News

Call for papers for the research conference "Culture Crossroads XII"

12.09.2018

From November 1 until November 3, 2018 the LAC Research Centre is organizing its annual research conference “Culture Crossroads XII”, which has become a traditional “autumn event” of the Latvian Academy of Culture. Organizers are inviting all researchers and practitioners in the field of culture and arts to submit their applications in order to share their research findings, conclusions and suggestions in the field. The application deadline is October 1, 2018. All applications will be reviewed and included in the agenda of the conference programme for November 2, 2018.

The aim of the LAC Research Centre is to encourage development in the field of humanities and social sciences as well as to carry out research projects on internationally topical issues, which are significant for Latvia as well, in the field of culture and arts. In accordance with this mission, the LAC Research Centre organises the annual international research conference “Culture Crossroads”.

Traditionally the conference celebrates interdisciplinary research achievements on topical issues in the field of culture and arts, the latest related innovations, as well as anniversaries of significant people in the field.

This year, the in the focus of the conference is the celebration of Latvia’s centenary. The aim of this conference is to present theoretical and practical research papers on the phenomena of anniversaries and celebrations in the context of cultural studies, to analyse the manifestations of these phenomena in different forms of art, as well as to reconstruct related experiences and senses. During the conference, participants will also assess and discuss in detail the various forms of the celebration of Latvia’s centenary.

Within the celebratory atmosphere, the conference will also mark the 66th birthday of the founder and first rector of the Latvian Academy of Culture – Pēteris Laķis.

The programme of the conference will thus include several events.

On Thursday, November 1, 2018 - at the main hall of the Latvian Academy of Culture (24 Ludzas Street) – The Plenary Session of the conference “Culture Crossroads XII”

The plenary session this year will be devoted to both traditional and innovative practices of celebrations in the context of cultural studies, in particular, to the celebration of birthdays and anniversaries at different points of time and space in western culture. During the Plenary Session, experts from Latvia and abroad will share their research achievements and professional experience on the various symbolic, ceremonial and emotional manifestations of anniversaries and other celebrations. 

On Friday, November 2, 2018 - at the Theatre House of the Latvian Academy of Culture “Zirgu Pasts” (46 Dzirnavu Street) – The Break-out Sessions of the conference “Culture Crossroads XII”

All researchers and practitioners, who are interested in the phenomena of arts and culture, are invited to apply and take part in the break-out sessions of the conference and share their research findings, conclusions and suggestions in fields such as: Folklore Studies, Ethnology, Archaeology, and Cultural Anthropology, Sociology of Arts and Culture, Cultural Policy, Communication of Culture in Media, Cultural Heritage and Memory Institutions, Culture Management and Creative Industries, Audiovisual and Performing Arts, Visual Art, Intercultural Communication and the Role of Language, Literature and Translation.

On Saturday, November 3, 2018 - at the theatre house of the Latvian Academy of Culture “Zirgu Pasts” (46 Dzirnavu Street) – The academically creative symposium The whole world’s a bottle… the phenomenon of intoxication in Latvian culture”.

In a captivating and creative atmosphere, the symposium will include presentations and artistic performances, as well as discussions on the theme of intoxication and the state of fuddle in Latvian literature, cinema, theatre, folklore, politics, religion, visuals art and other fields. Among presenters, there will be various experts in the field of arts and culture such as Iveta Tāle, Raimonds Briedis, Ineta Lipša, Ilze Jansone, Aivars Eipurs, Vents Sīlis, Jānis Joņevs and others.

In order to apply for the conference “Culture Crossroads XII”, please send in the completed application form to zpc@lka.edu.lv by October 1, 2018. We kindly ask you to attach your photo as well for publicity purposes. Presentation timing is 20 minutes (questions included). All submitted papers and reports included in the program will be reviewed. The number and content of the break-out sessions can change accordingly. Working language is Latvian. Participation is free of charge.


Application form (90.9 KB)


Summaries of the conference papers will be published in the collection of abstracts “Research conference Culture Crossroads 2018”. After the conference, authors are invited to submit their research articles for the international peer-reviewed journal “Crossroads: Research in Arts and Culture” (assigned with an ISSN number) and/or “Culture Crossroads” (indexed in EBSCO and ULRICH’S databases, http://www.culturecrossroads.lv).

The conference encourages particularly – but not exclusively – applications on the following themes:

> FOLKLORISTICS, ETHNOLOGY, ARCHAEOLOGY AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLGY

Main theme of the section: Tradition and identity nowadays; new approaches in research of the field.

We invite participants to share their research results about the sustainability of traditions and the effect of traditions upon identity nowadays. We encourage disscussion on the symbolic expressions of locality/ nationality, while communicating cultural heritage in different artistic, festive and everyday life contexts. We anticipate reflections on the shift of research focus and the aspects of methodological and technological variety in research.

> SOCIOLOGY OF ARTS AND CULTURE, CULTURAL POLICY, COMMUNICATION OF CULTURE IN MEDIA

Main theme of the section: Transformations of arts and culture in the global environment; the development of interdisciplinary events in the field of arts and culture; different manifestations of the products of popular culture of high artistic quality; the represintation of culture in the media and the digital word; the festive traditions in different socio-demographic groups and communities, the development and diversity of cultural and artistic research methods and approaches in the field of arts and culture; research and evidence-based cultural policies.

The place of arts and culture in society, politics and media has always been a complicated, ambiguous, and ambivalent one. We encourage researchers from different fields (such as cultural studies, sociology, political sciences, law, communication studies) to share their research results on cultural and artistic processes in society, the specific manifestations in different communities and social groups; the echo of cultural and artistic events in the media; the distribution of funding for culture; the availability of culture and the satisfaction of audience with the existing cultural supply and other themes.

> CULTURAL HERITAGE AND MEMORY INSTITUTIONS

Main theme of the section: Best practices of preserving and promoting cultural heritage in the changing environment of nowadays, the challenges of operating memory institutions in the 21st century, the role of communities and society in the management of cultural heritage.

We invite representatives of cultural heritage institutions, practitioners and heritage researchers to share their experience and research achievements on the topical practices, experiences and innovations on preserving and promoting cultural heritage both in Latvia and abroad, on the conceptualisation of cultural heritage and on the theoretical development and understanding as well as the involvement of local communities in the identification, use and communication of the values of cultural heritage.

In particular, we welcome researchers and representatives of memory institutions to share their insight in the challenges that memory institutions face in the 21st century, as well as examples of good practices, how these challenges can be overcome. We also invite participants to talk about the aspects of heritage communication, including work with the audience and communities, the digitization of heritage and the use of technologies.

> CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AND CULTURE MANAGEMENT

Main theme of the section: Current trends in creative industries; the role and challenges of culture management; the operation of cultural organisations; the perspectives for the development of creative entrepreneurship.

We encourage theoreticians and practitioners in the field of culture management and creative industries to share their research achievements, observations and tips on issues such as: the challenges of operating cultural organizations nowadays; the organisational leadership, human resource management, strategic management, financial management, the opportunites for audience development and marketing, the role of technologies, the management of festivals and the role of cultural initiatives in ensuring environmental sustainability.

Researchers and representatives of various cultural organisations are invited to take part in discussions on the knowledge society, open economy, business models that include sharing resources and the development of socially responsible enterprises. The aim of this section is to encourage inter-sectoral dialogue and to promote research in the field of creative industries.

> AUDIOVISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS

Main theme of the section: Criticism in the field of audiovisual and performing arts, genres, styles, tendencies in criticism, resonance in society, the ethical issues and functions of art criticism

At various times in history, art criticism has played different roles depending on the form of media, access to information, as well as the personality of the critic himself. We invite artists and critics to address the topic of art criticism by analyzing, characterizing and identifying the style and tendencies of art criticism in different periods of time, the resonance of criticism with authors and society, the parallelism between theater and film criticism with the analysis of works in other fields of art.

We also invite the particiants of this section to visualize the future of art criticism and reflect on the potential and significance of the critical discourse in audiovisual and performing arts both in Latvia and abroad.

> CULTURAL AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF LANGUAGE IN CULTURE

Main theme of the section: Cultural communication in education, culture, diplomacy, creative industries, the culture in language and the language in culture.

We encourage researchers and practitioners in the field to share their original research results and tips on the issues and different aspects of cultural and intercultural communication, on possible solutions and their applicability in successful cooperation.

We also invite researchers, who study the interdisciplinary aspects of connection and interaction among language, culture and creativity, as well as other significant topics related to cultural and intercultural communication.

> VISUAL ART

Main theme of the section: Festive concepts and contexts in visual art

In this section we invite researchers and practitioners in the field of visual art to reflect on works of arts in different periods of time that are often part of festive events.

We encourage discussions on the role of art and artists in the process of celebrations, including the artist's relationships with the ruling power of the time as well.

> LITERATURE AND TRANSLATION

Main theme of the section: Perception and interpretation of literary works in different contexts; the shift in the functions of literature and its use nowadays.

We encourage researchers of different fields to approach literary works, their perception and interpretation in different cultures, languages and periods of time; to detect the interaction between literature and other forms of art, the expansion and transformation of the functions of literature in the cultural memory.

 

For more information contact:

Aija Lūse,

Coordinator of the conference

Latvian Academy of Culture

E-mails:

aija.luse@lka.edu.lv

zpc@lka.edu.lv

Phone numbers:

(+371) 67114807

(+371) 29107218