News

On October 5–6, 2023 in the Faculty of Philology of Vilnius University (Universiteto St. 5, Vilnius) the international scientific conference Kitab Studies – Research Methodology and Source Publication will be held.

The conference is dedicated to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the publication of Anton Antonovichʼs (1910‒1980) monograph “Belarusian Texts written in Arabic Script and Their Graphic and Orthographic System” (1968) and the 85th birthday of Valery Chekmonas (1937–2004).

The purpose of the conference is to unite the scientists in dialogue and discussion to continue and develop the research of eminent professors A. Antonovich and V. Chekmonas, to discuss the written heritage of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the issues of the history and culture of Tatars and Old Believers in Lithuania and other countries and the problems of research in the field of Baltic and Slavic sociolinguistics, ethnolinguistics and language contacts.

The two-day conference will bring together 37 scientists from Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Ukraine, Turkey and other countries.

The conference is organized by the Institute for the Languages and Cultures of the Baltic of the Faculty of Philology of Vilnius University, the Centre for Kitab Studies at the Nicolaus Copernicus University and the Institute of the Lithuanian Language.

On the eve of the conference on 4 October at 5 p.m. the exhibition “Teachers’ Way: Research on Culture of Lithuanian Nations” will be opened in the White Hall of Vilnius University (Universiteto St. 3, 4th floor). The exhibition will be opened for visitors until 1 November.

Conference programme >

Abstracts >

We kindly invite you to a guest lecture "Economics and language: framework, policy relevant tools, policies in Québec/Canada" by Montreal professor François Vaillancourt. The lecture will take place on October 4th, 13 p.m. at Room 111.

This presentation will first briefly summarize the underpinnings of the economics and language, then examine how its empirical tools can be used to help language policy makers design and assess language policies. Examples from Québec/Canada and Europe will be used.

The lecture will be streamed online via MS TEAMS >>

Live Facebook Event to celebrate the European Day of Languages Panel discussion “Language Education: Empowering Minds and Bridging Cultures”

• Date: 2023-09-26
• Time: 15:00
• Room: SP2 
• Language: English  

The purpose of the panel discussion is to facilitate a dynamic conversation about the significance of learning and teaching foreign languages within the context of cultural diversity at the university level. The panel will be moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Liudmila Arcimavičienė, who will be joined by a team of five invited guests: Senior Researcher Dr. Inna Samoylyukevych from Ukraine, Dr. Ovidiu Ivancu from Romania, Dr. Adam Mastandrea from the USA, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Loreta Chodzkienė, and Lect. Gitana Irnienė from Lithuania. These experts will share their insights and address questions from the Facebook audience, which will be curated by the moderator and collected via Facebook live streaming. 

All the discussion panelists are currently teaching at the Faculty of Philology, Institute of Foreign Languages at Vilnius University, and during the discussion dedicated to celebrating European Day of Languages will tackle the following questions:  

Discussion questions

1. What inspired your passion for teaching foreign languages?
2. What are the practical benefits of multilingualism for students in various career fields?
3. What strategies can educators use to encourage creativity in language learning?

We have great expectations that this panel discussion will serve as a catalyst for raising the audience's awareness of the significance of language education and the rich tapestry of intercultural values. Our aim is to inspire a deeper appreciation for the role of language in fostering cross-cultural understanding and forging connections across diverse societies. By the end of our discussion, we hope that attendees will carry forward a renewed commitment to championing language education and celebrating the invaluable cultural treasures it brings to light.

The 2024 special issue of Semiotika aims to expand inquiry into the questions of spatial semiotics within the framework of semiotics of Algirdas Julius Greimas from the ground laid in Baltos lankos (2012, No. 34) and two earlier volumes of Semiotika (2013, 2014). This special issue invites papers that broaden the field of research by including Lotmanian approach to space in the semiotics of culture and, further, investigations that contribute to the spatial turn in postcolonial studies, literary geography and cartography, geocriticism, and literary urbanism.

We welcome papers focused on, but not limited to:

• Space and spatiality in semiotic and other theories;
• Research on space and spatiality: methods, challenges and discoveries;
• Space in literature;
• Space in visual and plastic arts, music, architecture;
• Space in new media;
• Other related topics.

The deadline for submissions is 31 July 2024.

Send your articles to: ; 

Semiotika is an international open access double-blind peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal focusing on both theoretical and practical aspects of cultural semiotics, structuralism and poststructuralism, contemporary semiotic research, history and theory of semiotics, and analysis of various types of discourse. The journal accepts articles in Lithuanian, English and French and does not charge article processing charges or submission charges. As we move Semiotika fully online, we look forward to presenting latest research more quickly and in an environmentally friendly form. For detailed instructions on style, presentation and formatting conventions, and additional information, please see our Author Guidelines > 

On September 20th, 11am (J. Balkevičius room) we have the pleasure to invite you to a lecture Confessional Culture in Old Lithuanian Texts by Markus Falk – PhD researcher at Humboldt University, Berlin. 

Abstract: In the lecture I will present the subject-matter and first results of my doctoral thesis, currently under preparation at the Chair of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics at Humboldt University Berlin. The new concept of confessional culture, which is intended to complement the older concepts of confessionalization and counter-reformation in German historical science, will be applied to Old Lithuanian texts from the 16th and 17th c. The traditions of different confessions following the reformation will be compared with respect to their confessional culture. As a non-official language, Old Lithuanian is attested relatively late and in few text types. For this reason I will introduce a new hypothesis concerning the order of appearence of Old Lithuanian text types according to their relative importance in different confessions.

The lecture will be held in English.

In 2020, a group of researchers from Vilnius University (Lithuania), Uppsala University (Sweden), and Maynooth University (Ireland) were awarded funding from the EU Horizon 2020 Twinning research and innovation programme to carry out collaborative and interdisciplinary cutting-edge research on contemporary motherhood (grant agreement No 952366). The project has since become known as MotherNet and, over the course of the last 3 years, the team has been involved in the establishment of research clusters, publications, summer schools, mentoring, scientific missions, knowledge dissemination and public outreach activities across the globe. This conference will mark the culminating event of MotherNet’s research journey and aims to provide a space where we can reflect on what we have learned thus far but also an opportunity for new scholars who are unfamiliar with our work to join us in our dialogue around the many meanings of motherhood.

Join the conference “Thinking Through Motherhood: Images, Experiences and Narratives Across Time” on 23-25 January, 2024 in Vilnius, Lithuania!

More information >

2022/2023 spring semester exam retakes will be held from the 4th until the 18th of September.

Retake dates for BA students >

Retake dates for MA students >

GUS Культура смеха retake is on September 8, 3 p.m. room A6

GUS Вильнюс на перекрестке культур (19 - I половина 20 вв.) retake is on September 14 1 p.m. via MS Teams

The dates are constantly updated as soon as the professors announce them.

If you cannot find the date for the needed subject, please contact the professor and follow the information on Faculty's website.

If you have any questions, please contact us at 

We kindly invite all first year BA students to attend our Faculty’s integration day.

SEPTEMBER  4th

11:30 

Welcome to the Faculty of Philology! Representatives from the Study Department will give a presentation on what is important to know about your studies and how the study process works (registration for courses, exam session, exam retakes, academic leave, scholarships...). Location: Room SP1. The presentation will be held in English (the Lithuanian presentation is held at 10:00).

14:30

Meeting with VU SR FPhil. Room 115 A.

15.30

A tour of the faculty and its' courtyards. After the meeting with VU SR FPhil follow the coordinators to the fountain.

16.30 

Break the ice with FIDI. Our long time friends from the Faculty of Physics will serve freshly made ice cream.