Events

European Humanities University
Center for Belarusian and Regional Studies

Conference
THE GRAND DUCHY OF LITHUANIA: UNITY IN DIVERSITY
May 29–30, 2025

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL), for nearly six centuries, encompassed a multiplicity of ethnic groups, cultures, religions, and ideologies traditions within its territorial borders. While Lithuania held the political initiative in establishing the state, Ruthenia maintained its significant cultural and social presence over an extended period. The sustained coexistence of diverse communities within a unifies political entity suggests the existence of distinct between of power, which facilitated interactions and collective agency while preserving cultural and societal heterogeneity. 

What was this balance of power? What skills, competencies, and ways of thinking were shaped by the interaction different peoples? What institutions, as well as social, cultural, and political communities, emerged from this interaction? What strategies and behavioral norms were developed? How did the societies and political structures adapt and restore order in face of internal and external challenges?

The conference invites contributions addressing the following topics:

• Lithuania and Ruthenia: interaction, conflicts, and their resolution
• Parliamentary institutions of the 16th–18th centuries: legal framework and actual practice
• Civic and political rights and freedoms in the GDL (14th–18th centuries): origins, implementation, and dissemination
• The dynamics of urbanization processes in different regions
• Urban space and society: urban topography and social connections
• Migration processes and their influence on urban communities
• Intercultural interactions
• Religious tolerance and confessional conflicts
• The Basilian Order of the Lithuanian Province in the 17th–19th centuries and its role in preserving the written traditions of “Ruthenianism” and book publishing 
• Military history
• Culture and society: everyday life, traditions, and intercultural exchanges

Conference languages: Belarusian, Lithuanian, Polish, English
Application deadline: March 30, 2025
Applications should be submitted to cbrs@ehu.lt and must include the following information: 

• full name, academic degree and title, institutional affiliation, paper title, abstract (up to 200 words), contact details (email and phone number).