CfP: Cultures of Baltic Nobilities. Identities - Concepts - Practices

Interdisciplinary Conference, September 7-12, 2016, Klaipeda
(Lithuania)

Up to now numerous testimonies in the Baltic provide an insight into the
variable cultures of nobilities representing not least the "Transposition" (Bogislav von Archenholz) of this region between Western Europe and Russia. Previous research focused mainly on Baltic-German nobilities and their self-assertion against the background of changing power and territorial affiliation in early modern era. However, Baltic nobilities have barely been examined in the quickly developing European research of nobilities. This conference is the first step to include the cultures of Baltic nobilities from the 16th to 19th century into these European research contexts. The main goal is to create new research perspectives by focusing on the contexts exceeding the Baltic. 

The conference's aim is to consider Baltic nobilities and examine the preconditions and forms of regional Baltic nobilities - not taking into account national ascriptions. Special attention will be paid to the cultures of nobilities in Estonia and Latvia (the historical Baltic region) as well as to Lithuania (Grand Duchy of Lithuania). Their special characters found their expressions and experienced changes through variable inter-relations (marriages, migration, networks of communication) among each other, the Russian Empire, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Duchy and later Kingdom of Prussia as well as the Scandinavian empires, especially Sweden.
Due to the multitude of these noble cultures and their cultural habits the identities (self-assertion and self-portrayal) and allegiances of the different noble cultures from the early modern era to the social and political changes in the 19th century are to be investigated. Similar to many European noble cultures nobility in the Baltic was constituted by descent, property and the political rights of participation attached to it. A political voice, lordly privileges and the preferential access to higher ranks and positions in the services as well as in administrative jobs represented the key elements of noble self-conception. Different components of a noble culture which found their expression in the
respective political, territorial and social frameworks were linked to these elements.

The conference requires a profound understanding of culture according to
the present concepts of cultural studies. It includes intellectual-aesthetic approaches (e.g. cultural patronage, production of literature and art, architecture and furnishings of the aristocratic estates) as well as material (e.g. political and economic culture) and anthropological ones (e.g. the cultural memory, marriage procedures, gender relations, family, education, life in an estate house, sociability and representation, nobilities in town, confessional
characters). Consequently, contributions from all historico-cultural subjects (e.g. history, history of art, literary and language history, music, theology / church history) are appreciated. The conference aims at reviewing the present knowledge about nobilities and the specific noble cultures in the Baltic area and initiating new scientific perspectives.
Potential contributors please submit your proposal of ca. 3000
characters and a short CV as well as contact details by October 31, 2015
to: adelskulturen@uni-osnabrueck.de.
For further enquiries, please contact adelskulturen@uni-osnabrueck.de.