International Summer School "Regional Studies: The Case of Latgale" has started
On 23 July 2021, Daugavpils University (DU) International Summer School “Regional Studies: The Case of Latgale” was opened. DU Centre for Latvian Studies (LSC) has been organising this school for five years, offering a unique programme each year with the content of Latvian language learning, culture, history, and regional studies integrated. This year the Summer School takes place in hybrid form, with the participants of the school acquiring the programme both on-site and remotely, synchronically and diachronically. The school takes places from 23 July to 1 August (10 days). The programme developed by LSC received financial support for the organization of the summer school by participating in the competition of the State Education Development Agency.
This year, 10 participants from Azerbaijan, Belgium, Italy, Indonesia, Cyprus, Georgia, Peru, Ukraine and Uzbekistan participate in the Summer School. A total of 85 applications were received on the Summer School platform, 10 of which were selected on the basis of the motivational letters submitted. The decisive assessment was based on the eligibility of the candidates' motivation to target the modules of the programme developed by LSC.
At the opening of the summer school, participants were offered a lecture on Latgale, Daugavpils City, Daugavpils University and the methodology of regional studies. The content of the lesson also integrated the Latvian language's welcome vocabulary and courtesy phrases. At the opening of the summer school, participants told about themselves and their motivation for participating in the summer school. The willingness of participants to participate relates both to research and professional interests, and the possibility of personal growth.
The summer school programme is composed of a Latvian learning module and a regional study module. The training process is carried out in hybrid form. The lessons are available simultaneously, both on-site and in remote format. It is possible for participants to watch lesson recordings made by using ZOOM e-conference platform that are published on site of e-study platform MOODLE designed specifically for this Summer School, along with other digital learning materials. In the Latvian language module, the members of the Summer School will learn the Latvian language at the A1 level of knowledge, focusing on the use of the Latvian language in communication situations in daily and professional communication. In the regional study module, the participants travel virtually to the most important sites of Latgale region, exploring and analysing the region's culture, history, tourism, nature resources and society.
The aim of this year's summer school is to create an image of the regional study phenomenon, its research tools and to carry out field studies in Latgale region, by integrating the acquisition of the communication competence of the Latvian language into the regional study component at the basic level.
The summer school is organized by Centre for Latvian Studies of Daugavpils University Faculty of Humanities.
Summer School Team: Dr philol., prof. Maija Burima (Head of Summer School), Diane Skuķe, Ilmārs Mežaraups.
Follow the latest news of the International Summer School “Regional Studies: The Case of Latgale” on summer school home page and on Facebook.
This project is financially supported by the State Education Development Agency of the Republic of Latvia.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Dr. philol., Prof.
Maija Burima
Head of Centre
for Latvian Studies
Email: summerschool@du.lv