INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

Quo vadis European Humanities University?

27–28 September 2024

Conference Concept

Quo vadis? Once upon a time, this question was posed to someone who was going to fulfill his mission — filled with suffering, tension and joy — and to open new perspectives of life. It can be posed to every individual, community, nation, and to all of humanity. It is a question about the meaning of history and the role of each participant in it.

This question takes on a special significance within the university community. As a guide to the minds of individuals and nations, the university possesses a universal dimension. It belongs to all of humanity. Where is it going and where is it leading us today?

 

Nevertheless, each university maintains its specific identity. Because it also belongs to a national community with its distinct, often challenging, and error-laden path. Where does a particular university go when its nation’s trajectory becomes unacceptable to it?

 

Some universities are forced to become universities in exile.

What are their conditions and difficulties? What is their mission, meaning, and potential? How does a university manifest its belonging to all humanity within the confines of refuge?

 

The EHU project was established in Belarus in 1992, coinciding with the country Belarus, attainment of independence and the perception among many that the primary problem had already been resolved. It was built upon a profound understanding that our intellectual state, shaped over time by the dominance of ideological education, proved insufficient to address the complex challenges of societal transformation.

 

EHU became the first university in the 21st century to be closed for political reasons, as noted by its rector, Anatoli Mikhailov, in his 2009 speech in Berlin during the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the University in Exile at the New School in New York in 1933 (see: Social Research, Vol. 76, No. 3, pp. 849-866). Thus, the year 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the reestablishment of EHU in Lithuania as a university situated within the educational landscape of the European Union, where alongside Lithuania a pivotal role was played by the US donors.

 

This anniversary is polysemantic. It expresses the history of a part of Europe characterized by the unresolved tension between democracy and totalitarianism. It embodies a specific paradigm of relations between nations, as the European Humanities University is a space for the meeting and resolution of mutual tensions between various world nations. It speaks of unique modes of youth formation in exile conditions. It bears witness to hope, mistakes, falls and resurrections.

 

Who are you and where are you going today, European Humanities Universities?

We invite scholars and societal protagonists from various fields to speak and discuss the history, identity, mission and perspectives of the European Humanities University, as well as the role of the university in general in today’s Europe and the world, which is experiencing unprecedented tensions.

Topics to discuss

Mission of University:

historical and current points of view

Humanities education in University:

from meaning to methods

University in tragic circumstances:

crisis, solution, revival

University in national and international life:

from necessary conflicts to elaboration of peace project

Role of University in social evolution:

between totalitarianism and democracy

University in exile:

concept, examples, lessons

Identity of EHU:

EHU and situation in Belarus

EHU and Lithuanian society:

cooperation, misunderstandings, hopes

Mission of EHU:

in Lithuania, in Europe, in the world

The project welcomes submissions (abstracts of 200-300 words) on the topics mentioned above. Deadline for submission is 2024-06-10.

Conference program

Times listed below are Vilnius time

Day 1 • September 27 Friday

9.00–9.30

Moderator: Jeffrey Taylor, EHU

– Vilius Šadauskas, Acting Rector of EHU, Lithuania
– Anatoli Mikhailov, , Founding Rector of EHU, Lithuania.
– Presentation of Doctor honoris causa Dan Davidson.
– Dan Davidson, Co-founder and President Emeritus of American Councils for International Education, USA

9.30–11.00

Moderator: Jeffrey Taylor, EHU

– John Sallis, Frederick J. Adelmann Professor of Philosophy at Boston College, USA (notes)
– Anatoli Mikhailov, Founding Rector of EHU, Lithuania
– Ludger Kühnhardt, Former Director at the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI), Professor Emeritus, Institute for Political Science and Sociology at the University of Bonn, Germany
– Jeremy Adelman, Henry Charles Lea Professor of History and Director of the Global History Lab at Princeton University, USA

10.45 — Discussion

11.00–11.15

for participants

11.15–12.45

Moderator: Jeffrey Taylor, EHU

– Jeffrey Andrew Barash, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Amiens, France
– Walter Brogan, Professor Emeritus , Villanova University (notes), USA
– J.D Mininger, Provost at American University in Bulgaria, Bulgaria
– Daniel Calingaert, Managing Director of the Open Society University Network and Dean for Global Programs at Bard College, USA

12.30 — Discussion

13.00–14.00

Location: Restaurant Balzac. Savičiaus g. 7, Vilnius

for speaker and invited guests

14.00–14.30

– Aliaksandr Kalbaska, Professor Emeritus, EHU

14.30–15.15

Moderator: Vilius Šadauskas, Acting Rector of EHU

– Vilius Šadauskas, Acting Rector of EHU, Lithuania
– Horton Beebe-Center, President Emeritus at the Eurasia Foundation, EHU’s GAPO Chairman, USA
– Jonathan Fanton, Former President of the New School for Social Research, Former President of MacArthur Foundation, President Emeritus of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, USA (video)
– Hans-Gert Pöttering, former President of EU Parliament, former President of Adenauer Foundation, Germany (video)
– Oleksandra Smirnova, Vice-Rector on Scientific Affairs, State Tax University, Ukraine
– Ignatii Varenov, President of the EHU Student Union, EHU, Lithuania
– Gregory Prince, President Emeritus at Hampshire College and Senior Advisor at Pathways to College, USA (joining virtually)
– George Krol, US Ambassador to Belarus, USA (2003-2006) (video)

15.15–15.45

for participants

15.45–16.30

Moderator: Anatoli Mikhailov Professor, Academic Department of Humanities and Arts, EHU

– Vittorio Hösle, Paul G. Kimball Professor of Arts and Letters. Concurrent Professor of Philosophy and Political Science, Faculty Fellow at the Nanovic and at the Kroc Institute, USA (joining virtually)

16.15 — Discussion

16.30–17.15

Moderator: Jolanta Bieliauskaite, Rector of KSU

– Žygimantas Pavilionis, Board of the Seimas, Deputy Speaker, Committee on European Affairs, Chair, Lithuanian diplomat
– Deividas Matulionis, Аmbassador to NATO, Lithuania (video)
– Raimundas Lopata, Member of the Lithuanian Parliament, Committee for the Future, Chair, Lithuania
– Marius Janukonis, Director of the Communication and Cultural Diplomacy Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania

Establishing a Scholarship. Renatas Juška Scholarship (Vilius Šadauskas, Acting Rector of EHU)

18.00–20.00

Location: Bizarre Restaurant & Bar. Pylimo 38, Vilnius.

for speaker and invited guests

20.30–22.00

Location: Teatras Meno Fortas. Bernardinų g. 8, Vilnius

Day 2 • September 28 Saturday

9.00–10.00

Moderator: Aliaksandr Kalbaska, Professor Emeritus, EHU

– Povilas Aleksandravičius Professor, Academic Department of Humanities and Arts, EHU
– Tatiana Shchyttsova, Professor, Academic Department of Social Sciences, EHU

9.40 — Discussion

10.00–10.15

for participants

10.15–11.45

Moderator: Ignatii Varenov, President of the EHU Student Union, EHU

Speakers:
– Vilius Šadauskas, Acting Rector of EHU, Lithuania
– Horton Beebe-Center, President Emeritus at the Eurasia Foundation, EHU’s GAPO Chairman, USA
– Anatoli Mikhailov, Founding Rector of EHU, Belarus
– Liudmila Ulyashyna, Chairperson of the EHU Senate, Belarus

Invited guests:
– Emanuelis Zingeris, Member of the Lithuanian Parliament, Lithuania
– Dan Davidson, Co-founder and President Emeritus of American Councils for International Education, USA
– Oleksandr Shtokvych, Senior Program Manager at the Yehuda Elkana Center for Higher Education(CEU), Secretariat of the Open Society University Network (OSUN), Austria
– Jeffrey Andrew Barash, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Amiens, France
– J.D Mininger, Provost at American University in Bulgaria, Bulgaria
– Daniel Calingaert, Managing Director of the Open Society University Network and Dean for Global Programs at Bard College, USA
– Ludger Kühnhardt, Former Director at the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI), Professor Emeritus, Institute for Political Science and Sociology at the University of Bonn, Germany
– Jeremy Adelman, Henry Charles Lea Professor of History and Director of the Global History Lab at Princeton University, USA

11.45–13.00

Roundtable 1:
– Partnership 2.0 (Moderator: Jeffry Taylor) room 110

Roundtable 2
– Sustainability 2.0 (Moderator: Dmitriy Samal) room 221

Roundtable 3
– University Autonomy 2.0 (Moderator: Liudmila Ulyashyna) room 220

Roundtable 4
– Community Engagement 2.0 (Moderator: Ignatii Varenov) room 303

13.00–14.30

Location: Restaurant Balzac. Savičiaus g. 7, Vilnius

for speaker and invited guests

14.30–16.00

Moderator: Roman Kostitsin, EHU

– Roundtable for closing remarks EHU:2.0 Mission, Vision, Strategy

16.00–16.30

for participants

18.00

Location: EHU, room 110

for speaker and invited guests

Submit Your Papers

Join us at the European Humanities University Conference by sharing your research and insights. Please send your submissions electronically to Olga Polevikova, European Humanities University: quovadis.ehu@gmail.com. Deadline for submission is 2024 07 01.

 

We look forward to your valuable contributions!

Contacts

Public Entity “European Humanities University”
17 Savičiaus Str., Vilnius, Lithuania

Email: quovadis.ehu@gmail.com
Facebook: European Humanities University

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