The first issue of the almanac in 2021 was dedicated to the theme of “European Heritage,” the second to “Heritage as a Challenge,” the third to “Utopias of Our Heritage,” and the fourth to “The Right to Heritage.”
We invite submissions for the fifth issue, which this year is centered around the theme “The Beginning of Heritage”!
There is a stereotype that cultural heritage has been passed down to us “from ancestors since ancient times.” However, careful study shows that before being recognized as historical and cultural value, 90–95% of artifacts and cultural elements have undergone what some researchers call a “semiotic pause”—or, simply put, they were forgotten or even considered morally obsolete and unnecessary.
To become heritage, these artifacts and elements had to be placed in an appropriate cultural (and often political!) context, where they gained recognition. Moreover, behind such rediscovery, there are usually specific individuals or organizations—those who write and interpret history; those who restore the old by removing later historical layers; and, finally, those who systematically care for cultural values and present them to society or tourists.
Thus, almost everything we value today—architecture, museum collections, folk traditions, and even state symbols—was once reinterpreted, actualized, and often literally recreated.
How does this process unfold, and what were its historical peculiarities in Belarus and the region of Central-Eastern Europe? In this issue of the almanac, we invite authors to reflect on the origins of heritage in two key aspects:
First, the theoretical aspect. What is the internal mechanism and logic behind transforming unnecessary objects into valuable ones? What are the stages and directions of these processes, and who drives them? What role do political, economic, social, and other contemporary challenges play in heritage actualization? How do the efforts of individual creators, advocacy initiatives of communities or public organizations, and state institutions interact in this process?
Second, the historical aspect. How has the actualization of cultural heritage occurred during pivotal periods in the history of our region—during the 1920s–1930s, the Thaw and Perestroika eras, and the early years of national independence? We would like to recall the names and events significant for shaping the cultural landscape of our society and to highlight that the way our monuments appear today is not just a matter of their preservation but of how they have been maintained and restored.
Finally, we would like to dedicate a special section of the upcoming almanac to our own heritage—the history of the European Humanities University.
Researchers, cultural and heritage experts, as well as students and graduate students of the European Humanities University, are invited to contribute to the almanac.
We welcome conceptual contributions in the following formats:
• Classic academic articles
• Academic essays
• Interviews
• Reviews of works and events
• Graphic projects
• Other experimental formats
For textual materials, the expected length is: academic articles—30,000 characters, essays—around 20,000 characters, including spaces. Publication languages: Belarusian, Russian, and English.
To participate, please submit ideas or topics along with a brief (1–2 paragraph) description by April 30. Formatting guidelines and other technical details will be discussed with the authors after topic approval.
Please send proposals to the editor in chief: PhD, Associate Professor Stsiapan Stureika.
Email: stsiapan.stureika@ehu.lt
Email subject: Almanac – 2025.
Previous issues of the almanac can be accessed at the following link:
https://journals.ehu.lt/index.php/ctrls/issue/archive