Lecture on ethnic and freak shows in the territory of Latvia at the turn of the 20th century
About event
From 24 to 31 July, a session of the Nordic Summer University (NSU) will take place in Saulkrasti, bringing together 28 researchers, academic staff, and early-career researchers from Latvia, Germany, Estonia, Lithuania, and Sweden.
As part of the session, on 27 July at 14.00, a lecture titled “Ethnic and Freak Shows in the Territory of Latvia at the Turn of the 20th Century – Who Owns This History?” will take place at the “Minhauzena Unda” complex in Saulkrasti (74 Ainažu Street, Saulkrasti). The lecture will be delivered by Dr. hist. Ilze Boldāne-Zeļenka, leading researcher at the Institute of Latvian History of the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Latvia.
The lecture “Ethnic and Freak Shows in the Territory of Latvia at the Turn of the 20th Century – Who Owns This History?” (title in English: Whose History Is It? Ethnic and Freak Shows in the Territory of Latvia at the Turn of the 20th Century) will examine ethnic and “freak shows” held in the territory of Latvia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The lecture will explore how perceptions of difference and the “other” developed in various cultural and historical contexts, while also encouraging a broader understanding of the polyphonic nature of Latvia’s history.
The lecture will be held in English.
Those interested in attending the lecture are invited to contact researcher Ilze Boldāne-Zeļenka in advance: boldane@lu.lv.
The lecture is part of the international research project “Shared Stages, Entangled Pasts. Performance Research in the Baltic and German Region”, implemented with the support of the Baltic-German University Liaison Office by University of Latvia leading researcher Dr. hist. Ilze Boldāne-Zeļenka and Freie Universität Berlin researcher Lindsey Drury. The project’s cooperation partners are the Nordic Summer University (NSU) and researchers from Estonia and Lithuania.
The aim of the project is to assess how artistic performances, ethnographic shows, and entertainment in the 19th and 20th centuries influenced the formation of national identities in the Baltic region and Germany. The researchers analyse how academic and cultural exchange once shaped understandings of corporeality, colonial heritage, and such concepts as indigeneity, Jewishness, Africanness, and Baltic Germanness.
The project will run until 15 November 2026.
The Baltic-German University Liaison Office project is financially supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) with funds provided by the German Federal Foreign Office.
Date of event:
July 27, 2026
Time:
2:00 pm - 3:30 pm
Target audience:
citizens
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