History
Irene Elksnis-Geisler, D-1-140 MAK, 616-331-3414, geisleri@gvsu.edu
Visiting Faculty
I have a Master’s degree in Women’s and Gender Studies from Eastern Michigan University. I am a Ph.D. recipient from Western Michigan University in History with a specialization in European gender history. My research interests are interdisciplinary and include gender and nationalism, migration, and oral history. My present area of focus is the Baltic Region. I have had the good fortune to be able to work closely with colleagues doing research in the Baltic States and Eastern Europe. In October, 2008, I participated in a workshop, “Baltic States under Stalinist Rule” in Tartu, Estonia, sponsored by the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies. During the 2009/10 academic year, I was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Latvia, the country of my heritage. In March of 2010, I was part of a joint Latvian-Estonian seminar on “Communication in Society through Life Stories,” sponsored by the University of Latvia. In July of 2010, I joined an Oral History research expedition to Preli, Latvia funded by Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, Latvia, as part of a European Union grant with Glasgow University, UK.
My current project, “Into Diaspora: Gender, Annexation and Exile of Latvians 1940-1953,” utilizes oral testimonies as the basis for understanding the political oppression of Latvians during the Second World War and post-war period. I am also working on a series of articles on the tradition and practice of oral history of post-Soviet Latvia. I have plans to revise my dissertation, “The Gendered Plight of Terror: Annexation and Exile -- Latvia 1940-1950” and publish it in book form. Further in the future, I plan to continue my long-term research on “The Roles of Women in the Development of a Latvian Nation 1850-1920,” examining aspects of gender as a central feature in the construction of nationhood and self-identity.
Page last modified December 20, 2011
