Students and staff

Water Cultures researchers participate in the international symposium Baltic Waterscapes in Gdańsk

The image on the left shows project researcher Kārlis Lakševics. The image on the right shows a presentation slide. The slide shows a map of Latvia with text annotations. In the background, there is a glass wall, indoor plants, and a view of the neighboring buildings. The audience is visible in the foreground.
The image on the left shows project researcher Kārlis Lakševics. The image on the right shows a presentation slide. The slide shows a map of Latvia with text annotations. In the background, there is a glass wall, indoor plants, and a view of the neighboring buildings. The audience is visible in the foreground.
On the left side of the image is project researcher Kristīne Krumberga. On the right side is part of a presentation slide showing the outline of Latvia and its river network. In the background is a plant, a glass wall, and an adjacent building. In the foreground are listeners.
The photo shows the project researchers (from left) Artis Svece, Anita Zariņa, Kristīne Krumberga, and Kālis Lakševics. On the right are two conference participants.
On the left side of the image is project researcher Anita Zariņa. On the right and in the center is a presentation screen with the title "When water unsettles." In the background is a glass wall, potted plants, and other accessories. In the foreground are the presentation audience.

On 13–14 October, the international symposium Baltic Waterscapes: Entanglements in Natureculture took place at the University of Gdańsk, Poland. The symposium explored diverse relationships between humans and waters in the Baltic Sea region through perspectives from the Blue Humanities, hydrofeminism, more-than-human theory, environmental ethics, and ecocriticism.

The event brought together researchers from across the Baltic region to discuss water as an ecological, cultural, and political agent, and to explore how waterscapes are shaped by human histories, environmental change, infrastructures, and multispecies coexistence. Discussions emphasized that waters are not only life-sustaining environments and regulated resources, but also sites of tension, transformation, and negotiation.

Latvia and the project “Water Cultures: A Transformative Approach to Sustainable Human–Water Relationships” (LZP-2023/1-0248) were represented by the following contributions:

  • Kristīne Krumberga & Kārlis Lakševics
    Techno-Mediated Encounters with Riverworlds: Ecological Sensibility in Recreational Paddling
  • Anita Zariņa & Artis Svece
    When Water Unsettles: Beavers, Flooding and the Ethics of Hydrological Disorder
  • Kārlis Lakševics
    Resilience for Whom? The Contested Infrastructurings of the Bolupe River

Participation in this symposium strengthens international collaboration in the Baltic Sea region and contributes to the ongoing development of the Water Cultures research direction in Latvia.

The book of abstracts is available here

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