The National History Museum of Latvia (NHML) organizes an interdisciplinary, international conference “On the Road to Becoming Latvian: the Ethnic Consolidation of the Latvians.” The conference will be held in Riga, at Brīvības bulvāris 32, in the conference hall of the National History Museum of Latvia on 14th and 15th September 2016.
Since 1996 the National History Museum of Latvia has been implementing the project “Latvian Roots”. Within this project several major exhibitions, books, conferences and other educational activities have been organized both in Latvia and Lithuania. These activities and publications were dedicated to the ancient peoples living in the present-day territory of Latvia in the 2nd–12th century – the Curonians, Semigallians, Livonians, Latgalians and Selonians – their ethnic history and material culture.
Latvian historiography presents comparatively many unanswered questions concerning the preconditions, circumstances and process of the formation of the Latvian people. Thus far, there has been no comprehensive research providing an overview of this process and a comprehensive evaluation of the available source material. The main focus has usually been on the time and conditions of nation-forming in the 19th century, but relatively little has been done to analyse the developments leading up to it. The emergence of the Latvians as a people took place during a longer period, from the 13th up to the 19th century. However, the beginning as well as the end of this process cannot be narrowed down to a specific date. It was a lengthy process with a smooth transition from one state of being to another. This process was influenced by many factors and coincidences, which resulted in the consolidation of different peoples living in the territory of Latvia and the emergence of the Latvians as an ethnic community.
Conference Program
14 th September
9.30-10.00 Registration
10.00-10.10 Conference Opening. Address from the director on National History Museum of Latvia Dr. hist. Arnis Radiņš.
10.10-10.35 How old is the Latvian nation? Dr. hist. Muntis Auns (Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia).
10.35-11.00 Melting pot – Livonia. A comparison with European countries. Dr. sc. soc. Dagmāra Beitnere-Le Galla (Institute of philosophy and sociology, University of Latvia).
11.00-11.25 Anthropological aspects of the formation of Latvian peoples. Dr. hist. Gunita Zariņa (Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia).
11.25-12.00 Coffe Break
12.00-12.25 The impact of the fight for supremacy in the Baltic Sea on the nuances of the formation of the Latvian nation (1558-1629). Prof. Dr. hist. Gvido Straube (Faculty of History and Philosophy, University of Latvia).
12.25-12.50 The Moravian Church – the nation’s spiritual base. Dr. hist. Gundars Ceipe (The leader of the Moravian Church movement).
12.50-13.15 Ethnic mapping in the Tsarist Russia in the period from 1850 to 1900 and its role in the formation of national identity (case of Latvia and Estonia). Dr. hist. Imants Ļaviņš (Intercultural Research Centre).
13.15-14.15 Lunch Break
14.15-14.40 Different national self-awareness in Lithuania and Latvia. Prof. Dr. hum. Alvydas Butkus (Vytautas Magnus University).
14.40-15.05 How do Latvian regions speak? Dr. philol. Anna Stafecka (Latvian Language Institute, University of Latvia).
15.05-15.30 The ones left outside of the Latvian people: example of kursenieki. Dr. hist. Krišs Kapenieks (The Latvian War museum).
15.30-15.55 Traces of Latgallians, Selonians and Curonians in the ancient layer of folk music. Prof. Dr. phil. Mārtiņš Boiko (Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music).
15.55-16.20 “Catholic song book” by V. H. Līven as an example of co-existence of Lutheran and Catholic traditions and its role in the process of consolidation of denominational components among Kurzeme Latvians. Dr. hist. eccl. Andris Priede (Faculty of Theology, University of Latvia).
15 th September
9.30-10.00 Registration
10.00-10.25 Ethnicity and archaeology. The aspects of identity of the residents of territory of Latvian at the end prehistory and during the era of Crusades. Dr. hist. Andris Šnē (Faculty of History and Philosophy, University of Latvia).
10.25-10.50 Disappearance and Traces of the Finnic population in northern Latvia: an archaeological Perspective. Prof. Dr. Heiki Valk (University of Tartu).
10.50-11.15 Funerary traditions of the ancient Karelians: the today’s situation of the overall research. Candidate of Historical Sciences Belskiy Stanislav (Peter the Great’s Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) Russian Academy of Sciences).
11.15-12.00 Reflection of the migration of Latvian population in the archaeological material of 13th -17th century: an example from the lower reaches of the Daugava. Dr.hist. Vitolds Muižnieks (National History Museum of Latvia).
12.00-13.00 Lunch Break
13.00-13.25 Medieval annular brooches with inscriptions – a reflection of the Christian identity in Livonia. Bc. hist. Iveta Berga-Muižniece (State Inspection for Heritage Protection of the Ministry of Culture).
13.25-13.50 Estonian brooches in the collection of the National History Museum of Latvia. Dr. art. Baiba Vaska (National History Museum of Latvia).
13.50-14.15 The roots of the Latvian traditional pottery. Mg. hist., Mg. art. Baiba Dumpe (National History Museum of Latvia).
14.15-14.40 The ethnic self-awareness contexts in the history of „Bisnieki” farmstead 17th – 19th century. Dr. hist. Rūdolfs Brūzis (Institute of Latvian History, University of Latvia).
14.40-15.00 Discussions