Res Humanitariae

The article analyses the educational-didactic level of the sermons by the late 19th century priest and Lithuanian writer Juozas Tumas-Vaižgantas. The target of the sermons is the community, whose value orientation and morality must be developed. A sermon as a religious discourse enables the orator not only to comment on the Word of God revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and to explain the truths of the faith, but also, with the help of these truths, to achieve pragmatic goals: to educate, teach and provide practical knowledge. The study focuses on the category of conscience, as determining the moral decisions of an individual and having the power to influence his thoughts and feelings. The problem and the main goal of the article is to find out how this special human ability to distinguish good from evil is measured and understood by Vaižgantas himself, what role he gives it in the process of the individual’s moral education, and how his perceived conscience and its meaning correlate with the texts of the Holy Scriptures. The sermons preached by J. Tumas-Vaižgantas in Mintauja in 1894 were selected for the study. During the analysis, it became clear that for the preacher, the conscience is not only the final authority of morality, which must be obeyed unconditionally, but also that the close relationship between the conscience and faith is important. Discussing the educational role of the conscience, Vaižgantas emphasises the need to form a clear conscience.

The article analyses Oswald Spengler’s philosophical work The Decline of the West, and the related philosophical and cultural context of the 20th century. This controversial work was written a hundred years ago, between 1918 and 1922, but its original contents remain relevant today. The author analysed the stages of development of world history, paying great attention to Western civilisation. History was understood in the sense of cyclical, recurring periodicity. Historical events repeat themselves, they are born, reach a climax, and die. In this sense, the idea is still relevant today, for example, in terms of peace and war in Europe. Even then, Spengler sensed that the devaluation of spiritual values ​​would lead to a new war. And it so happened. In the face of the current war between Russia and Ukraine, we can see that history is indeed repeating itself. It is interesting to note that, according to the author, crises occur when morality and moral values ​​decline. According to him, Christianity can no longer offer a very solid spiritual foundation; the God it proclaims seems neutral to the course of history, unknowable and distant. This is partially why nihilism, rationalism and pessimism appear, and then political authoritarianism, excessive individualism and honorifics, which begin to destroy the foundations of civilisation from within. Not all of Spengler’s prophecies have come true. It is true that there are many manifestations of all this even now; but the decline of the West that he predicted has only been partially fulfilled, because Christianity has not disappeared, and man is still searching for authentic truth, meaning and God today.

The article describes the pastoral duties of Pastor Kristijonas Donelaitis, and aspects in the life of the Tolminkiemis parish during his ministry. It examines Donelaitis’ path to the priesthood, the ethnic composition of his parish and the reasons for the decline in the number of Lithuanians, the construction projects initiated by the pastor, difficulties encountered during the Seven Years’ War, the entries made by the pastor in the church records, the liturgical life of the congregation, the pastor’s attitude towards Pietism, the case of land separation that was disadvantageous to the Church, and the opinions of later parish clergy about their predecessor. The author suggests that the village of Metai is a Lithuanian village in the parish of Tolminkiemis, as the pastor saw it in his interactions with his Lithuanian parishioners.

2025 m. lapkričio 28 d. Klaipėdos universiteto Socialinių ir humanitarinių mokslų fakultete buvo surengta tarptautinė mokslinė konferencija „Dangaus Karaliene šviesi“, skirta katalikų liaudiškojo pamaldumo tyrinėtojo prof. habil. dr. Alfonso Motuzo (1955–2019) gimimo 70-mečiui paminėti. Konferencijos globėjas – Jo Ekscelencija Algirdas Jurevičius, Telšių vyskupas.

2025 m. lapkričio 20–21 d. Klaipėdos universiteto Socialinių ir humanitarinių mokslų fakultete vyko VIII tarptautinė tarpdalykinė mokslinė konferencija Tradicijos ir modernybės sąveika, kuri šiemet sutelkė ypatingą dėmesį į iškilaus XIX a. lietuvių raštijos veikėjo ir pirmojo lietuviškų dainų rinkinio sudarytojo Liudviko Rėzos palikimą ir jo poveikį šiuolaikiniams kultūros procesams. Renginys, kurį jau penkiolika metų organizuoja Klaipėdos universiteto mokslininkai, tapo svarbia akademinės refleksijos ir dialogo platforma, jungiančia įvairių šalių ir sričių mokslininkus.

Dalios Pakalniškienės 2023 m. išleista mokslo studija Lietuvių kalbos intarpinių ir sta kamieno veiksmažodžių struktūra ir semantika (CiC- tipas) – tai tik dalis tęstinio išsamaus intarpinių ir sta kamieno (toliau – INSTA) veiksmažodžių tyrimo, kuriam ši lingvistė skyrė ne vieną dešimtmetį (Pakalniškienė 2021a; 2021b, 15–56; 2020, 1–16; 2018, 61–101; 2008, 250–263 ir kt.). Gausus INSTA veiksmažodžių struktūrinis tipas, kuriam skirtini apie 1 600 veiksmažodžių, yra sulaukęs daugelio baltistų dėmesio ir tirtas taikant įvairius metodus (Gorbachov 2007; 2014, 21–53; Villanueva Svensson 2010, 204–233; 2011, 33–58; 2016, 37–59; Balčiūnienė 2014; Mikašauskienė 2018 ir kt.), tačiau kompleksinio tyrimo, atskleidžiančio šių veiksmažodžių raidos, semantikos ir formaliosios struktūros ypatumus, iki šiol nebuvo. Būtina pabrėžti, kad Dalia Pakalniškienė minėtų veiksmažodžių tyrimo kompleksiškumą supranta ne tik kaip nuoseklią empirinių duomenų analizę, apimančią jų formaliąją struktūrą, darybą ir semantiką, bet ir kaip visuminę tiriamosios medžiagos šaltinių aprėptį (tiriami senųjų raštų, tarminiai ir bendrinės lietuvių kalbos duomen

Naujoji latvių kalbininkės Benitos Laumanės knyga skirta onomastikai. Autorė yra gerai žinoma baltistikos srityje kaip tyrėja, ypatingą dėmesį skirianti atskiriems leksikos sluoksniams, ypač tiems, kurie yra reprezentatyvūs regiono gamtos ir kultūros savitumo liudininkai. Tokia prieiga prie onomastikos svarbi etnolingvistikos požiūriu. Apie tai kalba teoriniai darbai, iškeliantys kalbos, ne tik kaip autonominės ženklų sistemos, bet ir kaip teksto, kuris skirtas pasaulėvaizdžio kūrimui ir perdavimui, reikšmę (Fontaine 2017). Regioninės leksikos tyrimai atskleidžia kalbos priemonėmis kuriamą ir palaikomą vietos kalbėtojų mentalinį žemėlapį, kurio kontūrai gali siekti labai senus laikus ir egzistuoti mūsų dienomis (Möller, Elspaß 2021).

Linguistic expressions not only give great freedom for the pleasures of the imagination and the emotions, but are also a common way for singers to express the nature of their personal life in an indirect form of communication. Melancholic and enthusiastic musical works can evoke strong emotions in listeners, and analysing their linguistic features can help us understand how they create these emotions. This research analyses numerous linguistic devices to determine how melancholy and enthusiasm are represented in vast Lana Del Rey’s discography. Thus, the purpose is to overview Lana Del Rey’s entire body of work, understand what emotions are predominant in her music, and what linguistic means of expression are used to convey them. The purpose will be achieved by completing the following tasks: to investigate the notion of linguistic expressions in language; to review Lana Del Rey’s musical works and gather all linguistic expressions in order to classify them according to the emotions that they evoke; to identify linguistic expressions of melancholy and enthusiasm that are used in Lana Del Rey’s vast discography and define their characteristics; to determine the most dominant linguistic expression of melancholy and enthusiasm specifying the dominant emotion.

Globalisation and migration have resulted in a growing number of children of Lithuanian descent being raised abroad, where their connection to the native language develops outside the natural linguistic environment. Lithuanian heritage schools play a crucial role in maintaining the Lithuanian language and the national identity; however, attendance is limited, and children’s motivation to learn Lithuanian depends on various family, educational and social factors. This article examines instruction in Lithuanian as a non-native language in heritage schools, with particular focus on students’ learning motivation. Empirical data were collected in 2025 through a quantitative survey involving 47 teachers from Lithuanian heritage schools in 15 countries, and 112 parents abroad raising children up to the age of 18. The questionnaires were designed based on theoretical sources on motivation, bilingualism and heritage language learning, and the results were analysed statistically. The findings highlight the pedagogical, family and social factors shaping children’s motivation, and contribute to a deeper understanding of Lithuanian language education in the diaspora.

The article analyses the Holodomor and the instruments the authorities employed during the famine, through the prism of testimonies and memoirs about the famine by witnesses and survivors. The author focuses on how the authorities organised rural communities and their way of life before and during the man-made famine, and the perception by the survivors of this social engineering and the activities of the perpetrators of the Holodomor at the level of ordinary people. Archival and oral history data are used, and the source criticism method is applied. The author shows its limitations, and suggests options for further research on the perpetrators.