For more information about guest lectures and events,
call the Department of Scandinavian Studies at (206) 543-0645.

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Upcoming Lectures and Events:

• September 26, 2009, 12:00 noon:  Nordic-Baltic Oak Grove ceremonial planting, Parrington Lawn, University of Washington Seattle Campus
• April 22-24, 2010: Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study and the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies, joint conference in Seattle. 
• June 14 - August 6, 2010: Sixteenth Annual Baltic Studies Summer Institute, hosted by University of Wisconsin at Madison.  For further information about BALSSI 2010, please contact Jennifer Tishler, CREECA Associate Director, jtishler@creeca.wisc.edu or 608-262-3379. To see a four-minute film about BALSSI, click here.

• August 26-30, 2009: West Coast Estonian Days, hosted by the University of Washington in Seattle. 
• Summer 2009:  Baltic Communities Photo Documentation traveling exhibit, National Libraries of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. 
• May 18, 2009:  Valdis Zatlers, President of the Republic of Latvia
  
  President Valdis Zatlers with UW Latvian language students, UW Faculty, and Scandinavian Department Advisory Board members. 
   
• Nov 7, 2008: Vejas Liulevicius, University of Tennessee.  The Baltic Region as a German Borderland in World War I and its Aftermath.
• Friday, May 9, 2008: Meilutė Ramonienė, Vilnius University.  Language Policy and Sociolinguistic Change in Lithuania.
• Winter and Spring Quarter 2008, Visiting Scholar: Violeta Kelertas, University of Illinois at Chicago.  Dr. Kelertas has been appointed Bernice Kellogg Fellow at the UW Department of Scandinavian Studies.  She will be translating a collection of short stories by the Lithuanian feminist author, Žemaitė, and presenting two seminars on her work. 
• Jan. 18, 2008:  Exhibit of photos from Latvia by UW Baltic Studies Program graduate Elizabeth Celms. Starlife on the Oasis, 1405 NE 50th St.  Click here for information about the U.District Artwalk (and a a map):
• November 14-15, 2007: Banuta Rubess (D.Phil, Oxford University; Director and Author in Canada and Latvia; click here for biography).  Two lectures:
  • "So You Want a Revolution: Aspazija and her Pen"
  • "Fire and Erotica: Aspects of Aspazija's The Silver Veil"
• October 27, 2007.  Martin's Night celebration, hosted by the Seattle Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian communities. 
• October 1-2, 2007: Latvian World Music group, Iļģi.  Three concert-lectures. On Oct 1, the group performed at The Triple Door in downtown Seattle. 
• July 19, 2007:  Allie Almero (UW graduate and current Office Management Specialist at the American Embassy in Vilnius, Lithuania), "Careers with the US Department of State." 
• May 3, 2007: Live webcast, Vaira Vīķe Freiberga, President of Latvia.  Webcast hosted by The Atlantic Council of the United States. 
• April 18, 2007: Baiba Rivža (Minister for Education and Science, Republic of Latvia): “Latvia in the Common European Educational Space”
• February 15, 2007: Victoria Middleton (Director, Office of Nordic and Baltic Affairs, US Department of State).  Two Lectures:  "USA-Nordic Relations" and "USA-Baltic Relations"
• Nov 27, 2006:  Marc Hyman (Cascadia Community College, former Editor of Baltic Observer), "Estonian-Russian Relations in the early 1990s"
• November 15, 2006: Vaira Christopher, "An American student in the USSR, 1961: My trip to Soviet Latvia"
• November 13, 2006: Lauma Vlasova (President, Latvian Association in the Russian Federation), "Latvians in the Russian Federation Today"
• October 30, 2006: Ieva Butkute (University of Washington), "Documenting the Lives of Lithuanian Deportees: Report on Summer 2006 group fieldwork in Siberia."
• October 16, 2006: Aldis Purs (University of Manchester), "State-Sponsored Tourism Programs and Nation-Building in 1930s Latvia."
• Summer 2006: Thirteenth Annual Baltic Studies Summer Institute, hosted by Indiana University, Bloomington. 
• May 30, 2006: Aldis Purs (University of Manchester), "Orphans of the Great War and Revolution, Wards of a New State: The Experiences of a Cohort of Latvian Children 1914 to 1927 and Beyond" 
• May 24, 2006:  Evelin Lehis (World Bank), "Development of the Baltic Economies in European Perspective." 
• April 20, 2006: Marisa Way-Rogainis "Resilience and Survival in the Letters of a Latvian Deportee"
• April 19, 2006: Latvian folklore group, "Vilki"
• March 14, 2006: Violeta Davoliūtė (University of Toronto, Kaunas University), "The Future of the Past in the Baltic States"
• March 6, 2005: Guntis Šmidchens (University of Washington), Disarmed Baltic National Heroes at the Turn of the Millennium: Kalevipoeg, Bearslayer and Mindaugas.
• December 8, 2005: Professor Tomas Venclova (Yale University)     
  • Poetry reading: Readings from Winter Dialogue (Evanston: Northwestern University Press, 1999). Video of event
  • Lecture: "On Cultural Mythologies of Vilnius"
• December 1, 2005: Across Cultures Videoconference with businesswomen in Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. 
• September 30, 2005: Prof. Ivars Lācis (Rector, University of Latvia), "The University of Latvia after European Union Enlargement."
• August 10, 2005: Aigars Kalvītis, Prime Minister of Latvia
  Read about the visit in UWeek, Aug 18, 2005
• June 9-20, 2005: UW Chamber Singers concert tour in the Baltic.  Concerts: Vilnius, St John's Church (June 11); Riga, University of Latvia Aula (June 13); Mazirbe, Livonian Cultural Center (June 14); Tallinn, Swedish-St. Michael's Church (June 17); Helsinki, Temppeliaukio Church (June 18); Helsinki, St. Nicholas Lutheran Cathedral (June 19).
• May 26, 2005: Ainars Latkovskis (Minister for Special Assignments for Society Integration Affairs, Republic of Latvia).  "Integration of Society in Latvia Today." 
• May 26, 2005: Mark Evans (US Department of State, Office of Nordic and Baltic Affairs).  "The US-North European Partnership: Advancing Democracy beyond the Baltics" Text of lecture

• May 19, 2005: Reception celebrating the gift by the Kazickas Family Foundation, establishing a Professorship in Baltic Studies at the University of Washington.  Keynote address: Ieva Butkute (University of Washington), "Lithuania in the World" Text of lecture

• April 21, 2005: Vytautas Švagždys (Survivor of Siberian deportation and the Norilsk prisoners revolt).  "The Norilsk Prisoners' Revolt: Personal Memories"

• April 10, 2005: Seattle Chamber Players, Baltic Music Program on Saint Paul Sunday (listen to archived recording at SPS site). 

• March 8, 2005: Pēteris Tomiņš (Latvian Medical Academy; Vice President, Latvian Anesthesiologists Association): "The Anesthesiologists Revolt in Latvia, October 2004"

• March 7, 2005: Christian-Marc Lifländer (Defense Counselor, Embassy of Estonia to the USA), "Transatlantic Relations, ESDP, and NATO: Estonia's Contemporary Foreign Policy Successes and Challenges"

• March 2, 2005: Carol Trenga (UW Environmental Health), "Sustainable Environment in Estonia"
• February 22, 2005: Frank Gordon (Gordon Efrayim), author of Latvians and Jews between Germany and Russia (Stockholm, Memento, 1990; see text online at http://www.briviba.lv/Jews/full.htm. Two lectures:
  "Russian media in Latvia Today"
  "Jews and Latvians in the 20th and 21st Century"

• February 14, 2005: Ian Lasas (University of Washington), "EU Enlargement and the Baltic"

• February 2, 2005: Daila Taurīte (Europharm Veterinary Pharmacy Center, Latvia), "Globalization of Business in Latvia"

• Jan 24, 2005: Andrea Kovalesky (UW-Bothell School of Nursing), "Alcoholism Education in Lithuania"

• January 9, 2005: Seattle Chamber Players performed a program of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian chamber music in Nordstrom Auditorium, Benaroya Hall. The concert was recorded live and will be broadcast on April 10 on the music program "Saint Paul Sunday" heard each week on 98.1 KING FM. Featured composers include Ester Mägi, Onutė Narbutaitė, Helena Tulve, Erkki-Sven Tüür and Pēteris Vasks.  Visit www.seattlechamberplayers.org/ and www.king.org for more information.

• November 12, 2004:  UW Chamber Singers performed a program of music by Estonian composer Veljo Tormis at the Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society.  See Conference Program.

• October 28, 2004: Estonian Men's Choir Revalia.  Revalia was voted Choir of the Year 2003 and its conductor, Hirvo Surva was voted Conductor of the Year 2003 by the Estonian Choral Society. At the 1st British International Male Voice Choral Festival in May 2003, Revalia achieved 1st Place and a Grand Prix.

• October 23, 2004: Baltic Festival at the Seattle Latvian Center.  Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian traditional foods, songs and dances.  Proceeds were donated to the UW Baltic Studies Endowed Fund.

• August 19, 2004: "Currents in Baltic Music", lecture by Elizabeth Wilson, musicologist and cellist, Xenia ensemble. 

• August 13 and 16, 2004: Festival of Estonian Animated Film and lectures by Christopher Robinson (Artistic Director, Ottowa Film Festival),  and author of Between Genius and Utter Illiteracy: A Story of Estonian Animation (Tallinn: Varrak Publishing, 2003). 

• August 9, 2004: Concert of Baltic piano music, Dainius and Asta Vaicekonis

• August 4, 2004: Symposium: Images of America in the Baltic
  Participants: Thomas Salumets (U of British Columbia), Violeta Kelertas (U of Illinois at Chicago), Inta Carpenter (Indiana U). 

• August 3, 2004: Symposium on Methods and Materials of Baltic Language Teaching.  Dalia Cidzikaite (U of Illinois), Iveta Grinberga (U of Latvia), Piibi-Kai Kivik (Indiana U), Dzidra Rodins (DePaul U), Mall Pesti (U of Washington), Rimas Zilinskas (U of Washington).

• August 2, 2004: Symposium, Images of America in the Baltic
  Participants: Piibi-Kai Kivik (Indiana University), Iveta Grinberga (U of Latvia), Dalia Cidzikaite (U of Illinois at Chicago). 

• July 30, 2004: “Does it Look Like Happiness” (2003), a documentary film about the experiences of young Latvians who recently immigrated to the USA, followed by discussion with the director of the film, Ieva Salmane.

• July 29, 2004: Seattle Chamber Players concert of works by Onutė Narbutaitė, Helena Tulve, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Antanas Kučinskas and Pēteris Vasks. 

• July 29, 2004: Student Research Symposium. Students in intensive Baltic languages courses discuss their research about Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

• July 26, 2004: Images of America in the Baltic: “Does it Look Like Happiness” (2003), a documentary film about the experiences of young Latvians who recently immigrated to the USA, followed by discussion with the director of the film, Ieva Salmane. 

• July 12, 2004: Choral Music in the Baltic, lecture by Vance Wolverton (California State U, Fullerton).

• July 12, 2004: Concert of Baltic Organ Music by Peggy Wolverton.  University Presbyterian Church, 4540 15th Avenue N.E.

• July 8-20, 2004: University of Washington Alumni Association Baltic Sea Cruise, with tours of Copenhagen, Gdynia, Klaipeda, Riga, Tallinn, St Petersburg, Helsinki and Stockholm.

•  

  June 21-August 20, 2004: Eleventh Annual Baltic Studies Summer Institute, hosted by the University of Washington, Seattle.  To watch a four-minute film about BALSSI, click here.
  	BALSSI 2004 Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian language classes

•  

• April 23, 2004, 2:00am, 8:00am, 2:00pm, 8:00pm (PST): "The Baltic in the 21st Century" broadcast by the Research Channel. The program is also available online in the ResearchChannel's archive.

• April 23, 2004: Giedrius Subačius (U of Illinois at Chicago), lecture marking the end of the ban on the printed Latin alphabet in Lithuania.
• Feb 6, 2004: Vygaudas Ušackas, Ambassador of Lithuania to the USA, met with UW students and gave a lecture on Lithuania Today. 
• January 26, 2004: Paul Taub and Elena Dubinets of the Seattle Chamber Players, guest presentation and discussion of Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian music to be performed at the Feb 13-15 festival in Benaroya Hall, "Icebreaker II: Baltic Voices." For information about the festival, visit http://seattlechamberplayers.org
• November 10, 2003: Veljo Tormis, Estonian composer, and Mimi Daitz, author of Tormis's biography (in press). 
• October 25, 2003: "Mare Balticum" cruise on the Puget Sound: A gala celebration of the UW Baltic Studies Program's tenth anniversary. 
• August 21, 2003: Tartu Academic Men's Choir.  Visit the choir's website at http://tam.org.ee/
• August 16 and 18, 2003: Iļģi, Latvian world music group.  Visit the group's website at http://ilgi.lv/ilgiv2/index.html
• August 12, 2003: Kristi Mühling, Estonian kannel player
• August 8-9, 2003: "The Baltic in the 21st Century." Participants: Walter C. Clemens (Boston U), Juris Dreifelds (Brock U), Toivo Raun (Indiana U), Saulius Suziedelis (Millersville U). A video of this symposium is available online in the ResearchChannel's archive.
• July 24 to August 22, 2003: "The Unlocked Diary: New forms in a new land," exhibit of art by Nomeda Lukoseviciene
• July 17, 2003: "Medicine in the Baltic."
  Participants: Pat Kuszler (UW Law), Tiina Oviir (UW Endodontics), Zaiga Phillips (Pediatrics), Youri Vaters (UW Anesthesiology). 
• July 10, 2003: Bradley Woodworth, "Subjects and Citizens: Empires and Imperialism in Baltic History."
• June 23 to August 22, 2003: Tenth Annual Baltic Studies Summer Institute
• April 10, 2003: Tõnu Õnnepalu (Emil Tõde), author of Border State (Northwestern University Press, 2000).  Text of lecture
  Book information: http://nupress.northwestern.edu/title.cfm?ISBN=0-8101-1779-7
• February 6, 2003: Liucija Baskauskas, Professor Emeritus, California State College. 
  During the Soviet military attack on the Lithuanian independence movement in January of 1991, Baskauskas, an independent TV anchorwoman, picked up live coverage of the raid for more than 24 hours, informing the world of the tragic events.  Baskauskas was a founder of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, and served as its academic vice president. She also helped form the Baltic University Project at Uppsala University in Sweden and founded TELE-3, Lithuania's first independent television network. 
• October 6, 2002: UW Baltic Studies Program Endowment celebration. All donors and supporters of the Baltic Program were invited to this reception hosted by UW President Richard McCormick. Read speeches here.
• August 10th through October 13th, 2002: "The New Face of Latvia" Photographs by University of Washington student Elizabeth Celms. Nordic Heritage Museum, 3014 NW 67th  Street, Seattle, WA
• June 10-August 2, 2001: Baltic Studies Summer Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana. Intensive language courses in Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian.
• April 29, 2002: Kristin Kuutma, World Premiere Reading of "Peko", the epic of the Seto people in English translation "Peko" is an epic poem composed in 1927 by folk singer Anne Vabarna, a member of the Seto ethnic group in southeastern Estonia. The epic was first published in 1995, and has now been translated into English by Kristin Kuutma. Kuutma taught Estonian language at the UW from 1998 to 2001, and received the PhD degree in the UW Department of Scandinavian Studies in June 2002.
• January 31, 2002, UW Faculty Club: Erkki Huittinen, General Consul of Finland. "Back to the West--Reintegration of Former Socialist Countries into Western Structures"
• November 29-30, 2001: Conference on NATO Enlargement and the Baltic Region. Henry Art Museum Auditorium. Conference begins at 2:30 pm on Nov 29. Conference Program
•  

  November 20-21, 2001: Julgi Stalte. Julgi Stalte, an ethnic Liv from Latvia, is one of less than fifty speakers of this Finno-Ugric language. She has recorded several CDs of Liv songs, most notably with a group of Estonian jazz musicians, Tulli Lum. See videorecording of the group at http://my.tele2.ee/my_you/tullilum/index_english.html Read an article in the UW Daily about Stalte's lecture (Click on "Older Issues," then Dec 10, 2001): http://www.thedaily.washington.edu/

• October 20, 2001: Vestards Šimkus, piano. Born 1984, Šimkus has performed in his native Latvia as well as Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and the United States.
• June 4 - July 27, 2001: Eighth Baltic Studies Summer Institute, University of Iowa Intensive language courses in Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian.
• April 12, 2001: Mark Kramer (Harvard University), "Russia's Relations with Eastern Europe and the Baltic States: A New Divide in Europe?"
• February 17-19, 2001 Baltic Youth Weekend:
  Organized by the UW Association of Latvian University Students
• February 16, 2001: Ülo Valk (Visiting Professor, University of California at Berkeley), "Estonian Folklore Today".
• February 16, 2001: Lini (Latvian folk music group from Minneapolis: Zinta Pone, Gunta Pone Amanda Jātnieks, Laima Jātnieks)
• January 29, 2001: Daivid D. Laitin (Stanford University), "Transition to Independence and Commitments to Minorities." David Laitin is author of Identity in Formation: The Russian-Speaking Populations in the Near Abroad (1998).
• December 1, 2000: Kārlis Streips (University of Latvia) "The Rising Rainbow: Emergence of a Gay Community Where There Was None Before (Latvia)".
• November 30, 2000: Kārlis Streips (University of Latvia), "Shaking off the Post-Soviet Hangover: Latvia's Mass Media 10 Years after the Revolution."
  Listen to Kārlis Streips call-in radio talk show, Monday thru Friday, 1:00-1:30 pm. Go to http://www.radio.org.lv/program/index.htm
  Select desired date, click on "1. prog.", then click on "13:00"
• November 17, 2000: Lithuania and the End of the Soviet Union (Roundtable Discussion) Moderator: Stephen Hanson (University of Washington). Panel: Herbert J. Ellison, Professor of History and International Studies, University of Washington; Violeta Kelertas, Chair of Lithuanian Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago [Statement by Violeta Kelertas]; Vytautas Landsbergis, former president of Lithuania and chairman of the Lithuanian Parliament.
• November 17, 2000: Ports, Marine Transportation and Economic Integration in the Baltic Region (International Workshop). Participants: Anatoli Alop (Vice-Rector, Estonian Maritime Academy), Zofia Sawiczewska (University of Gdansk, Poland), Vlad Kaczynski (Marine Affairs/JSIS, UW), Gerard Mahy (Belgian Development Agency) and Nathaniel Trumbull (Geography, UW). Invited comments by Vytautas Landsbergis (Former President of Lithuania).
• November 16, 2000: Vytautas Landsbergis, "Lithuania on the Threshold of the New Millennium." Introduction by Daniel Waugh ; Text of Lecture
• October 21, 2000: "Follow the Amber Road" Auction to benefit the UW Baltic Program.
• October 18, 2000: Geoffrey Gooch (Linkoeping University, Sweden), "Environmental Management and Ethnic Conflicts on the New European Border: The Baltic States and Russia."
• June 8-19, 2000: University of Washington Chamber Singers Baltic Tour. Concert Schedule: June 10 Vilnius, Lithuania (St. John's Church); June 11, Klaipeda, Lithuania (University of Klaipeda Art Faculty Hall); June 12 Liepaja Latvia (St. Anna's Church); June 13 Riga Latvia (University of Latvia Aula); June 16 Tartu Estonia (University of Tartu Aula); June 17 Tallinn Estonia (Kaarli Church).
• June-July 2000: Seventh Baltic Studies Summer Institute, University of Iowa Intensive language courses in Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian.
• March 10, 2000: Norman Wolfe (Ret. US Air Force), "Personal Attitudes Regarding Capitalism in the Baltics."
• February 14, 2000: Guntis Ulmanis, President of Latvia, 1993-1999 Latvia in the New Millennium. Text of lecture in English.  Text of lecture in Latvian.
  [If Latvian characters do not display properly in your browser, open the alternate Word Doc (38K) here.]
  
  Read the UW Daily's report - (click on "Older Issues," then Feb. 15, 2000)
  
  In addition to his public address in Kane Hall, President Ulmanis met with UW Librarian Michael Biggins to discuss the Library's Baltic collection and exchanges with the National Library of Latvia. He met for lunch with UW Representatives and Baltic Program supporters, among them the Baltic members of the Scandinavian Department's Advisory Board. President Ulmanis also met with UW Latvian language students.
  
• December 2, 1999: Round Table on Nordic and Baltic Trade. Participants of the Nordic and Baltic delegations at the World Trade Organization Conference discussed their perspectives on trade in North Europe. Click here for a list of participants.
• October 16, 1999: Baltic Folk Music evening featuring the leading Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian fiddlers and accordionists in the USA (from Seattle, Portland, Denver, and Minneapolis) Proceeds to benefit the University of Washington Baltic Studies Program. Listen to Recordings!
• September 11, 1999: "Estonia" Society Chamber Singers (from Tallinn, Estonia). Hosted by the University of Washington Chamber Singers, the UW Baltic Studies Program, the University Temple United Methodist Church, and the Seattle Estonian Society.
• June 1, 1999, Meany Hall - University of Washington Chamber Singers Year-End Concert
• May 7, 1999, 8:00 PM, Kane Hall Room 130: The University of Washington Chamber Singers Concert of Baltic and Scandinavian Music. Listen to recordings!
• April 28, 1999: Exhibit Opening, "World War II in North Europe", Allen Library, 2nd floor.
• April 28 - May 1, 1999: The Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, Annual Meeting. Conference Details
• April 10, 1999: The Fifth Annual Regional Conference on Russian, East European, and Central Asian Studies. Baltic paper session details.
• Mar 31, 1999: Jura Avizienis (graduate student, UW Comparative Literature Dept. doctoral program), "Commemorating the Victims of Stalinist Deportations" Introduction by Prof. Daniel Waugh (UW Department of History) Text of Lecture
• Feb. 12, 1999: Norman Wolfe (ret., US Air Force, US AID), "The Business Environment in Lithuania"
• Feb. 12,1999: US Air Force Major General Tiiu Kera, "Between NATO and a Hard Place: Experiences of the First US Defense Attaché in the Baltics"
• Feb. 10, 1999: Robert Smurr (Ph.D. Candidate, UW History Dept.; Fulbright and IREX exchangee to Estonia, 1998-1999): "From the Bogs of Estonia to the Peaks of Kyrgyzstan: A Backroads and Boondocks Journey Through the Former Soviet Union" Slide presentation and lecture.
• Nov. 4, 1998: Kankles and Kantele; a lecture/demonstration of the Lithuanian and Finnish national instruments, by Julija Gelazis and Cathy Cushing
• Oct. 28, 1998: Anne Tuominen (Ph.D. Candidate, UW Sociology Dept.): "Ethnic Tourism in Estonia"
• Oct. 24, 1998: Rokas Zubovas, "M.K. Ciurlionis: A Path toward Soundscapes"
• Aug. 4, 1998: Julija Gelažis, "Lithuanian Folk Songs and Instrumental Music"
• May 29, 1998: "The Cutting Edge in North European Studies" (research papers by four UW Grad. Students: Steven Grosse, Brian Hodges, Anne Tuominen, Andy Nestingen, and discussant David Kirby)
• May 28-29 1998: Lecture by Professor David G. Kirby (School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London). "European Integration and the Baltic Region: A Historical Perspective." (See detailed information in Spring Issue of the Newsletter) Kirby is author of numerous books and articles about Baltic and Scandinavian History, including Northern Europe in the Early Modern Period: the Baltic World 1492-1772 (London: Longman, 1990) and The Baltic World 1772-1993: Europe's Northern Periphery in an Age of Change (London: Longman, 1995).
• February 13, 1998: Jane Dawson (University of Oregon), "Eco-Nationalism in the Former USSR: Global Implications".
  Professor Dawson is author of Eco-Nationalism: Anti-Nuclear Activism and National Identity in Russia, Lithuania and Ukraine (Duke University Press, 1996), winner of the 1997 Marshal Shulman Book Prize for most outstanding book in Soviet/post-Soviet Studies, awarded by the American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies in conjunction with the Harriman Institute of Columbia University.
• February 12-13, 1998: Two lectures by Professor Violeta Kelertas (Endowed Chair of Lithuanian Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago). Publications by Kelertas include Come Into My Time: Lithuania in Prose Fiction, 1970-1990 (Urbana: University of Illinois, 1992). She spoke about "Ricardas Gavelis an Baltic Postcolonial Literature" and "Recent Lithuanian Fiction."
• November 26, 1997: Mare Kõiva gave a guest lecture in a class of Folk Narrative. Kõiva is director of the folk belief research group at the Folklore Department of the Estonian Language Institute in Tartu, Estonia. She is also a founder of the Baltic Institute of Folklore. In her lecture, Kõiva described the Estonian legend tradition, from stories which were told in preindustrial communities about nature spirits, to the urban legends which circulated under Soviet rule.
• November 20, 1997: Professor Harri Mürk, head of the Estonian language program at the University of Toronto, author of A handbook of Estonian (Bloomington: Indiana University, 1997), and President of the Finno-Ugric Studies Association of Canada, gave a lecture titled "Language and Language Retention among the Eastern Finno-Ugrians." Mürk, who received his Ph.D. from Indiana University, specializes n Finno-Ugric linguistics and has traveled extensively in North Europe and Russia to study Finnish, Hungarian, Mari, Mordvin and other languages which are historically related to Estonian. In his lecture, Dr. Mürk spoke about his fieldwork among the Finno-Ugrik populations in the Russian Federation. These cultures are remnants of the original aboriginal populations of the northwestern Eurasia. Their current struggle to retain their distinctive languages and cultures offers many insights into a variety of problems faced by small minority populations around the world. Their experience is a litmus test for the development of democracy and pluralistic society in the Russian Federation.
• May 21-22, 1997: Bill Darden, Chair of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literature at the University of Chicago, gave two lectures about Baltic and Indo-European historical linguistics. Refuting hypotheses by Renfrew, Gamkrelidze and Ivanov regarding the Indo-European homeland, Darden concurred with Gimbutas and Mallory, who believe that the IE homeland was in the Steppe North of the Black and Caspian Sea, in the late 5th millennium B.C.
• May 6-7, 1997: Conference on NATO Enlargement and the Baltic Region. Presentations by thirty scholars and political leaders.
  See report in the Summer 1997 Newsletter.
• April 14, 1997: Verena Stelps Dambrans surveyed the development of Latvian art music, presenting an introduction and discussion of elements which have shaped the transition form folk song to the contemporary vocal and instrumental expression. The lecture was accompanied by musical illustrations on the piano. Dambrans teaches piano, piano pedagogy and chamber music at the Capital Music conservatory in Columbus, Ohio. She has performed as soloist with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.
• February 21, 1997: Jaan Salulaid, First Secretary for Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Estonia, spoke in Parrington Hall in a lecture sponsored by the UW Russian, East European and Central Asian Center, the Baltic Studies Program and the Seattle Estonian Society. Salulaid outlined the reasons why Estonia wishes to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
• February 7, 1997: Jørgen Ørstrom Møller, State Secretary of Denmark, addressed a packed room of students, faculty, and community members at the University of Washington on the topic of the Baltic nations and Europe. The lecture was hosted and cosponsored by the Danish Royal Consulate, the Department of Scandinavian Studies, and the Baltic Studies Program. Møller's remarks revealed the shaping and positive role of the Nordic states in building the security and economic integration of the Baltic Sea region in the current and future Europe.
• January 10, 1997: Agate Nesaule, Professor of English and Women's Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, received a 1996 American Book Award for A Woman in Amber: Healing the Trauma of War and Exile (Soho Press 1995). The book was also selected for the Choice list of Outstanding Academic Books of 1996. Transcript of Lecture
• November 8, 1996: Rasma Karklins spoke about "Human Rights and Ethnopolitics in the Baltic States." Rasma Karklins is professor and chair of political science at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She is a long-standing expert on ethnic politics in the former Soviet Union.
• November 8 1996: Violeta Kelertas lectured on "Lithuanian Women Writers." Professor Kelertas, Endowed Chair of Lithuanian Studies, University of Illinois, Chicago, is among the most prominent American experts on Lithuanian literature. She edited the collection of short stories, Come into My Time: Lithuania in Prose Fiction 1970-1990 (University of Illinois Press 1992), and has published many articles on Lithuanian literature, in Lithuanian as well as English language journals. In 1996-97 she was the Director of the Baltic Studies Summer Institute at the University of Illinois. She is the President of the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies.
• February 9, 1996: Paul Goble, a prominent specialist in nationality issues in post-Soviet states spoke on two topics: "The Contemporary Political and Economic Situation in Scandinavia and the Baltic States," and "The Russian Empire: Past, Present, and Future."
• October 31, 1995: Lennart Meri, President of the Republic of Estonia, at a dinner hosted by the University of Washington Baltic Program and the Boeing Company on the subject of "Estonia's Emerging Role in Economic Commerce." [Text of Speech]

  Mr. Meri at the UW Faculty Club [Text of Speech] [Transcript of speech, including introduction by Toomas Ilves and the President's answers to questions from the audience]

  Dr. Terje I. Leiren, Chair, UW Department of Scandinavian Studies, in honor of President Lennart Meri of Estonia. [Text of Speech]

• August 14, 1995: Tiina Kirss (Mercer University), "Every Word is My Birthplace: Ivar Ivask and the Baltic Intellectual"
• August 10, 1995: Forum, "Baltic Literature Today"
  • Valters Nollendorfs (University of Wisconsin)
  • Violeta Kelertas (University of Illinois)
  • Tiina Kirss (Mercer University)
• August 7, 1995: Andrejs Plakans (Iowa State University), "Human Rights in Latvia" The lecture was followed by a book-signing reception celebrating the new book by Andrejs Plakans, Latvia and the Latvians: A Short History.
• July 31, 1995: Aapo Polho (Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Finland), "Baltic Sea Issues: An Overview of the Past and View toward the Future"
• July 24, 1995: Alfred Erich Senn (University of Wisconsin), "Lithuania and the Collapse of the Soviet Union." The lecture was followed by a reception celebrating the new book by A.E. Senn, Gorbachev's Failure in Lithuania.
• July 17, 1995: Toivo U. Raun (Indiana University), "Baltic-Scandinavian Relations Past and Present"
• July 12-25, 1995: "Changing Tides of History", University of Washington Alumni Association Cruise around the Baltic Sea, to Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Finland.
• June 20, 1995: Toomas Ilves (Ambassador of Estonia to the United States), "The Baltic States: Back to Europe through the University of Washington" [Text of Speech]
• June 19 - August 18, 1995: Second Annual Baltic Studies Summer Institute
• May 5, 1995: Symposium on Environmental Problems of the Baltic Sea Maria Solin, School of Marine Affairs, University of Washington [Text]
• August 12, 1994: Bradley Woodworth (University of Washington/Indiana University), "Bringing the Baltic Together"
• August 3, 1994: Juta Kitching (University of British Columbia), "Estonian Folk Belief and Legends"
• July, 1994: Julija Gelazis, "Lithuanian Folk Music"
• July, 1994: Amanda Floan (University of Washington), "Experiences of a Fulbright Scholar in Lithuania"
• June 24, 1994: Ruta Saliklis (University of Wisconsin), "A History of the Lithuanian National Costume"
• June 20 - August 19, 1994: First Annual Baltic Studies Summer Institute
• June-August 1994: Exhibit, "Strands in a Weaver's Life: A Lithuanian Experience" Exhibit of weavings by Emilija Tutlys, recipient of Washington State 1994 Governor's Heritage Award.
• September-December, 1991: Baltic Renaissance Lecture Series. Ten guest lectures in a course taught by Professor Leslie Eliason.
  See Summer 1997 Newsletter.
• June 21-23, 1990: "From the Baltic to the Pacific," Twelfth Conference on Baltic Studies.

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