The Second International Congress of Belarusian Studies will begin in one month

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The main academic event of 2012:

 

Second International Congress of Belarusian Studies

Second International Congress of Belarusian Studies will be held on 28-30 September in Kaunas, Lithuania.

 

Organising committee received an unprecedented number of applications – over 400. Among the participants are scholars from Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, Canada, France, Finland, Belgium, Great Britain, Hungary, Japan, Moldova, Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, USA. They include a well-known British slavist Arnold McMillin, slavist and translator, the chairman of Anglo-Belarusian society Jim Dingley, Japanese researcher of Poland and Belarus Makoto Hayasaka, well-known Russian historian Alexei Miller, outstanding figure of Belarusian emigration, the founder of Francysk Skaryna Library in London Alexander Nadsan, Belarusian filmmaker Andrej Kudzinenka, leading scholars of Belarusian history, political science, philosophy, linguistics, religion studies, art, civil society etc.

 

Preliminary thematic structure of the Congress:

 

History (social history, political history, economic history):

 

1. Grand Duchy of Lithuania: Politics, System of Government, Law and International Relations
2. Lingua et Natio: Ethnicity Problem in Middle Ages and Early Modern Time (Grand Duchy of Lithuania Case)
3. Modernisation, Industrialisation and Political Transformation: Belarus in the 19-20th Centuries

 

Humanities:

1. Contemporary Belarusian Culture
2. Contemporary Belarusian Art: Discourse, Theory, Practice
3. Belarusian Cinema: Reinterpretation of the “Soviet” and Problems of Post-Soviet Period
4. Belarusian Literature: Translation, Publication and Research
5. Belarusian Bible: Problems and Prospects of Academic Translation
6. Theological Thought: Historical and Social Context, Research Problems and Prospects for Development

 

Social disciplines (political science, political economy, international relations, European studies):

 

1. Institutions of Belarusian Politics, 1990-2012
2. Belarus in the System of Bilateral Relations
3. European Studies in Belarusian context
4. Belarus: Challenges of Economic and Political Modernization

 

Economy:

1. Issues of Belarusian Economy Transformation

 

Interdisciplinary fields (memory policy, contemporary history, social and political theory, urban studies, religion studies, gender studies):

1. Diversities of (Post)Communism in Central and Eastern Europe
2. City, Urbanisation, City Dwellers: Historical Urban Studies
3. Social and Humanitarian Knowledge: Change of Research Paradigms
4. Religion Studies in Belarus: Gains of Two Decades and Prospects for Development
5. Gender Policies and Practices in Belarus
6. Gender Theory in Belarusian Humanities

 

Panels for practical problems :

1. Reform of Belarusian Education System: Practices and Intellectual Background
2. Belarusian Civil Society Studies

 

Panels of particular interest:

 

Section on bilateral relations of Belarus, from relations with Lithuania and Poland to China, Serbia etc.

 

Panel on energy security.

 

Section on economy and reforms

 

Section on problems of ethnicity and language in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

 

Section on Bible translation into Belarusian

 

Section on problems of education system.

 

***

 

Organisers and partners of Congress: Vytautas Magnus University (Lithuania), Institute of Political Studies “Political Sphere” (Belarus), Grand Duchy of Lithuania Institute (Lithuania), International Consortium “EuroBelarus”, Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (Belarus), Internet magazine “Novaja Europa” (Belarus), Institute of Eastern Studies of Warsaw University, Agency for Humanity Technologies (Belarus), NGO Center for Eastern Politics (Lithuania), Web-page of expert community “Naše mnenije” (Belarus), “Arche” magazine (Belarus), “BelarusDigest” Internet magazine (Great Britain-Belarus).

 

The main working languages of the congress are Belarusian and English (simultaneous translation into these languages during plenary and joint sessions will be provided). Additional languages of communication are Russian, Polish and Lithuanian. Spokespersons can make presentations in Belarusian, English, Lithuanian, Polish and Russian.

 

Preliminary program:

 

28 September 2012

 

08.30 – 10.00 – Registration

 

10.00-11.00 Opening of the Congress

 

11.00-12.30 Plenary session

 

12.30-13.00 Coffee break

 

13.00-14.00 Plenary session

 

14.00 – 15.00 – Lunch

 

15.00 – 19.00 – Work in sections

 

 

29 September 2012

 

10.00 – 14.00 – Work in sections

 

14.00 – 15.00 – Lunch

 

15.00 – 16.40 – Public discussion

 

17.00-19.00 – Public discussions and presentations

 

 

30 September 2012

 

9.00 – 11.45 – Work in sections

 

12.00 – 14.00 – Closing ceremony

 

14.00 – Lunch