Narrated Lives: Biography in the Baltic Sea Region

International symposium under the academic supervision of Professor Annelie Ramsbrock (Greifswald), Professor Clemens Räthel (Greifswald), Charlotte Steinert, MA (Greifswald) and Dr Alexander Waszynski (Greifswald)

The 2026 annual conference of the International DFG Research Training Group 2560, “Baltic Peripeties: Narratives of Reformations, Revolutions and Catastrophes,” examines the history and culture of the Baltic Sea region through the lens of biographical research. It asks how historical turning points resonate in individual lives and what significance such moments assume within biographical narratives. Attention to micro-narratives is not only central to historiography, memory culture, and discourses of regional identity, but also aligns with contemporary approaches in literary studies that explore strategies of life writing. The presentations span a wide chronological and disciplinary range, from the history of the Baltic states to contemporary Scandinavian literature, thereby reflecting the diversity of projects represented within the research training group.