Erasmus+ teaching mobility experience
Aktualizēts 09.03.2020 02:43
Name: Judith Kalik
Age: 55
Gender: Female
Sending institution: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Receiving institution: Daugavpils University, Latvia
Study subject: Rural Jews of Latgalia
Length of mobility period: 7 activity days (01.03.2020-07.03.2020)
I preoccupied lately with the rural Jews in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russian Empire. Since the largest concentration of rural Jews (87%) was recorded in 1764 in Latgalia (Polish Inflanty), I was very much interested to visit this country. The invitation from Daugavpils University to participate in the Erasmus+ mobility program provided for me a unique opportunity to came into personal contact with local scholars, as well as to observe personally the local countryside. This was not my first experience with the Erasmus+ program. I visited in its framework Warsaw University twice, and I received participants of this program from Warsaw University in my home institution as well. The cooperation between my home institution with Daugavpils University is also very fruitful. Though Daugavpils (former Dvinsk) was once one of the major Jewish cultural centers in the region, very little of the Jewish life remained there now, but the interest in the Jewish history and culture is high. Therefore, the academic exchange between the Hebrew University and Daugavpils University is very important for both sides. Students in the receiving institution demonstrated great interest in the subject, and for many of them this their first encounter with the Jewish history. I would like to advice to Erasmus+ participants not to hesitate to go to such less familiar to them places as Daugavpils.
