International Policy Fellowship Continuing  Project (2007 - 2008)

In 2006, with the support of an Intenrational Policy Fellowship, I published the research paper Departments and Discourses about the impact of international funding on academic departments of Social Sciences and Humanities in Latvia. The paper argued that while Social Sciences have received consistent support from international organisations for reforming the content and style of teaching and for founding new study programmes, international support received by Humanities departments was much less comprehensive. As a result, Humanities departments remained largely isolated from international academic trends and sometimes developed a defensive stance rejecting any approach to the study of Humanities that is not 'indigenous' enough. The resulting policy paper containing recommendations for overcoming the isolation of Humanities disciplines in Latvia can be found here.

My current project, supported by IPF Continuing Fellowship, is an attempt to map the interaction of Humanities departments in Latvia with various local communities and with the society at large, and to compare the outreach activities of Humanities departments in Latvia and Estonia. The resulting recommendations should enable those scholars who wish to bring about a change in the Humanities field in Latvia to develop more effective ways of outreach and interaction with society.


Home