Through factors such as trade, Christianisation, the wars waged by the
chivalric orders, and the importation of laws, the autochthonous peoples
of the Baltic region were exposed to cultural, linguistic, and political
influences of varying degrees. In this way, they were subjected to
formative processes which are frequently compared with colonial
practices. The cultures (German, Danish, Polish, Swedish, and Russian)
which played a dominating role in the region established a wide array of
economic, legal, religious, and cultural institutions; an army of
specialists (officials, lawyers, clergymen, writers, teachers) was
enlisted in order to firmly entrench their power-not least in the
consciousness of the dominated peoples. To this end, and due to the
post-Reformation requirement to use the native language, many of these
specialists had to engage with the local cultures and languages. In the
domains of journalism, literature, and academia, this led to greater
reflection on the various Baltic languages and ethnic groups, and on the
asymmetrical structural tensions between the dominant and subordinate
cultures. The aim of the official legislation and cultural activity was
to ensure the cultural and social survival of the ruling minorities.
This state of affairs led to an extraordinary concentration of
educational initiatives in the Baltic region, the effects of which were
sometimes visible across Europe (we might think for example of the many
Hofmeister (private tutors), who facilitated intellectual exchange far
beyond the borders of the Baltic states in the 18th century). In the
cultural centres of power, scholars who had been integrated into the
social order-often after having risen from a farming background-began to
elaborate, from within the midst of and with the means of, but
ultimately against, the dominant educational paradigms, conceptions of
the distinctive cultural character of the various Baltic linguistic
communities. From the time of the first "national awakening," this was
accompanied by the internal formation of the Baltic peoples, who often
manifested symptoms of an "internal colonisation" (as the planned
construction of society was termed in Prussia). Like all nations, the
Baltic nations have constituted themselves-sometimes in accordance with
Soviet requirements-by means of educational practices, schools,
literature, culture, media, linguistic policies, and so on. Today they
must also deal with minorities (particularly those of Russian origin),
and with a wide range of linguistic and cultural contexts of exchange.
In almost all of their dimensions, then, the history, economy,
administration, languages, law, culture, and literature of the Baltic
states almost unavoidably bear on the question of "education." Across
linguistic and cultural borders, the histories of the Baltic peoples and
cultures can (also) be told as educational histories. Moreover, the
Baltic region is an area of exemplary significance where the theme of
education is concerned: for education always has something of a colonial
character, insofar as individuals defined as superior promise or feel
entitled to "cultivate" supposedly inferior individuals in accordance
with a model which will allow them to become truly "cultured." The fact
that teachers and learners were divided among different ethnic groups in
the Balkans for such a long time serves to make this tension inherent to
all education even more apparent. The theme of "Baltic educational
histories" can thus be approached in a variety of ways from all areas of
historical and contemporary research on the Baltics. We welcome
contributions from a wide range of perspectives, which may include
analyses of relevant fields of discourse, religious and cultural
institutions and trends, and academic disciplines as a whole, or studies
which focus on exemplary or exceptional stories of individuals, groups,
or entire peoples.
Sessions:
1. Languages of education - language education (chairs: Egle Kontutyte
and Reet Bender)
2. Educational media (chairs: Ulrike Plath and Maris Saagpakk)
3. Educational institutions (chairs: Silke Pasewalck and Liina Lukas)
4. Symbolic orders (chairs: Karsten Brüggemann and Jaan Undusk)
5. Key players in education (chairs: Jost Eickmeyer and Anu Schaper)
6. Nation building - educating nations (chairs: Thomas Taterka and
Julija Boguna)
7. Power structures in language, literature, and culture (chairs: Ruta
Eidukeviciene and Andreas Kelletat)
8. Open sessions (these offer a forum for other contributions which fit
the overall conference theme but not the topic of one of the other
sessions).
Conference organised by
The Baltic-German Network for German Studies
Planning committee:
Dr Reet Bender (Tartu)
Professor Ruta Eidukeviciene (Kaunas)
Professor Jürgen Joachimsthaler (Marburg)
Professor Maris Saagpakk (Tallinn)
Professor Thomas Taterka (Riga)
Dr Egle Kontutyte (Vilnius)
Overall conception/planning committee representative:
Professor Jürgen Joachimsthaler (Marburg)
Organisation:
Dr Silke Pasewalck (Tartu)
Applications: please send a proposed title, together with a short
October 2015, indicating the session for which the paper is most
appropriate.
We shall endeavour to cover travel expenses, but would ask participants
to attempt to secure reimbursement for their travel costs from their
institutions or other sources in the first instance.
