IRES at the 2018 AABS Conference, Stanford University

This year, the biennial conference of the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS), was held on 1–3 June 2018 at Stanford University in California, USA. The main theme was twofold: firstly, to commemorate 100 years since the declarations of independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in 1918; and, secondly, to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of AABS in 1968. The event was the largest Baltic studies conference of its kind, with over 400 participants and 125 panel sessions. There were also four keynote addresses, given by, amongst others, Stanford history professor Norman Naimark, and the former Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dr Nils Muižnieks.

IRES was represented by Dr Michael Loader and Dr Mathew Kott. Both presented research at an IRES-organised panel entitled, “Collaboration as Agency: Motives and Self-Image of Collaborators in Nazi- and Soviet-Controlled Latvia”. Both participated in other ways as well, chairing panels, participating in a roundtable discussion dealing with the concerns of graduate students, as well as in a book panel discussing the recent book by Dace Dzenovska, School of Europeanness (2018).

The IRES delegates were also involved in activities related to AABS’ scholarly periodical, Journal of Baltic Studies (Taylor & Francis), which has its editorial base at IRES. These activities included the JBS Breakfast Session, where readers and potential authors could meet and ask questions of the Journal’s editor, Matthew Kott.

For more information on the conference, see: http://aabs2018.stanford.edu/