Dr. Auksė Noreikaitė visited the University of Daugavpils
On 22-29 April 2023, Dr. Auksė Noreikaitė, lecturer of the Centre of Letonics at Vytautas Magnus university visited the Centre of Lithuanian Studies at the University of Daugavpils. During the visit, she told to the students of philology and history programmes about ethnic processes taking place on the border between Lithuania and Latvia. The students were introduced to the specifics of the socio-cultural space of the Lithuanian-Latvian border and the problems of ethnic identity. The boundary markers of ethnic identity and the methodology of their research were presented.
Dr. Auksė Noreikaitė visited the Centre of Lithuanian Studies at the University of Daugavpils
Photos by Ingrida Kupšanė (Ingrīda Kupšāne) ir Vita Mendrikė (Vita Mendriķe)
A LECTURER FROM VYTAUTAS MAGNUS UNIVERSITY DR. MANTAS ANTANAS DAVIDAVIČIUS VISITED CHARLES UNIVERSITY IN PRAGUE
From 23rd to 30th of April dr. Mantas Antanas Davidavičius – a lecturer from Vytautas Magnus University‘s Humanities faculty, a Department of Philosophy – has visited Charles university in Prague, where he gave lectures at the department of Slavic and Eastern European studies, the Baltic studies centre. He discussed the transformations of traditional Lithuanian approach to nature in modernity, the philosophical basis for such transformation and its manifestations in literature. Through the contrast of symbolical and logical types of reasoning he analysed a common myth about a boy, who was raised by the bears in Lithuanian forests and has shown the students how transformation between the two types of reasoning was affected by Lithuanian philosophy of that time.
Dr. Mantas Antanas Davidavičius visited Charles university in Prague
Photos by Geda Montvilaitė
DR. JOANNA TABOR’S FROM UNIVERSITY OF WARSAW VISIT TO VILNIUS UNIVERSITY
From the 15th of April to the 23th of April 2023, Dr. Joanna Tabor, Head of the Department of General, Eastern Asia Comparative Linguistics and Baltic Studies at University of Warsaw visited Vilnius University and the Institute of Lithuanian Literature and Folklore. During her research visit, Dr. Joanna Tabor worked in libraries and had meetings with colleagues.
Lecturers of Vytautas Magnus University Visiting Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
On April 11-23, dr. Jurgita Macijauskaitė-Bonda, assoc. prof. dr. Laima Anglickienė and dr. Giedrė Barkauskaitė, lecturers from the Faculty of Humanities at Vytautas Magnus University, visited the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
During the visit, lectures on Lithuanian folk culture, such as Lithuanian traditional cuisine and traditional Lithuanian festivals were delivered. Students also watched a film about Easter and customs, traditions, and beliefs related to this particular festical. VMU lecturers participated in the lectures of Lithuanian language, too, where they taught Lithuanian phonetics and correct pronunciation.
In between the lectures, there were meetings with dr. Eiko Sakurai, lecturer of the Lithuanian language and culture, and dr. Yumiko Tatsumi, coordinator of international relations. Academic staff of both universities talked about the development of closer cooperation in the field of Baltic studies between the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and Lithuanian universities.
On 16 April, the Lithuanian Embassy in Japan was visited where the Lithuanian community in Japan was gathered. Lecturers told about Easter traditions and played Lithuanian games. The children of the Lithuanian community in Japan enjoyed taking part in a competition for the most beautiful Easter eggs, as well as in Easter egg-rolling, egg-carrying, egg-throwing, and other competitions, which help to preserve Lithuanian traditions, and encourage the youngest members of the Lithuanian community to get to know each other and to communicate in Lithuanian.
Lecturers from the Faculty of Humanities at Vytautas Magnus University, visited the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Photos by dr. Jurgita Macijauskaitė-Bonda, assoc. prof. dr. Laima Anglickienė and dr. Giedrė Barkauskaitė
Prof. Dr. Laura Kamandulytė-Merfeldienė visited the Faculty of Polish Studies at University of Warsaw
On April 10-17 assoc. prof. Dr. Laura Kamandulytė-Merfeldienė (VMU, Faculty of Humanities, Department of Lithuanian Studies) visited the Faculty of Polish Studies at University of Warsaw and met the lecturers and the students of Baltic studies program. During the visit students of Baltic studies program were given lectures on Lithuanian corpora and their usage, as well as on the usage of diminutives in spoken Lithuanian.
Prof. Dr. Laura Kamandulytė-Merfeldienė met the lecturers and the students of Baltic studies program
Photos by L. Kamandulytės-Merfeldienės
Academia Grammaticorum Salensis Vigesima
The twentieth Salos Summer School of Linguistics Academia Grammaticorum Salensis Vigesima will be held between July 23 and 29 in Salos, Rokiškis District. This time the topics of lectures and papers will centre around research problems connected with the Baltic languages.
This year the school is funded by the Lithuanian Academic Scheme for International Cooperation in Baltic Studies. Attendants from centres of Baltic studies will have all costs of travel, accommodation and board covered from this project. For attendants not delegated by centres of Baltic studies the participation fee is 120 EUR (100 EUR for members of the association “Academia Salensis” as well as for graduate and undergraduate students).
Dr. Teresė Ringailienė’s visit to Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest
On March 25 - April 1, Dr. Teresė Ringailienė, a lecturer at the Institute of Foreign Languages of Vytautas Magnus University, visited the Institute of Slavonic and Baltic Philology at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest. With her colleagues Dr. Aranka Laczházi and Dr. Agnieška Rembialkowska, working at Eötvös Loránd University, she discussed the specificity of teaching Lithuanian as a foreign language and discussed future plans and possibilities for further cooperation.
Dr. T. Ringailienė introduced both the teachers and the Lithuanian language students to Vytautas Magnus University, the Institute of Foreign Languages, which she heads, and the various opportunities to learn Lithuanian in Lithuania. Dr. Teresė Ringailienė introduced her textbook "Learn and Speak Lithuanian," which is designed for learners of Lithuanian at levels A1-A2.
The Lithuanian language lecture held by dr. Teresė Ringailienė focused on food: traditional Lithuanian and Hungarian foods and dishes. The students also shared recipes and tasted traditional Lithuanian foods.
Dr. Teresė Ringailienė at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest
Photographs from Teresė Ringailienė personal archive.
PROF. DR. VAIDA KAMUNTAVIČIENĖ VISITING WARSAW UNIVERSITY
On 26 March – 2 April, 2023, prof. dr. Vaida Kamuntavičienė from the Department of History at Vytautas Magnus University was visiting the Baltic Center at Warsaw University. She gave lectures to students of Baltic studies on the problems of the use of Lithuanian and Polish languages in Lithuania in 1918-1940. This topic allowed for a general discussion about the significance of nationality in the first half of the 20th century in the Central Eastern European region, and about the peculiarities of Polish and Lithuanian languages. During the visit future research perspectives were discussed.
Prof. dr. Vaida Kamuntavičienė from the Department of History at VMU at Warsaw University
Photos by Joanna Tabor
Lithuanian language summer course
Students, professors, and researchers of foreign institutions of higher education as well as individuals of Lithuanian descent can submit their applications to the Lithuanian language summer course in July 2023.
This year the course will take place in Kaunas from 12 June 2023 to 11July 2023 and in Vilnius from 2 July 2023 to 3 July 2023.
Applications can be submitted here until 10 April 2023 local time (+2GMT).
Linas Didvalis visited Cracow University in Poland
On March 4-11, Linas Didvalis, Associate Professor at the Department of Cultural Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Vytautas Magnus University, visited Cracow University in Poland. During the visit, the students were presented with the documentary film "Visas of Life. The Chain of Courage“ that tells the story of the beginning of the Second World War, when Jewish refugees arriving in Lithuania from Poland were helped by the Japanese consul in Kaunas, Chiune Sugihara, and a wide network of other people. Dr. Didvalis also gave lectures on Lithuanian-Japanese relations and the peculiarities of the East Asian region. In between the lectures, there were meetings with researchers, lecturers, international relations coordinators. This allowed to exchange experiences and discuss future plans.
