At the European Sociological Association (ESA) Research Network «Biographical Perspectives on European Societies» (RN03) Conference «Memory, Crisis and the Future»
The conference, held in Göttingen, Germany, on October 23-24, was also attended by Maija Krūmiņa, Senior Researcher at the Faculty of Humanities, University of Latvia, and principal investigator of the research project «Navigating Post-Exile: Transformations and Transitions in the Latvian Exile Community after 1991» (No. lzp-2024/1-0114).
The conference marked the 30th anniversary of the ESA RN03 network, providing an important opportunity to reflect on its contribution to the study of European societies and its role in advancing interdisciplinary biographical research. Over the past three decades, the network has significantly enhanced understanding of contemporary societies and the transformations they undergo. Today, it continues to explore the themes of memory, crisis, and the future, all of which are particularly relevant in the current European social context.
At the conference, Maija Krūmiņa presented a paper entitled «Post-Exile as Crisis: Biographical Narratives of Return, Belonging, and Identity». Drawing on life-story interviews, she examined how first-generation Latvian exiles and their descendants narrate decisions to return to Latvia or remain abroad, revealing the shifting meanings of belonging, adaptation, and the concept of home in the context of post-exile.