October 29 is the birthday of the eminent scholar and educationist Teodor Shanin, who was born in Vilnius in 1930. Shanin’s life was tragic and spectacular. After the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, he was deported to Siberia and his family perished in the Vilnius ghetto. After the war, he emigrated to Israel, became a hero of the war for Independence, graduated from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, got his PhD in the UK, and became a Professor of Sociology in the University of Manchester. He published hundreds of works on sociology, informal economy, agrarian history, and anthropology, revolutionizing these disciplines, creating academic schools and leaving pupils and followers. In 1990-s Shanin founded Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences, better known as Shaninka. The degrees of the School were validated by the University of Manchester, and until the beginning of the current war it was one of the best independent universities in Russia and Eastern Europe.
This October 29, Shanin’s pupils and followers are holding a workshop in Vilnius Museum of Tolerance to return the name and the heritage of Teodor Shanin to his native city. We shall announce the launch of Teodor Shanin Foundation in Vilnius, speak about his personality and biography, discuss his contribution to scholarship and education and the possible directions of promoting his heritage.
Program
Online greeting Andrius Kubilius, Member of the European Parliament
Panel 1. Teodor Shanin Biography and Personality
11.00 – 14.00. Moderator Andrei Zorin (University of Oxford)
- Introductory words Shulamith Ramon-Shanin (University of Hereford, UK)
- Teodor Shanin – professor and talant-seeker Laima Andrikienė (Member of the European Parliament)
- Shanin – Litwak Galina Baranova (Vilnius, archival historical researcher)
- Vilnius Between the Wars Tomas Venclova (Professor Emeritus, Yale University)
- The Didactics of Personal Fate: Teodor Shanin’s Biography Between Self-creation and Self-Investigation Alexander Arkhangelsky (historian and writer)
- Kamchatka through the eyes of Teodor Alexander Balfour (author)
- Shanin’s Political Views in the Last Decades of his Life Vasily Zharkov (European University for Humanities, Vilnius)
- Teodor Shanin and challenges of Post-Socialist Education Anatoly Mikhailov (European University for Humanities, Vilnius)
Lunch 14.00 – 15.00
Panel 2 Teodor Shanin Scholar and Educator
15.00 -18.00. Moderator Alexander Balfour
- Shanin and the Studies of Informal Economy Alena Ledeneva (UCL, UK)
- Shanin and Sociology of Knowledge Viktor Vakhstayn (Ariel University, Israel)
- Shanin and Development studies Ivan Peshkov (Adam Miekiewicz University, Poznan Poland)
- The Impact of Shanin’s works on Peasantry on Eastern European Scholarship Judith Pallot (University of Oxford, UK, Alexanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland) tbc
- „There Is Always Another Way“ (Teodor Shanin, 1990) Some Reflections on Curiosity and Positionality in Teodor Shanin’s Academic Practice Peter Lindner (Goethe-University Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
- Working with Shanin’s Legacy, Teodor Shanin’s Foundation in Vilnius Andrei Zorin (University of Oxford, UK).
The International Teodor Shanin Foundation (Shanin Foundation) - established in 2023, three years after Teodor Shanin passed away, by his widow and colleagues. The Foundation aspires to return the name and legacy of Teodor Shanin to his native city and to promote his academic and educational achievements. The plans of the Foundation include commemoration of Teodor Shanin in Vilnius, publication of his works, support of research and organization of conferences, especially in the areas of his academic interest, and launching educational programs based on his ideas and approaches.
Shanin Foundation projects are supported by US Russia Foundation (USA), Davis Center of Harvard University (USA).
Universitas – NGO, established in Lithuania for support of educational and academic projects.
