The Concept

One of the main streets in the center of Riga is named Azpazija boulevard. This is the street where the EU House, the Latvian National Opera as well as other important institutions are located. Guests of Riga and those who are not familiar with Latvian Aspazija's work may think that the name of the street is dedicated to the Aspasia of the Ancient Greece; however since the late 19^th century Latvians have their own Aspazija. We would like to welcome EU Member States and neighboring countries to commemorate our Aspazija and tell about their Aspazijas - women who changed societies and introduced new visions of feminist and gender politics through  literature and culture. The aim of the conference is to revive academic and public interest to the feminist and gender theories in connection with the current social reality and  political culture.  Another aim of the conference is to revive research traditions of Aspazija's literary heritage, add new interdisciplinary dimensions to the already existing research mainstream and facilitate discourse on Aspazija applying the latest academic approaches. To shed light on her political and public activity by means of shaping a dialogue between various disciplines and cultures.