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Two Master’s Theses on the History of Water Defended

On the right side of the image is presenter Lība Karlīna Varapoga. On the left is the presentation screen with the title "Research Object". On the right side of the presentation screen is an image of a man in a boat with a house in the background that has been flooded, with the water level reaching the roof.
On the right side of the image is presenter Lība Karlīna Varapoga. On the left is the presentation screen with the title "Research Object". On the right side of the presentation screen is an image of a man in a boat with a house in the background that has been flooded, with the water level reaching the roof.
On the right side of the image is presenter Klāss Reinis Dzirkalis. On the left side is the presentation screen, which shows a map with regulated river sections.

In June 2025, two master’s theses were successfully defended within the Geography programme at the Faculty of Sciences and Technologies, University of Latvia. Both works are closely connected to the study of water governance, environmental history, and human–water relationships in the Latvian context.

Lība Karlīna Varapoga
“Discourses on the Daugava River Floods (1920s–1970s)”
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Anita Zariņa
Scientific Consultant: Research Assistant Karīna Ješkina
This thesis explores floods not only as natural events but also as sociocultural and political phenomena. Drawing on press materials, personal memories, and official documents, the study traces changing public perceptions of water-related threats. It highlights the need to approach flood management not solely through engineering solutions, but also as a matter of history, memory, and cultural significance.

Klāss Reinis Dzirkalis (Senior Laboratory Assistant in the “Water Cultures” project)
“River Regulation in the Agro-Industrial Landscape of the 20th Century: The Case of the Zemgale Plain”
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Anita Zariņa
Scientific Consultant: Researcher Edijs Breijers
This thesis examines how 20th-century river regulation transformed agricultural landscapes and river morphology. Combining an environmental history perspective with digital methods, the study reconstructs landscape changes using historical maps, archival sources, and an interactive map browser.
Browser available here
The tool enables comparison between straightened riverbeds and their earlier natural courses, shedding light on the logics of 20th-century landscape management.

Both theses provide significant contributions to the study of environmental history and water geography in Latvia and will serve as valuable resources for further research within the project.

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