AABS is pleased to bring you a recap of the 2nd Baltic Studies Teaching and Learning Workshop, hosted by Wingate University from March 31-April 1, 2023.
The workshop was organized by Wingate University professor Dr. Joseph Ellis, who is also a former AABS board member. We thank Joseph for his recap remarks below, which have been lightly edited. We also encourage you to read Wingate’s article on the workshop.
On March 31st-April 1st, Wingate University hosted the 2nd Baltic Studies Teaching and Learning Workshop. The workshop featured Baltic scholars from throughout the American southeast, and included an online panel with participants from Germany, Latvia, and Poland. The keynote speaker for Friday was Dr. Ben Thorne, Associate Professor of History at Wingate University, who shared his work on Holocaust memorialization in Eastern Europe.
Joseph Ellis
Ramunė Kubilius and Dovilė Budrytė
The workshop coincided with the kickoff of the Baltic Studies Reading Room, a collection of over 1500 books, journals, and primary sources related to the Baltic states. The collection – curated by Wingate librarian Kory Paulus – is one of the largest collections in the southern United States. Ramunė Kubilius, an AABS member and one of the donors to the project, was also at the opening of the room.
Several AABS members were also in attendance, including current AABS President Dovilė Budrytė (Georgia Gwinnett College), and past board members Kara Brown (University of South Carolina) and Jordan Kuck (Brevard College). Workshop participants presented on a range of topics, from transnational fascism in Latvia, to the use of Ukrainian flag symbolism in Estonia and Lithuania.
Lingita Lina Henritiusa, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Latvia