Events

The Orientalism, Colonial Thinking and The Former Soviet Periphery: Exploring Bias and Stereotype Representations of Eastern and Central Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia conference will take place on August 27-29, 2015, at Vilnius University (VU) with the support of the EHU Center for German Studies.

“The conference brings together brilliant scholars from East and West. This is a part of long term cooperation between the EHU Center for German Studies and the VU Centre of Oriental Studies and Faculty of History. Our contribution is to bring German speakers to the conference,” says Dr. Felix Ackermann, German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) visiting associate professor at EHU in Vilnius.

The concept and purpose of this conference are based on the Ukrainian crisis that has placed the entire post-communist world back at the very center of global debate in the media, politics, and academia.

“Concepts such as the sovereignty of post-Soviet and post-communist states have been brought into question once again, alongside the historical development, international alignment, and aspirations of state actors in the region. In this context, a narrative of ‘Russian interests versus Western interests/values’ seems to have gained currency in Western media and political discourses. Smaller actors in Eastern and Central Europe, Central Asia, the Baltics, and the Caucasus see their perspectives ignored or deemed secondary,” say the organizers.

Please see the whole program of the conference here.