News

Source: https://bookofbooks.ku.dk

We kindly invite you to a guest lecture “Every book in every language on every subject”: Hernando Colón’s universal library and the Libro de los epitomes by Prof M. J. Driscoll (University of Copenhagen) on December 7th, 3 p.m. at Room V. Krėvės (118).

Annotation

In the beginning of the 16th century, Hernando Colón, son of the navigator Christopher Columbus, set out to build a universal library, one which would contain “all the books, in all languages and disciplines, that can be found within Christendom and without”. By the time of his death in 1539, Colón’s library in Seville comprised over 15000 volumes of predominantly printed books, the largest private library in the world at the time. To manage it all, he designed a revolutionary cataloguing system consisting of a number of cross-referenced inventories. All of these survive today in the Biblioteca Colombina in Seville, with the exception of one, the “Libro de los epitomes”, which was meant to contain short summaries of the contents of every book in the library. This had been presumed missing for half a millennium but was recently identified among the manuscripts in the Arnamagnæan Collection at Copenhagen University, of which it had been a part since the end of the 17th century. 

In my presentation I will describe the Libro and its contents and how it relates to the other bibliographical tools developed by Colón. I will also present the research project I lead, funded by the Carlsberg foundation and a private doner, which has as its aim the production of a full transcription of the text of the Libro and a study of its contents.

For more information on the project, see here >>

About Prof M. J. Driscoll

M. J. Driscoll is Professor of Old Norse Philology at the Arnamagnæan Institute, a research centre within the Department of Nordic Studies and Linguistics at the University of Copenhagen’s Faculty of Humanities. He holds degrees from the University of Stirling (BA (Hons.) 1979), Háskóli Íslands (Cand.mag. 1988) and Oxford University (DPhil 1994).

His research interests include manuscript and textual studies, particularly in the area of late pre-modern Icelandic. He also has a long-standing interest in the Digital Humanities, and served for many years on the technical council of the Text Encoding Initiative.

His publications include over 50 articles on various aspects of pre-modern Icelandic literature, editions and translations of a number of medieval and post-medieval Icelandic works, including Sigurðar saga þögla (Reykjavík, 1992), Ágrip af Noregskunungasögum (London, 1995, 2nd ed. 2008) and Fjórar sögur frá hendi Jóns Oddsonar Hjaltalín (Reykjavík, 2006), as well as the monograph The unwashed children of Eve: The production, dissemination and reception of popular literature in post-Reformation Iceland (London, 1997).

MotherNet member Professor Helena Wahlström Henriksson from Uppsala University will visit Vilnius University and on December 8 at 3 PM give a lecture Single Fathers Fail: Swedish cinema and (non)stigmatization of single parents (Room 314 B, Vilnius University Centre for Scandinavian Studies).

About the lecture

Representations of fathers and fatherhood in popular culture contribute to establishing the “ideational – and ideological – centrality of fatherhood” across cultures (Wahlström Henriksson 2020, 323). From a feminist perspective it is crucial to investigate these representations, since they “are part of the social fabric within which understandings of fatherhood take shape (Wahlström Henriksson 2020, 324). Furthermore, since single parenthood is a highly feminized phenomenon, it is important to investigate how “media images and representations intertwine with political and social ideologies” (Gallagher 2014, 27) to convey messages about single fathers.

This chapter explores representations of single fathers in 20th century Swedish fictional film, how gender, class, ethnicity, and age figure in these representations, and how they speak to their contemporary political and ideological context. Premiering between 2013 and 2022, they all have a single father as a central character: Mig Äger ingen (Nobody Owns Me 2013), Min så kallade pappa (My So-called Dad 2014), Yarden (The Dockyard 2016); these films reached wide audiences and also received both critical awards and much media attention. The analysis engages in critical dialogue with international film studies scholarship on (single) fatherhood (Bruzzi 2005; Hamad 2013; Åström 2015; Dole 2021).

Given that lone/single parenthood is “normalized” rather than socially/morally stigmatized in Sweden, and given the ways that Sweden has promoted fathers – including single fathers – as (potential) primary parents in family policy, these films become particularly intriguing due to their predominantly negative construction of single fatherhood as marked by failure and dysfunction. I argue that they offer a counter-discourse to dominant socio-political discourses, and problematize the normative idea that single parenthood is normal and non-stigmatized. But in a political climate increasingly marked by conservatism and nationalism these films are also troubling, for they can be read as feeding into reactionary discourses about family forms and values. Hence, I read the figure of the “failing single father” as one that may question as well as strengthen dominant ideologies.

This visit is a part of MotherNet project and has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 952366.

On November 9th (Thursday) we invite you to an international mini conference Crossroads of the Christian Spaces: Missions, Exile, and Peregrination in Early Modern Europe.

Programme and more information >

Facebook event >

Last week on 5–6 October, Arqus WP11 Plurilingual and Multicultural Hub co-leads met at Vilnius University to plan their new Arqus Multilingualism Module. WP11 co-lead from Leipzig University Professor Olaf Bärenfänger, director of the Language Center at Leipzig University, took part in the meeting together with his team: Alba Delgado, Kerstin Gackle and Irmgard Wanner. The event was hosted by WP11 co-lead from Vilnius University Professor Roma Kriaučiūnienė and her team Nijolė Burkšaitienė, Orinta Gerikaitė and Eglė Žurauskaitė.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the concept, content and implementation of the Arqus Multilingualism Module, which will be open to students at all Arqus Universities. WP11 plans to develop, pilot and put this module into practice by 2026.

The meeting was opened by the pro-rector for studies Dr Valdas Jaskūnas, dean of the Faculty of Philology Professor Mindaugas Kvietkauskas and Vilnius Arqus officer Dr Julija Savickė.

The first day was devoted to discussing various aspects of the Arqus Multilingualism Module and then to developing a basic structure and content for the module. In addition, there were meetings with a number of stakeholder groups.  

The meeting with colleagues from the Institute of Educational Sciences in the Faculty of Philosophy Professor R. Želvys and Dr Sandra Kairė from Vilnius University and Dr Makhabbat Kenzhegaliyeva from the Faculty of Education at Leipzig University were very fruitful as the professors shared their experience of developing a joint module for teacher training students titled Schools around the World. Many of their insights turned out to be applicable for the development of the Arqus Mutilingualism Module. Some ideas for further collaboration in piloting the modules were also addressed.

During the next meeting with colleagues from Vilnius University, WP6 co-lead Lina Malaiškaitė, Vilnius Arqus officer Julija Savicke, who is also head of the Study, Quality and Development Department at Vilnius University, and WP5 co-lead Andrius Uždanavičius, the focus was on ways the three work packages could collaborate throughout the process of developing and implementing the Arqus Multilingualism Module. Many suggestions related to the accreditation of the modules and the procedure for its implementation were given.

On the second day, the Arqus Multilingualism Module was presented to the  Network of Language Centre Directors and the WP11 board members. Both groups gave positive feedback and provided some additional ideas for the structure, content and development of the module. The plan is for the Module to be accredited by Vilnius University and approved and acknowledged by the other Arqus Universities.

The new Swedish ambassador to Lithuania Lars Wahlund the Head of Promotion Robin Rinaldo was welcomed to the Faculty of Philology by the Dean Prof. Dr Mindaugas Kvietkauskas, the founder of the Centre for Scandinavian Studies and head of The Institute for the Languages and Cultures of the Baltic Assoc. Prof. Dr Erika Sausverde, head of The Institute for Literary, Cultural and Translation Studies Assoc. Prof. Dr Inga Vidugirytė-Pakerienė, head of the Department of Lithuanian Literature Prof. Dr Brigita Speičytė and head of Centre for Scandinavian Studies Assoc. Prof. Dr Ieva Steponavičiūtė-Aleksiejūnienė.  

Standing from the left: Assoc. Prof. Dr Ieva Steponavičiūtė-Aleksiejūnienė, Assoc. Prof. Dr Erika Sausverde, Swedish ambassador to Lithuania Lars Wahlund, Dean Prof. Dr Mindaugas Kvietkauskas, Assoc. Prof. Dr Inga Vidugirytė-Pakerienė and Prof. Dr Brigita Speičytė.

During a round table meeting, new avenues of cooperation and cultural exchange were discussed between the Embassy of Sweden and the Faculty of Philology. One of the proposed fields was fostering interest in the Lithuanian diaspora research in Sweden and vice versa, as well as advancing the teaching of the Lithuanian language in the Swedish educational system. 

The meeting was followed by the Ambassador Mr Wahlund's guest lecture to the Centre for Scandinavian Studies students. We present the highlights as told by Swedish language lecturer Erik Svenning: 

The ambassador met the Swedish and Finnish students at Vilnius University on the 18th of October. He gave an overview of Swedish history from the Middle Ages, via the exceptionalism of the 20th century, to today’s heterogeneous Sweden. The room was packed with students who after his speech bombarded the ambassador with questions. Ranging from personal questions about what books he reads and what little town he was from, to the burning of the Coran and the recent gang criminality in Sweden. It was a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, and we concluded that the students and the ambassador would soon meet again and continue to get to know each other.

 

We kindly invite you to lectures and seminars on Motherhood and Teaching of French Literature/Culture by dr. Julie Rodgers, dr. Loïc Bourdeau and Laurence Paré on October 18-20th. 

Dr. Julie Rodgers and Dr. Loïc Bourdeau have been awarded the Vilnius University Teaching and Learning Internationalisation Initiatives funding for the initiative 2023-2024. As part of this, they will deliver a series of lectures and workshops.

Dr. Julie Rodgers and dr. Loïc Bourdeau are a part of the project “Developing a New Network of Researchers on Contemporary European Motherhood (MotherNet)”. This project received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 952366.

Find the programme below.

On October 5–6, 2023 in the Faculty of Philology of Vilnius University (Universiteto St. 5, Vilnius) the international scientific conference Kitab Studies – Research Methodology and Source Publication will be held.

The conference is dedicated to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the publication of Anton Antonovichʼs (1910‒1980) monograph “Belarusian Texts written in Arabic Script and Their Graphic and Orthographic System” (1968) and the 85th birthday of Valery Chekmonas (1937–2004).

The purpose of the conference is to unite the scientists in dialogue and discussion to continue and develop the research of eminent professors A. Antonovich and V. Chekmonas, to discuss the written heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the issues of the history and culture of Tatars and Old Believers in Lithuania and other countries and the problems of research in the field of Baltic and Slavic sociolinguistics, ethnolinguistics and language contacts.

The two-day conference will bring together 37 scientists from Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, Turkey and other countries.

The conference is organized by the Institute for the Languages and Cultures of the Baltic of the Faculty of Philology of Vilnius University, the Centre for Kitab Studies at the Nicolaus Copernicus University and the Institute of the Lithuanian Language.

On the eve of the conference on 4 October at 5 p.m. the exhibition “Teachers’ Way: Research on Culture of Lithuanian Nations” will be opened in the White Hall of Vilnius University (Universiteto St. 3, 4th floor). The exhibition will be opened for visitors until 1 November.

Conference programme >

Abstracts >

We kindly invite you to a guest lecture "Economics and language: framework, policy relevant tools, policies in Québec/Canada" by Montreal professor François Vaillancourt. The lecture will take place on October 4th, 13 p.m. at Room 111.

This presentation will first briefly summarize the underpinnings of the economics and language, then examine how its empirical tools can be used to help language policy makers design and assess language policies. Examples from Québec/Canada and Europe will be used.

The lecture will be streamed online via MS TEAMS >>