PhD researcher Laurynas Kudijanovas public lecture

We are happy to invite everyone to the public lecture of the visiting PhD researcher Laurynas Kudijanovas (Lithuanian Institute of History). The event takes place in October 24, at 16:15, Ülikooli 16, room 212.

Images of India in the Lithuanian interwar press of Catholic missions  

The perception of Indian culture and everyday life, formed by the interwar Lithuanian press of the Catholic missions, received little attention in historiography. Regarding to this matter, this presentation tries to show that not only the greater powers of old continent, but also small European countries had interesting, unique and contextually influenced perception of Asian countries, in this case – India, in the first half of the 20^th century. Based on the articles published in the Jesuit magazine "Misijos" and the Salesian magazine "Saleziečių žinios" in the 3^rd and 4^th decades of the 20^th century, three main images that represented India in Lithuania are examined: Indian spirituality and religiosity, social problems of society, primarily the caste system and women's rights, and finally the ferocious nature of the land. In this lecture it will be shown that the creation of images of India in Interwar Lithuania was mostly influenced by the Christian tradition, the European orientalist attitude and the comparison of East-West civilizations.  

Laurynas Kudijanovas; Lithuanian Institute of History; PHD researcher 

Fields of interest: Cultural history, history of the Interwar period, Lithuania’s relationships and connections with Asia in XX century, orientalism, postcolonial studies.