Head of Department  Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dziuljeta Maskuliuniene P. Visinskio St. 38 LT-76352 Siauliai Tel.  +370 41 595 786         E-mail - litk@hu.su.lt

On the 1st of December, 2006 the Faculty of Humanities celebrated its 50th jubilee however studies of literature started eight years earlier than the establishment of the Faculty of Languages and Literature.

History. Literature has been studied since the very beginning of Alma Mater of Nothern Lithuania when there had been founded Teachers' Institute .The head of the Department of Literature and Languages which began its work in 1948 was a very charismatic personality Jonas Adomaitis (1903-1981). In 1949 there was established the Department of the Lithuanian Language and Literature. Adomaitis was the head of this Department until 1950 and later he was followed by Mykolas Freimanas(1950-1952), Petronėlė Česnulevičiūtė (1952-1953), Zelma Dumašiūtė (1953-1955). In 1954 Teachers' Institute was reorganized into Pedagogical Institute. At that time there were six departments and two of them were teaching literature - the Department of the Lithuanian Language and Literature and the Department of the Russian Language and Literature. The head of the Department of the Lithuanian Language and Literature was Bronius Prėskienis (1955 - 1960), (1961-1963). For some time Vytautas Sirtautas had duties of the head of the Department until the return of Prėskienis from his postgraduate studies. Later the head of the Department was Jonas Linkevičius (1963-1965, 1967-1968), then Česys Grenda (1965-1967,1971-1977, 1979-1982) and Kazimieras Župerka (1977-1979). There was the Department of the Lithuanian Literature in 1968-1971 and 1982-2004. At that time the heads of the Department were assoc.prof.Jonas Linkevičius (1968-1971), assoc.prof.Silvestras Gaižiūnas (1982-1985), assoc.prof.Dalia Striogaitė( 1985-1986), assoc.prof. Irena Klimašauskienė (now Baliulė) (1986-1988), assoc.prof. Vigmantas Butkus (1998-2004).

Teachers of the Russian language had similar experience of joining and separating their departments. In 1947 there was founded the Department of the Russian Language and Literature. The heads of this Department were V.Ivanova (1949-1950), Asia Barštein (1950-1952), Galina Kudyrskaja (1952-1953), Olga Stasenko (1953-1954), Aleksejus Kaprašovas (1954-1961), Valentina Zaiceva (1961-1968). In 1968-1973 there was the Department of the Russian Literature and assoc.prof.Pranas Gražys worked as its head.In 1973 both Russian Departments were joined once more. Now their heads became assoc.prof.Aloyzas Gudavičius (1973-1975) and assoc.prof.Juozas Jurkėnas (1975-1977). In 1977 there again appeared the Department of the Russian Literature.For a long time assoc.prof. and later prof.Pranas Gražys was its head and when he went abroad to do his research work his duties were carried on by assoc.prof.Kristina Racevičiūtė and assoc.prof.Asia Barštein (1983-1986). Later the duties of the head of the Department were accepted by assoc.prof.Vytautas Bikulčius(1987-1989). For several years (1990-1992) it was the Department of the Russian and Foreign Literature (prof. Pranas Gražys was its head) and in 1992 - 2004 it was the Department of Comprehensive Literature. In 1992 - 1996 the head of the Department was prof. Pranas Gražys and in 1996 - 2004 its head was assoc. prof. Vytautas Bikulčius.

On the 22^nd of September, 2004 the Senate of Šiauliai University made a decision (Nr P-70) to reorganize the Departments of the Lithuanian Literature and Comprehensive Literature into one Department of the History and Theory of Literature uniting all professionals of literature at the University. All modules on literature that had been scattered among other Departments of Philology and the teachers responsible for them were appointed to the new Department. In 2004-2006 the head of the Department was assoc. prof. Vigmantas Butkus, and since June of 2006 assoc.prof.Džiuljeta Maskeliūnienė has become the head of the Department of the History and Theory of Literature.

As we see, the departments dealing with the subjects of literature had a long and complex history and as other departments experienced different reorganizations dictated by time, political and ideological situation or inner changes in Šiauliai higher institution, the needs of academic studies. For several years literature studies were supervised by linguists (Česys Grenda, Kazimieras Župerka, V.Ivanova, Olga Stasenko, Valentina Zaiceva) both in the Lithuanian and Russian Departments.

During a long period of existence of those Departments there worked a big number of interesting and intelligent teachers, real professionals in their subject. It would be impossible to mention all of them nevertheless it is necessary to remember" the teacher of theachers" Jonas Adomaitis (1903-1981) who was the first to teach literature as well as professor Bronius Prėskienis who was the first to write doctor's dissertation on literature in 1963. Petronėlė Česnulevičiūtė and Aldona Vaitiekūnienė (Kardišauskaitė) were like real stars in the sky of Šiauliai but they left for Vilnius. Valerija Ramonaitė (1928-2007) devoted 43 years to Šiauliai higher institution and associated professors Asia Barštein, Kristina Rackevičiūtė, Dalia Striogaitė as many others should be remembered for their contribution to literary studies.

Study programmes: the Department of the History and Theory of Literature together with other departments participates in  the following Bachelor programmes: Lithuanian philology (Bachelor; full-time, part-time studies), Lithuanian philology and public relations (Bachelor; full-time studies), Lithuanian philology(Bachelor studies; professional studies: librarianship, publishing, public relations), English philology (Bachelor; full-time, evening studies), French philology (Bachelor; full-time studies), Russian philology (Bachelor; full-time, evening studies),German philology (Bachelor; full-time, evening studies), Lithuanian and German languages(Bachelor; full-time studies), Lithuanian and French languages (Bachelor; full-time studies), English and Russian languages (Bachelor; full-time studies). The Department of the History and Theory of Literature supervises full-time and part-time Bachelor and Master studies of literature.

Scientific research and professional interests: the history of the Lithuanian and European literature. Theoretical, methodological, comparative and interdisciplinary studies of literature.  Analysis and criticism of regional literature and regionalism in literature.

Scientific activity:since 1997 the Department of the Lithuanian Literature has been organizing( the traditions are cintinued by the present Department) interdisciplinary conferences:"A Witch in Lithuanian Culture"(1997),"Province in Lithuanian Culture"(1999),"A Body in Lithuanian Culture"(2000),"Canons in Lithuanian Culture"(2001),"Myths in Lithuanian Culture"(2002),"Transformation of Values in Lithuanian Culture"(2004),"Beer in Lithuanian Culture"(2004)," A Cat as a Phenomenon of Culture"(2005),"A Moor in Lithuanian Culture"(2005),"The Sun in Lithuanian Culture"(2006),"A Child in the Lithuanian and World Literature "(2007). The Department of Comprehensive Literature continued conferences" The Problems of Modern Comprehensive Literature and Criticism" started by Vilnius University in 1996. In 1999 this conference was held in Šiauliai where it also took place in 2002 and 2005. The conference materials were published in separate issues. Those scientific issues stimulated publishing of the new journals "Inter-studia humanitatis", "Acta humanitarica universitatis Saulensis".

Some teachers of the Department participate in the work of editorial boards of scientific journals. Vigmantas Butkus  - in "Filologija", "Inter-studia humanitatis" and "Colloquia",Džiuljeta Maskuliūnienė is a member of the editorial board of the journal"Rubinaitis".The teachers of the Department Irena Baliulė, Vigmantas Butkus, Danguolė Sakaviciute are members of the editorial board of the periodical"Parkas" that is a ŠU newspaper on culture.Teachers of the Department participate in the activity of various associations and organizations: Irena Baliulė is a member of the Lithuanian Association of Comparative Literature, Irena Baliulė, Džiuljeta Maskeliūnienė, Danguolė Šakavičiūtė are members of the international IBBY organization. The continuing seminar"Reading of Texts" is a very important and interesting project of the previous Department of the Lithuanian Literature. The first reading took place in 1999. The Department of the History and Theory of Literature continues this tradition.There had been 35 seminars where presentations were made by the teachers and students from our faculty and guests - poet Sigitas Geda, historian  Dangiras Mačiulis, translator from Japanese Vytautas Dumčius, researchers in literature Ramutis Jarmalavičius, Regimantas Tamošaitis, Aušra Jurgutienė and others. Those seminars were coordinated by the previous head of the Department assoc.prof.Vigmantas Butkus and now they are coordinated by the head of the Department.

The staff of the Department had in-service training abroad: Vigmantas Butkus in Latvia, Irena Baliulė in Germany, Vytautas Bikulčius in France, Ona Danutė Klumbytė, Džiuljeta Maskeliūnienė in Russia. Teachers  have made presentations in different foreign countries - Latvia, Poland, Russia, Germany, France, Slovakia, the Ukraine etc.

 The Department teachers have published over several hundred articles in the Lithuanian and foreign issues as well as monographs, textbooks etc. They participate in different projects, work on Erazmus programme.

The staff of the Department: assist.Vyda Bajorūnienė, assoc. prof. dr. Irena Baliulė, assoc. prof. dr. Vytautas Bikulčius, assist. Nerijus Brazauskas, lect. Danutė Bulzgienė, assoc.prof.dr.Vigmantas Butkus, prof. hab. dr. Pranas Gražys, assist. Monika Gruslytė, assoc. prof. dr. Dalia Jakaitė, prof. hab. dr. Ona Danutė Klumbytė, assoc. prof. dr. Gintaras Lazdynas, assist. Jolita Lukšytė, the head assoc. prof. dr. Džiuljeta Maskuliūnienė, assist. dr. Juldita Nagliuvienė, assist. Aurimas Nausėda, emeritus prof. dr. Bronius Prėskienis, assist. Danguolė Šakavičiūtė, assist. Ramūnas Šilis, secretary Dovilė Zeniauskienė