10 Years of Baltic Studies

The tenth anniversary of the University of Greifswald’s Department of Baltic Studies gives me cause to look back with a few words – and to look ahead with just as many. The establishment of Baltic Studies as a subject in 1991 and the founding of the department in 1993 were essentially a political and higher education policy decision in the wake of the German reunification. The decision to establish the subject Baltic Studies in Greifswald could be described as a courageous step at the time, since there were still well-equipped chairs of Baltic Studies in Münster and Munich. Under its first head, Prof. Dr. habil. Rainer Eckert, the Greifswald Department of Baltic Studies quickly gained a good reputation in Latvia and Lithuania, but also in Scandinavia. When I was appointed to Greifswald and left Munich in 1997, the University of Munich was forced to make significant budget cuts, and the Baltic Studies there were shut down after my departure.

Meanwhile, the time of the Department of Baltic Studies in Münster, which Prof. Dr. Friedrich Scholz built up to become one of the leading institutions in the world, is also threatening to come to an end. The Baltic Studies in Greifswald is now the only academic institution of its kind in Germany. This imposes a special sort of responsibility on us, since we – and I beg you to take this the right way – are unrivalled. Over the course of the past five years, the department’s profile has somewhat changed. In addition to the core area of philological research and teaching, we are increasingly opening up to socio-political issues. The positive response to this shows not only in the slowly but steadily growing number of students, but also in the department’s diverse collaborations. The B.A. degree course presents us with new challenges. Looking ahead, it is clear to everyone at the department that the future will bring even greater challenges: even more creativity and science in research and teaching, even less money for either. Not only will there be a new head of department when we celebrate the 15th anniversary of Baltic Studies in Greifswald, but the degree course Baltic Philology will certainly have changed as well. I wish everyone who works or will work at the department for the benefit of Baltic Studies strength and success, as well as continued support from the Dean’s Office and the University Administration.

Prof. Dr. phil. Jochen D. Range

Head of the Department of Baltic Studies