Summer Schools – Centre for Latvian Studies of Daugavpils University - NEWS

Daugavpils University has implemented the International Summer School “Phenomenology of the Border Area: Eastern Latvia”

Tue, 23 Aug 2022 08:02:00 +0000

On August 20, 2022, the international Latvian language and culture summer school “Phenomenology of the Border Area: Eastern Latvia” implemented by the Centre for Latvian Studies (LSC) of Daugavpils University (DU) was closed.

For ten days ten foreign scholarships holders from Ukraine, Mexico, Italy, South Korea, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkey, on-site and remotely took part in two summer school programme modules: “Latvian language as foreign language acquisition for A1 level” and “Border area phenomenology”.

In the module “Latvian language as foreign language acquisition for Level A1”, the participants of the summer school acquired the basic skills of speaking, reading, listening and writing in Latvian language at the A1 knowledge level, focusing on the use of Latvian language in daily and professional communication situations. Contemporary electronic resources and diverse learning materials were used for the acquisition of Latvian language. At the end of the course, the participants took a test on the compliance of their language skills with A1 knowledge level.

In the “Border area phenomenology” module, students attended a large number of Latvian border cultural and historical, creative industry and natural landscape objects, farms, presenting and analysing their specificities, development potential, social and economic aspects from the perspective of border area location.

Participants in discussions and practical tasks shared their vision of the challenges, opportunities and problems of border regions, analysed Daugavpils, Latgale region and Eastern Latvian society, culture and history, comparing Latvian and European border areas with examples of their home country.

The excursion along the city of Daugavpils with Retro tram, driving past the most important cultural history objects of the city, marked the most important facts about the multi-etnic and religious diversity inherent in the city. After excursion in hybrid format, the impressions were described and analysed by working in creative groups. A practical example of border crossing in Europe for summer school participants, representing non-European countries, was a trip to the Lithuanian border with Zarasai City festival.

An analysis of the local cultural history and economic life was carried in the Daugavpils fortress and the Daugavpils Shoot Factory Museum. By visiting Pauls Sukatnieks's home and garden in Dviete parish, Aivars Ušpelis pottery workshop in Malta parish and Ūdrīši parish farm “Kurmīši”, the characteristics of local economic development and the potential of gastrotourism were considered. The natural resources relevant to the development of the border were analysed by watching a film about the Nature Park “Dviete Floodplain”.

Summer school members were impressed by looking at Christ King Hill, making their own piece of bread in the Aglona Bread Museum, and enjoying one of the most vivid landscapes of Latvian nature in the mystical atmosphere of Chertoks Lake.

On the other hand, participants in a remote format were offered to watch films produced by the camp's organizers on the Aglona Bread museum, Basillica and Livani arts and crafts centre.

One of the highlight events of each summer school organised by LSC is the masterclass of Latvian folk dance and ethnographic dances in Latvian national costumes. Each participant was offerd to try on a Latvian national costume of historical region, feeling briefly the role of Latvian resident.

The participants of the “National Day” presented the most beautiful places of their home country, the most characteristic meals and cultural historical heritage. The participants with pride and joy provided vivid presentations, highlighting the importance of international relations and border aspects in national cultures.

An e-study environment Moodle was created to support the students who participated in the school in a remote format. It made available original videos for the subjects visited by the participants of the school.

The summer school graduation took place on 20 August. The school organisers and participants looked at time spent in Latvia. Mind maps on the impressions were made and conclusions on the specificities, benefits and challenges of border areas were set up. The participants emphasized the unifying and separating aspects of border areas in migration, trade, security, language policy, human rights and cultural exchange.

This year's graduate survey was carried out to provide feedback to help improve the summer school programme. The participants of the summer school evaluated the methods and solutions used by the organisers in the implementation of the learning process in both Latvian language learning and the border phenomenology study module.

At the end of the summer school, the participants were issued certificates for acquisition of the “Latvian language and border area phenomenology” programme in ammount of 6 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) and the correspondence of the acquired Latvian language skills with Level A1.

The funding needed for the implementation of the summer school was received by participating in the State Education Development Agency competition.

PHOTOS AND VIDEOS

The summer school is implemented by the Centre for Latvian Studies of Daugavpils University Faculty of Humanities.

Summer School Team: Dr philol., Prof. Maija Burima (Head of the Summer School), Sergejs Poļanskis, Diāna Skuķe, Ilmārs Mežaraups.

This project is financially supported by the State Education Development Agency of the Republic of Latvia.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Dr. philol., Prof. Maija Burima

DU Faculty of Humanities

Head of Centre for Latvian Studies

Email: summerschool@du.lv

Summer school “Phenomenology of the Border Area: Eastern Latvia” opened

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 03:00:00 +0000

On August 11, 2022, Daugavpils University (DU) International Summer School “Phenomenology of the Border Area: Eastern Latvia” was opened.

Latvian Language and Culture Summer School is organized by DU Centre for Latvian Studies (LSC) for the sixth year. As usual, this year, a unique and topical programme was developed for the participants of the summer school, ensuring its implementation in hybrid form. Using CLIL methodology, the participants of the summer school learn the integrated Latvian language and border area phenomenology course. With the knowledge of the Latvian language, the school participants will have an understanding of cultural history, socioeconomic and political issues in the border area, while presenting their projection in Eastern Latvia as an example of a bright border phenomenon. The funding needed for the implementation of the summer school was received by participating in the State education development agency (SEDA) competition.

This year's summer school is held for 10 days and includes participants from Ukraine, Mexico, Italy, South Korea, China, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Turkey.

At the summer school, almost 50 applicants submitted their proposals, from whom ten most suitable candidates were selected, with the most prominent motivation letters. They were awarded a Latvian State scholarship.

At the opening of the summer school, participants were offered a lecture on Latgale, Daugavpils City, Daugavpils University and the concept of border area phenomenology. The content of the lesson also integrated the Latvian language's welcome vocabulary and courtesy phrases. At the opening of the summer school, participants told about themselves and their motivation for participating in the summer school. Participants of the summer school told that the programme had been chosen to improve their knowledge of the European border area in Latvia and to gain practical experience in interdisciplinary research of the border phenomenon by linking new knowledge with their own ideas on the theme of the summer school.

The summer school program consists of two modules: border area phenomenology and Latvian language acquisition and usage practices. The phenomenology of border area is acquired through the presentation of its practical manifestations in Eastern Latvia. The acquisition of Latvian language skills will be aligned with the study of border phenomenology as a transferable competency.

The learning process is implemented in hybrid form. The activities and field studies are conducted both on-site and in a remote format. Participants have access to a specially designed website of the e-study platform MOODLE, which includes recordings of the classes, digital learning resources and support materials.

The aim of this year’s schools is to create an idea of border area phenomenology, its projection in Eastern Latvia, research tools, do field studies in the border area of Eastern Latvia, using the Latvian language communicative competence at basic level.

PHOTOGALLERY

The summer school is implemented by the Centre for Latvian Studies of Daugavpils University Faculty of Humanities.

Summer School Team: Dr philol., Prof. Maija Burima (Head of the Summer School), Sergejs Poļanskis, Diāna Skuķe, Ilmārs Mežaraups.

This project is financially supported by the State Education Development Agency of the Republic of Latvia.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Dr. philol., Prof. Maija Burima

DU Faculty of Humanities

Head of Centre for Latvian Studies

Email: summerschool@du.lv

Daugavpils University has implemented the International Summer School “Soviet Military History Traces in the Territory of Latvia”

Mon, 15 Aug 2022 15:00:00 +0000

From 1 to 10 August 2022, Daugavpils University (DU) Centre for Latvian Studies (LSC) carried out the International Summer School “Soviet Military History Traces in the Territory of Latvia”.

Summer school took place in hybrid form: participants acquired the programme on-site and remotely, synchronously and diachronically, both by conducting field studies and taking part in on-site activities, as well as by working in e-study platforms, exchanging photos and video materials between participants, using specially designed interactive materials, watching video excursions and participating in activities remotely.

10 State Education Development Agency scholarships for participation in the Summer School were granted to students and academic staff from Georgia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Mexico.

At the beginning of the summer school field studies in the territories of former Soviet military sites in Latgale region took place. Daugavpils Fortress, Lociki Airfield and Military city, as well as the Memorial to the Victims of Nazism in Mežciems (Daugavpils) were examined. There were also tours to museums of Soviet military history: Exposition of Military Vehicles in Svente and the Second World War Museum in Aglona.

In the second part of the summer school, research of the sites in Kurzeme was carried out, heading to the Irbene Radioastronomy Complex, Fire correction tower of Ventspils 46th Coastal Defence Battery, Soviet Border guard post in Jūrmalciems, Liepāja Military Port and Military Port Prison, Northern Fort of Liepāja Fortress.

The closing day of the summer school was spent by looking at the anti-air defence military town of Mežgarciems in the Riga region and conducting an analysis of its military heritage, as well as going to the “Corner house” – the former Soviet KGB building. A significant point in Riga was the to-be-demolished Victory Monument as an iconic object of Soviet military hegemony.

During the programme, Summer School participants became aware of Daugavpils city and also travelled to different places of Latvia, which emphasized the most important values of Latvian cultural history. With Latgale's bread-baking traditions, participants met at the Aglona Bread Museum, the impression of one of the brightest personalities of Latvian literature was obtained at Rainis’ House in Berķenele, and one of the pearls of Latvian nature was encountered in the picturesque seaside in Jūrkalne.

One of the most emotional events in the school was a meeting with the author of the novel “Virsnieku sievas” Andra Manfelde. The novel describes Liepāja Military Port during Soviet stagnation.

Summer school participants listened with interest to interactive lectures and participated in discussions on the Soviet military heritage in Baltic States.

In order to establish basic skills for communication in Latvian in simple daily situations, as well as for participating in field studies and searching the Internet for information on the topic of summer school, the programme also integrated the learning of functional Latvian with CLIL methodology

The aim of this year's school was to raise awareness among the members of the Summer School about the Soviet hegemony in the history of the Baltic States and the Soviet military heritage in the territory of 21 st-century Latvia.

After successful acquisition of the programme, each member received a certificate on the acquisition of the programme at the level of 6 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System).

PHOTOGALLERY

The summer school is implemented by the Centre for Latvian Studies of Daugavpils University Faculty of Humanities.

Summer School Team: Dr philol., Prof. Maija Burima (Head of the Summer School), Sergejs Poļanskis, Diāna Skuķe, Ilmārs Mežaraups.

This project is financially supported by the State Education Development Agency of the Republic of Latvia.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Dr. philol., Prof. Maija Burima

DU Faculty of Humanities

Head of Centre for Latvian Studies

Email: summerschool@du.lv

International Summer school “Soviet Military History Traces in the Territory of Latvia” has started

Thu, 04 Aug 2022 12:42:00 +0000

On 1 August, 2022 Daugavpils University (DU) International Summer school “Soviet Military History Traces in the Territory of Latvia” was opened.

The summer school takes place in hybrid form: the participants in the programme are participating in the programme on-site and remotely, synchronously and diachronically. The summer school will be held from 1 to 10 August (10 days).

By participating in the State Education Development Agency contest, the programme developed by DU Centre for Latvian Studies (LSC) was provided with financial support for granting 10 scholarships to foreign students and academic staff. There are 10 summer school sholarship holders from Georgia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Mexico, who have been awarded the grant on the basis of the motivational letters submitted. The decisive eveluation was based on candidates' motivation in compliance to the aims of the LSC summer school programme. A total of nearly 50 applications were received.

At the opening of the summer school, participants were offered a lecture on Latgale, Daugavpils City, Daugavpils University and Soviet military history issues. The content of the lesson also integrated the Latvian language's welcome vocabulary and courtesy phrases. At the opening of the summer school, participants told about themselves and their motivation for participating in the summer school. Participants' willingness to participate relates not only to research and professional interests, but also to personal impressions and unanswered questions raised when confronting Soviet military infrastructure in childhood.

The training process is carried out in hybrid form. The lessons are in sync, both on-site and in remote format. It is possible for participants to diachronnically watch recordings of the classes made using e-conference platform ZOOM that along with other digital learning materials are placed in a module of the e-study platform MOODLE specifically designed for this Summer School.

The summer school programme comprises of field studies in former Soviet military sites in Latgale, Kurzeme and Riga regions (Lociki military airfield, Liepāja Military Port, Irbene radio telescope complex, military town in Mežgarciems, etc.), visits to military history museums, lectures and discussions on the Soviet military heritage in the Baltic States.

The programme also includes a meeting with writer Andra Manfelde, who has written on the events of Liepājas Military Port during Soviet times in her novel “Virsnieku sievas”.

The aim of this year's school is to raise awareness among the members of the Summer School about the Soviet hegemony in the history of the Baltic States and the Soviet military heritage in the territory of 21 st-century Latvia.

The summer school is implemented by the Centre for Latvian Studies of Daugavpils University Faculty of Humanities.

Summer School Team: Dr philol., Prof. Maija Burima (Head of the Summer School), Sergejs Poļanskis, Diāna Skuķe, Ilmārs Mežaraups.

This project is financially supported by the State Education Development Agency of the Republic of Latvia.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Dr. philol., Prof. Maija Burima
DU Faculty of Humanities
Head of Centre for Latvian Studies
Email: summerschool@du.lv