Registration: by 12th October, 2021 (24:00 CET) 
To register please contact: albanologie@gmail.com

The conference is a cooperation between Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, with the sponsorship of the Southeast Europe Association. The conference is planned to be an event for young researchers (doctoral candidates, post-docs, and junior professors) in the field of international Albanian Studies. In Germany, Albanian Studies have a long tradition dating back to the 19th century. Since the 1970s, there has been a chair for Albanology at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. In addition to Munich, research projects, events and lectures on Albanian language, literature and culture has taken place even at the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Friedrich-Schiller-Universität in Jena. In Germany, Albanian Studies are considered as a Small Subject by the Portal of Small Subjects in Mainz. In Berlin, we define Albanian Studies as a foreign discipline, i.e. a discipline which refers from abroad to countries where Albanian is spoken. Therefore, Albanian Studies has a broader research spectrum and a high degree of interdisciplinary. At the core of this pioneering achievement, there are other approaches such as sociolinguistics and area studies, especially by focusing on the former Yugoslavian region. Besides traditional linguistics and literary studies, we include gender studies and cultural studies as well as special topics such as research of border areas and migration.

Our idea covers a broad spectrum of Albanian studies including all German and European places where research on Albanian is conducted or where junior researchers are investigating Albanian issues. With the selection of topics, we strive for innovative project ideas in order to show that Albanian Studies as a small subject today is by no means traditional and isolated. The panels focus on approaches that are not traditionally considered in Albanian Studies, but are becoming extremely widespread – especially abroad. Among these approaches are: Language Contact Studies, Language Technology and Digitisation, Gender Studies, Migration Studies and broader Cultural Studies. Supposedly traditional topics, especially from Tirana and Prishtina, are also included at the conference because of their outstanding methodological approaches.

Our conference is the result of the intensive cooperation between Berlin and Jena that is supported by the participation of two colleagues, Dr. Evelyn Reuter and Dr. Christoph Giesel. Furthermore, there has been a predecessor conference in Jena on 1 and 2 October 2021 dedicated to the (East) German Albanologist Prof. Dr. Wilfried Fiedler, who gave Albanian lectures during his retirement until his death in 2019.

Please find the conference program attached on the right side of this page.