GDL. In the course of laboratory research in 2021, zooarchaeological and palaeopathological analyses were performed for 168 individuals that were selected for more detailed analysis. aDNA analysis of 30 individuals, both teeth and bone samples were carried at Oxford University lab and the results of the analysis are currently being analysed. δ13C and δ15N stable isotopes analysis of 91 individuals were performed, 8 individuals were AMS 14C dated.

Contractual Research

UAB Alvora. Gas Interconnection Poland-Lithuania (GIPL) (archaeological research). Project leader Prof. Dr A. Kuncevičius. 2020–2021.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION) 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 Reserve of Kernavė (Lithuania)

OTHER RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

Prof. A. Kuncevičius –

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 –

Assoc. Prof. E. Šatavičius –

  • editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam.

Assoc. Prof. G. Vėlius –

  • editorial board member of the journal Archaeologia Lituana, www.journals.vu.lt/archaeologia-lituana/about/editorialTeam.

A. Žilinskaitė –

  • executive board member of European Association of Archaeologists, www.e-a-a.org/EAA/About/EAA_Boards_and_Committees/EAA/Navigation_About/EAA_Boards_and_Committees.aspx?hkey=adb43fb0-bbf0-4150-b96b-bdab0fbca40a;
  • chairwoman of The Society of Lithuanian Archaeology, http://lad.lt/lietuvos-archeologijos-draugija/vadovybe.

BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD

  • Žilinskaitė, J. Poškienė, A. Kurilienė. Current Challenges in Management of Endangered Archaeological Heritage in Lithuania. International online conference Contemporary Issues and Challenges in the Management of Heritage Sites in the Baltic States, Riga (Latvia).

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; chairman of the working group of the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education for preparation of Description of Archaeology Studies.
  • 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=zjgvs4rs8member of the working group of the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education for preparation of Description of Archaeology Studies.
  • 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; member of the working group of the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education for preparation of Description of Heritage Studies; chairwoman of the Board of the State Cultural Reserve of Kernavė, www.e-tar.lt/portal/lt/legalAct/4bf93a30174c11ebb0038a8cd8ff585f.

CONSULTATIONS PROVIDED BY THE UNIT TO THE PUBLIC OR ECONOMIC ENTITIES

  • Methodological seminar for the members of Assessment Councils for Immovable Cultural Heritage, Department under the Ministry of Culture. Report Assoc. Prof. J. Poškienė Buildings’ Remains, Discovered during Archaeological Excavations: Preservation in situ. Objectives, Practice, Legal Regulation.

MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES

  • Participation (lectures) in the European Archaeology Days at the National Museum of Lithuania.
     

DEPARTMENT OF MODERN HISTORY

Universiteto 7, 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.
Teaching assistants: Dr N. Černiauskas (part-time), Dr M. Ėmužis (part-time), Dr R. Gaidis, Dr K. Kilinskas, Dr V. Klumbys (part-time), Dr I. Zakšauskienė.
Lecturers: Dr A. Abromaitis (part-time), A. Grodis (part-time).
Researchers: A. Grodis (part-time), Dr M. Jurkutė (postdoc, part-time), Dr M. Šipelytė (postdoc, part-time).
Doctoral students: K. Bėčiūtė, D. Indrišionis, P. Japertas, L. Nekrašas, I. Rasickaitė, R. Roženė, I. Stanevičius, A. Suchodolskytė, 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 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 modernization of history studies
Cold War radio broadcasting to the Baltic States

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2021

National Research Projects

Research Council of Lithuania. Cross Junction of England, France, Russia and Germany Interests in Baltic States in 1918-1920 (No. S-MIP-21-46). Prof. Dr Z. Butkus. 2020–2024.

Search of the primary sources in Lithuanian Central State Archives and Latvian State Historical Archive was performed.

Research Council of Lithuania. Lithuanian Foreign Policy in 1917–1920. A Set of Documents (No. S-REP-20-1). Prof. Dr Z. Butkus. 2020–2021.

The project was completed. Final report received positive feedback and evaluation. Prepared volume of documents was provided for publication to publishing house Mokslas.

Research Council of Lithuania. Postdoctoral internship project: Memory of Participants of Violent Events: the Case of the Lithuanian Partisan War (No. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712-19-0134). Dr M. Jurkutė. 2020–2022.

Analysis of relevant historiography was conducted. 183 cases of family massacre in post-war period were researched in the archives of The Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania.

Research Council of Lithuania. Postdoctoral internship project: Juozas Gabrys and His Colleagues at the League of Nations in 1927–1939: Actions and Collective Biography (No. 09.3.3-LMT-K-712). Dr M. Šipelytė. 2020–2022.

The historiographical analysis of the theme was performed. Also, the search of primal sources was conducted at the Lithuanian State According to the project plan, the historiographical analysis of the theme was performed. Also, the search of primal sources was conducted at the Lithuanian State Historical Archives (Lithuania) as well as at the League of Nations Archives in the United Nations Library and Archives, Geneva (Switzerland).

Contractual Research

Contract with the Chamber of Notaries to conduct a research about the activities of Lithuanian Notariat in the interwar period of Lithuania 1918–1940.
Contract with Vilnius City Municipality Administration Historical Overview of Vilnius – Historical Vilnius Menu (consultation in preparing the concept “Vilnius 700”).

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION) PARTNERS

Oulu University (Finland)
The International Border Studies Center (IBSC) at the University of Gdańsk (Poland)
Gdansk University, Faculty of History (Poland)
Cambridge University Centre 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 –

  • member 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 –

  • advisory board member of the Transcultural Encounters Research Centre 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 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

  • Prof. A. Streikus. Catholic Underground in Lithuania: Offspring or Obstacle of Vatican’s Ostpolitik? International workshop Reinventing Religion: The Rise of Religious Sensibility in the late Soviet Union (1960s–1980s), Basel (Switzerland). Online paper presentation.
  • Assoc. Prof. D. Bukelevičiūtė. The First Decade of Lithuanian-Finnish Bilateral Relations 1990–2000: Challenges and Opportunities; Assoc. Prof. S. Kaubrys Lithuanian and Finnish Trade Relations in the 1920s–1930s.; A. Grodis. Great Britain's Baltic Policy and Lithuanian-Finnish Relations 1918–1925. International conference 100 Years of Diplomatic Relations between Lithuania and Finland, Helsinki (Finland).
  • Dr I. Zakšauskienė. Western Values for Captive Nations Penetrating the Iron Curtain: Reaction to Western Broadcasts in the Soviet Baltic States. SEEES online convention Listeners to Western Broadcasts in the Baltic States, Poland and Romania: Lessons from the Cold War (Conference Panel).
  • Dr I. Zakšauskienė. Britain’s Political Warfare in Early Cold War Lithuania. Online panel discussion Britain and the Cold War Baltic, Cambridge (UK). Online presentation.
  • Dr I. Zakšauskienė. Enemies and Traitors: The Image of the Soviet Union Disillusion in Russian Media. NATO Stratcom and Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Lithuania conference Emerging Trends and Challenges in Strategic Communication.

MOST IMPORTANT NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS RECEIVED FOR R&D ACTIVITIES

  • Dr M. Ėmužis, Lithuania Independence Scholarship, Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania.
  • Assoc. Prof. T. Vaiseta. Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania prize.

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 Breaking the Wall, prepared in the frames of programmes Kaunas – the European Capital of Culture 2022.
  • 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 a new exhibition in 2022; member of the working group of the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education for preparation of Description of Cultural Studies; member of the Commission of the Vilnius City Municipality Programme “Create Vilnius”; member of the experts’ group for Press, Radio and Television Support Foundation.
  • 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); member of the Commission of Scholarship Nomination of the Vilnius City History Researchers.
  • 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 CULTURAL HISTORY

Universiteto 7, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7288
E-mail
Head – Prof. Alfredas Bumblauskas

STAFF

Professors: Dr Habil. T. Bairašauskaite (part-time), Dr A. Bumblauskas, Dr M. Dremaitė, Dr I. Vaišvilaitė, Dr J. Verbickienė.
Associate professsors: 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).
Teaching assistants: Dr N. Babinskas (part-time), Dr V. Janušauskaitė (part-time), Dr A. Naudžiūnienė (part-time), Dr L. Skurvydaitė (part-time), Dr D. Troskovaitė.
Lecturer: D. Vitkauskaitė.
Researcher: Dr Leonavičiūtė.
Doctoral students: R. Anulytė, D. Čypaitė, R. Goštautaitė, T. Krutulys, I. Kudrešova, D. Misevičius, L. Mumgaudytė, V. Pilkauskienė, M. Valančiauskienė, S. Valiūnaitė.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Theoretical, methodological and historiographical problems of history
History of Lithuanian culture
Theoretical and didactical aspects of 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 the contemporary society

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2021

National Research Projects

Research Council of Lithuania. 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). Dr N. Babinskas. 2021–2024.

It is a systemic analysis and typological reinterpretation of 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 project’s aim: to verify the concept of the early feudalism of pre-Christian GDL with the help of the model of Early Central European state (ignored so far by the Lithuanian historiography).

Research Council of Lithuania. Modernization of Vilnius Residential Infrastructure in 1870–1940 (No. S-MOD-21-5). Dr A. Ambrulevičiūtė. 2021–2022.

The project will analyse the sociotopographic 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 to reinterpret the known facts and to introduce new sources into the context of Lithuanian urban research, to 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.

Research Council of Lithuania. Tadas Daugirdas: Archaeology of "three-colours" Identity (No. S-LIP-20-13). 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 the type of the Lithuanian intelligentsia that was emerging at the turn of the 19th and the 20th centuries. His activities covered at least a few areas of cultural and social life: painting, archaeology, museology, ethnology, journalism. His biography is an integral part of the Lithuanian cultural history.

Research Council of Lithuania. Augustinas Voldemaras. Intellectual and Social Biography (No. S-LIP-18-44). Assoc. Prof. A. Gieda. 2018–2021.

The object of the research is the intellectual and social biography of one of the most controversial personalities of inter-war Lithuania Augustinas Voldemaras (1883–1942). The aim of the project is to prepare and publish a monograph. The research will be based on the documents and manuscript material, associated with Voldemaras (documents of university activity, correspondence, memoirs, unpublished manuscripts etc.), from the archives of Lithuania, Russia and France. The project executor's register of the most solid research done to date and small-scale contextual references includes 528 positions. A detailed analysis of these positions will be an integral part of Voldemaras’s monograph. The compilation of a bibliography of texts published by A. Voldemaras was started (currently it contains 256 bibliographic records).

Contractual Research

Contract with Kėdainiai Regional Museum Complex Investigations of Burial Crypts of the Kėdainiai Evangelical Reformed Church.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION) PARTNERS

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;
  • 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.

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, Vilnus).

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 –

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

  • Prof. M. Drėmaitė. The Role of the Architect in the Late Socialist Mass Housing Planning and Design. International conference Optimistic Suburbia II, Lisbon (Portugal).
  • Prof. I. Vaišvilaitė. Solemn Crowning the Marian Images in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. International online conference Power, Tradition, Originality, Prague (Czech Republic).
  • Prof. I. Vaišvilaitė. Lithuanian Helsinki Group and Its Context. International online workshop Advocating Religious Freedom in the Helsinki Process New Research Perspectives on the Non-state Actors in View of the 50th Anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act (1975-2025).

MOST IMPORTANT RECEIVED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS FOR R&D ACTIVITIES

  • A public survey (Sprinter research) showed Prof. A. Bumblauskas to be 3rd most influential person in Lithuania.

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; Secretary General of the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO; 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.
  • 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; chairman of the working group of the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education for preparation of Description of Heritage Studies.
  • Assoc. Prof. R. Šermukšnytė: member of the Council National Museum of Lithuania; member of the Council of Trakai History Museum.
  • 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.

CONSULTATIONS PROVIDED BY THE UNIT TO THE PUBLIC OR ECONOMIC ENTITIES

  • Dr V. Janušauskaitė. Public consultations by heritage preventive care specialists FIXUS mobilis for heritage owners and other stakeholders. 8 consultations in various Lithuanian regions.
  • Prof. M. Drėmaitė. Training for the volunteers and guides of the annual architectural festival Open House Vilnius.
  • Prof. I. Vaišvilaitė. Consultation to the Seimas (Parliament of Lithuania) Committee on Culture on Heritage Protection issues in Law on Heritage Protection Amendments.

MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES

  • Prof. A. Bumblauskas led the 7th National Expedition (TV project) Lithuania in Europe.
  • Prof. A. Bumblauskas and Assoc. Prof. G. Kirkienė participated in the series of documentaries “The Way of Triumph. Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius“ (8 TV shows were produced).
  • Assoc. Prof. A. Švedas hosted 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

Čiurlionio 21, 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.
Lecturer: Dr J. Kozakaitė (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 2021

National Research Projects

European Social Fund. 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). 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 the central ten 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, have 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 is highly transferable in other cultural and chronologic frameworks, opening up new vistas for the expanding the studies on to the important topics that were previously closed due to the shortage of research material and insufficient methodologies.

Main publications:

Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, G., Mir-Makhamad, B. and Spengler, R. Interpreting Diachronic Size Variation in Prehistoric Central Asian Cereal Grains. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 2021, https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.633634.

Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, G., Mir-Makhamad, B. and Tabaldiev, K. The First Comprehensive Archaeobotanical Analysis of Prehistoric Agriculture in Kyrgyzstan. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-021-00827-0.

Spengler, R. et al. An Imagined Past? Nomadic Narratives in Central Eurasian Archaeology. Current Anthropology. 2021, 62(3): 251–286.
Rouse, L. M. Tabaldiev, K. and Motuzaite Matuzeviciute, G. Exploring Landscape Archaeology and UAV-based Site Survey in the Kochkor Valley, Kyrgyzstan. Journal of Field Archaeology. 2021, https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2021.1945744;

Alpaslan-Roodenberg, S., et al. Ethics of DNA Research on Human Remains: Five Globally Applicable Guidelines. Nature. 2021, 599: 41–46.

Research Council of Lithuania. Humans and Horses in Lithuania during the Migration Period (4th-6th c. AD) on the Basis of Sr and O Stable Isotope Data: Origin and Social Context (No. S-MIP-19-67). Assoc. Prof. G. Piličiauskienė. 2019–2021.

The 87Sr/86Sr analyses on 41 animal, 40 humans and 13 horses were performed. 32 humans and all horses were also directly AMS 14C dated. The analysis of 87Sr/86Sr of Late Roman – Post-Migration humans (n=40) demonstrates that about 30 % individuals were of non-local origin. There was no significant difference in number of non-locals comparing groups of males and females as well as people of different social stratus. 87Sr/86Sr analysis of Lithuanian horses partially supports the hypothesis that the largest horses of the Late Roman - Post-Migration period are of non-local origin. We identified 3/13 non-local horses, of which 2/3 were the largest individuals from above mentioned periods in Lithuania. Unfortunately, the overlapping ranges of bioavailable 87Sr/86Sr in most regions of Europe limit our ability to establish whether non-local individuals have come from other areas in Lithuania or from more distant regions. The area of origin of the non-local horses as well as some humans could be Southern Sweden. Several humans could originate also from Sambia or Poland. The results provide a basis for a new discussion on trends in migration during this transitional period. It also compels us to rethink the current models which situate Southern and Central Europe as the dominant vectors of migration. Results of 14C dating demonstrate that large-scale application of 14C dating can make a significant contribution to shaping the Roman Period - Migration Period research agenda.

Contractual Research

Permanent contracts (analysis of the archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological material).

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION) 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 –

  • editor of a special issue Frontiers in human evolution and environment;
  • ICOMOS & ICAHM Lithuanian expert;
  • ERC 2021 expert for IMEUR (Italian Ministry of Education, Universities and Research).

BEST REPORTS DELIVERED AT CONFERENCES ABROAD

  • Assoc. Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė. Locally Grown or Imported? Plant use in the Medieval Vilnius. Nordic Archaeobotany Group (NAG) online meeting 2021, Lund (Sweden).
  • Assoc. Prof. G. Piličiauskienė with co-authors. Hunting Dogs and Hunting with Dogs in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the 13th to 17th Centuries. Horseman and Horse in Lithuania during the 2nd – 14th c. AD: Size, Age and Origin of the Horses. International online conference XXVII European Congress of Archaeologists, Kiel (Germany).
  • Žilinskaitė, J. Poškienė, A. Kurilienė. Current Challenges in Management of Endangered Archaeological Heritage in Lithuania. International online conference Contemporary Issues and Challenges in the Management of Heritage Sites in the Baltic States, Riga (Latvia).
  • Assoc. Prof. G. Piličiauskienė with co-authors. Dogs in Lithuania in the 13th–17th c.: Morphology, Diet and Health Status. International scientific conference of the Council of Archaeozoologists (Working group on Archaeology, Genetics, Proteomics and Morphometry), Oulu (Finland).

MOST IMPORTANT RECEIVED NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL AWARDS FOR R&D ACTIVITIES

  • Assoc. Prof. G. Motuzaitė Matuzevičiūtė, Vilnius University Rector’s prize for scholarly achievements in 2021.

MOST IMPORTANT PARTICIPATION CASES OF RESEARCHERS IN WORKING GROUPS OR COMMISSIONS SET UP BY STATE AUTHORITIES, STATE AND MUNICIPAL INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS, BUSINESS ENTITIES

CENTRE FOR STUDIES OF HISTORY OF EAST EUROPEAN JEWS

Universiteto 7, LT-01513 Vilnius
Tel. 268 7288
E-mail:
Head – Prof. Jurgita Verbickienė

STAFF

Professor: Dr J. Verbickienė.
Teaching assistants: Dr A. Naudžiūnienė (on maternity live), Dr D. Troskovaitė.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Studies of history and heritage of East European Jews (including the Karaimes’ 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 2020

National Research Projects

Research Council of Lithuania. 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). Prof. J. Verbickienė. 2021–2024.

The borderland between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Prussia was one of the major locations of foreign trade. It comprised the movement of goods by land and waterways, as well as a wide infrastructure of trade, services for traveling 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 to reveal the network of individuals responsible for the transportation 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, which enabled, supposedly, the largest flow of goods, functioned and what was its economic throughput, which objects constituted the borderland’s infrastructure and what changes it underwent in the course of time. The development of the traveling algorithm, as well as the analysis of topics, related to the quality and quantity of the infrastructure, economic and social functioning of the borderland region and neighbouring localities in the second half of the 18th century will be based on methods of historical research and the techniques digital humanities. Project start on the 1 of May 2021, till the end of the 2021 was presented few papers in the in the international conferences.

Research Council of Lithuania. Development of Non-Christian Identity in Lithuania in 19–20th Centuries (No S-LIP-18-33). Dr D. Troskovaitė. 2018–2021.

Intermediate results of the research project were presented in an international conference; the structure of the future study, based on the implemented research, was prepared; the research on historiography and archival research conducted. The research trips were postponed due to Covid-19 regulations; presentation for an international conference was prepared but due to Covid-19 restrictions the conference was postponed to spring 2022.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION) PARTNERS

Graz University (Austria)
Belarusian-Jewish Cultural Heritage Center (Belorussia)
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)
Association of Jewish Cultural Road / Jewish Heritage Lithuania (Lithuania)
Institute of Lithuanian History (Lithuania)
Kėdainiai Regional Museum (Lithuania)
Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT) (Lithuania)
Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania (Lithuania)
Vilna Gao Museum of Jewish History (Lithuania)

OTHER RESEARCH 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

  • Prof. J. Verbickienė with co-authors. Identifying and Reconstructing the Network by Jewish Rented Inns along the Border of Prussia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. International conference What’s New, What’s Next? Innovative Methods, New Sources, and Paradigm Shifts in Jewish Studies, Warsaw (Poland). The session block was organized The Network of Inns in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 18th century: A Spatial Humanities Approach to Jewish Socio-Economic Activities in Early Modern History.
  • Prof. J. Verbickienė with co-authors. Mapping Geohistorical narratives: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania Borderlands Infrastructures Project, 18th Century. International Cartographic Conference (ICC) 2021, Florence (Italy).
  • Prof. J. Verbickienė. Who and When Decided that the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a Tolerant State? The Creation and Regulation of Tolerance Boundaries in the Multi-confessional Society of Grand Duchy of Lithuania. International conference Conflict after Compromise: Regulating Tensions in Multi-Confessional Societies in the Fifteenth Century, Prague Czech Republic).
  • Prof. J. Verbickienė. Trends and Structure of Habitation of Jews in the Minsk Wojewodztwo. Analysis of the Situation in the Second Part of the 18th Century. International conference The History, Culture and Heritage of Jews in Belarus across the Age, Minsk (Belorussia).

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 Museum.

CONSULTATIONS PROVIDED BY THE UNIT TO THE PUBLIC OR ECONOMIC ENTITIES

  • Vilnius municipality.
  • Meilė Lukšiėnė Centre of Education in Marijampolė.
  • MO Museum, Vilnius Museum, Kėdainiai Megional Museum, Rumšiškės Museum.

MOST IMPORTANT RESEARCH DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES

  • Dr D. Troskovaitė. Permanent exhibition The Unknown History of Lithuanian Karaites – Secrets of Regional Historical Past. Cycle of three lectures. Naujamiestis Cultural centre – art gallery.
  • Prof. J. Verbickienė. Host of the show, radio broadcast Džiazuojanti istorija.
  • Prof. J. Verbickienė with co-authors. Temporary exhibition Hidden Image. Vilna Gaon. Jewish Historical Institute Warsaw (Poland).
     

CENTRE FOR STATELESS CULTURES

Universiteto 7, 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, Karaimes, Roma multicultural studies.

RESEARCH PROJECTS CARRIED OUT IN 2021

National Research Projects

Research Council of Lithuania. The Old Believers’ Church in Lithuania (1918–2018) (No S-LIP-19-69). Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko. 2018–2021.

The aim of the project is to study continuously 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 new historical plots. The main object of this research in 2020 was the development of the Lithuanian Old Believers’ Church from 1918 to 1945.

MAIN R&D&I (RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION) 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

  • Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko. Difficult 1940s: How did Vilnius Become the Religious Center of Lithuanian Old Believers? International online conference 9th Meeting of the Japan Society of Old Believers Research 2021, Japan.
  • Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko. Lithuanian Old Believers 1944-1953: The "New Course" of the Soviet Authorities, the Activities of the Supreme Old Believers Council, the Change in the Number of Pomorian Communities. International online conference XXIII International Slavic Conference, Olsztyn (Poland).
  • Assoc. Prof. G. Potašenko. Soviet Authorities and the Old Believer Pomorian Church of Lithuania (1953-1966): The Supreme Old Believers Council between Survival and Adaptation. International online conference Comprehensive Archeography, Moscow (Russia).

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. Potašenko: member of the Academic Committee on National Minorities (Department of National Minorities, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania).