CONFERENCE
Ojārs Lāms ojars.lams@lu.lv
Prof. Dr. philol., project manager and lead researcher, expert in comparative literature with particular contributions to the studies of Latvian diaspora literature. Professor and leading researcher at the Department of Latvian and Baltic Studies at the UL. For 9 years Prof. Dr. Lāms managed the DLBS at the FH of UL where several interdisciplinary projects under his supervision have been successfully carried out. Tasks in the project are the implementation of the work package “Diaspora and transnationalism” and research of the transnational aspects in diaspora texts.
Zigrīda Vinčela zigrida.vincela@lu.lv
Dr. philol., lead researcher of the project, associate professor in applied linguistics at the Department of English Studies, FH, University of Latvia. Dr. Vinčela specializes in corpus-based studies of written and spoken texts focusing also on the application of digital resources and tools in linguistic data investigation. Dr. Vinčela has led course programme creation and has created corpus linguistics courses for master and doctoral students. Tasks in the project are the implementation of the work package “Text corpus creation and analysis” and the research of texts using corpus analysis methodology and tools, focusing on the expression of subjectivity and sentiment.
Madara Stāde stade.madara@gmail.com
Mg.translat., Mg. hum., project researcher, scientific assistant at Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Latvia. She specializes in the study of national and transnational identities in modern Latvian prose, which is also the focus of her doctoral thesis. She has previously studied translations of Latvian prose into English and narratives of computer games (incl. Latvian). Her task in the project is to examine transnational elements in digital content in order to form theoretical bridges between classical and hybrid forms of storytelling in cross-cultural environments.
Ildze Šķestere ildze.skestere@lu.lv
Mg.hum., project researcher and management assistant, specializes in applied linguistics, with a focus on cultural context and language acquisition. She has been teaching the Korean language at the University of Latvia for 5 years and assisted in projects related to improving the existing curriculum and creating textbooks, as well as other digital study materials. In this project she aims to develop her research skills by researching the education of the Latvian diaspora, as well as exploring the development and transformation of identity through the lens of digital media.
IN MEMORIAM
Vita Kalnbērziņa
The project began under the leadership of linguist Associate Professor Vita Kalnbērziņa. Vita was a leading expert in language acquisition and intercultural communication and a lecturer in the Latvian diaspora teacher program within the framework of the Ministry of Education and Science. Unfortunately, halfway through this project, she passed away. The work that had begun with passion and inspiration could be continued largely thanks to Vita's skillful work at the beginning of the project. At the same time, the departure of a colleague such as her was a heavy and painful loss, both in terms of unfulfilled intentions and, especially, because of the loss of human contact. Vita, despite the illness that had sneaked up on her, was always full of energy, cheerful, lively and inspiring, supporting her colleagues and students. This project has become a monument to Vita Kalnbēržina's achievements in diaspora research and in organizing research work.
Short-term researchers and visiting researchers of the project
Kristīna Korneliusa
Mg. philol., project researcher, specializes in corpus linguistics, has completed an apprenticeship in corpus compilation at the University of Pisa (Italy), a course Visual and Digital Cultures and the University of Burgundy (France), and explored the application of CLARIN corpus analysis tools. In the project, she will be involved in compiling the corpus of English-language texts by authors representing the Latvian diaspora and explore the expression of identity, subjectivity and sentiment in language.
Elvis Friks
Mg.hum., project researcher, holds master's degree in literary studies and a bachelor's degree in New Media, specializes in the use of digital humanities tools in literary research, has studied Portuguese at Leiria Polytechnic Institute and Chinese language and culture for one year at Shanghai Normal University, currently at the University of Latvia is developing a doctoral thesis on Latvian post-exile prose. Research interests include exile, post-exile and diaspora literature, as well as contemporary and 1990s Latvian literature. Analysis of nonfiction and fiction texts, created by authors of the 3rd and 4th generation of exile will be his task in the project.
Anta Lazareva
Mg.philol., philologist, head of the State Language Proficiency Testing Department of the State Education Development Agency. Within the framework of the project, with her long-term professional involvement in diaspora education processes, she ensured both cooperation with diaspora schools and participated in the organization and conduct of field research.
Daniels Kevins Berkans
Bc. paed., teacher of Latvian language and literature at Riga 2nd State Gymnasium, student of the Latvian Language, Literature and Culture MSP at the University of Latvia. As part of the project, she developed and defended with distinction her bachelor's thesis on teacher education "Latvian language acquisition experience and solutions in the diaspora", developing an original language acquisition methodology for simultaneous language acquisition work with students of different language levels, testing this methodology in practice at a Latvian language camp for young people in Northern Ireland.
Evelīna Barone
Bc.hum, an English language specialist, as part of the project, developed and defended her bachelor's thesis "Latvian Cultural References on English Social Media", thus significantly expanding the research horizon of the project in the research dimensions of intercultural and transnationalism.
Alise Alute
A final-year student of English, European Languages and Business Studies, who is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Humanities degree in English and Language Studies, wants to specialize in applied linguistics, focusing on bilingualism. The project develops research skills by analyzing the works of Latvian exile authors in English. They also participate in the development of a joint scientific article, editing it and improving the project's text corpus.