The 2nd Congress of Latvian Historians is devoted to the exchange of ideas on important topics for every historian – to those working in research institutions as well as in institutions devoted to preservation of historical sources or concerned with popularization of history. Seven years ago, the 1st Congress of Latvian Historians adopted the Final Declaration and the 2nd Congress will start with an evaluation of how the ideas included in this declaration have been materialized. Furthermore, there will take place a discussion about history and communication which will be addressing the crucial issue on how a scientific product created by a historian comes to the notice of other historians, how such a product reaches society in general and also how ideas created by historians reach schoolchildren (and correspondingly what is the level of knowledge of history among young people).
Historians, archaeologists, ethnologists and other specialists will participate in panel discussion “Sciences inquiring into the past” and will exchange ideas on interaction between history and anthropology, sociology, literary science etc., and how achievements in these disciplines during the last five years have added to the understanding of the past. Panel discussion “History and ideology” will address the relationship between science and the ruling power, as well as the influence that the ideological tendencies of a given period of time have on the works of historians. The methods and methodology that historians use in their work will also be discussed. As a conclusion, we plan to adopt the Final Declaration, but the ideas expressed in discussions will be published in a separate volume that would follow after the Congress.
