EHU as a Unique Phenomenon in the Field of Humanities Education

• In Event: Liberal Arts Education: Freedom of Memory and the Memory of Freedom

Abstract

EHU stands as a unique institution in the landscape of humanities education, not merely because of its academic mission but due to the exceptional circumstances of its foundation,
survival, and ongoing resilience. Unlike other similar initiatives, such as the Mohyla Academy in Kyiv or the Moscow State University for Humanities, EHU did not emerge from
an effort to restore or modify a pre-existing institution with state support and an established infrastructure. Instead, it was born out of an intellectual necessity in an environment deeply
hostile to independent thought, making it a pioneering experiment in higher education under conditions of systemic ideological sterility. Our experience as a university in exile - both in a literal and intellectual sense - grants us a perspective that few other institutions can claim. From the very beginning, EHU operated as an outlier, challenging dominant paradigms in a country where critical discourse was virtually nonexistent. Belarus, unlike Russia or Ukraine in the early 1990s, did not benefit from significant international attention, and the ideological constraints imposed by its political environment made any independent educational initiative an almost impossible undertaking.
This history provides us with an acute awareness of the structural and intellectual challenges facing higher education in oppressive contexts, equipping us with unique insights into the
limitations and pitfalls of well-intentioned but often ineffectual international educational initiatives.
Furthermore, our regional expertise offers invaluable contextual knowledge that is often overlooked in broader discussions on humanities education in challenging times. The "Case
of Belarus" serves as a crucial example of how even the most well-meaning projects can yield counterproductive results if they fail to critically assess the principles underlying their
implementation. Rather than merely lamenting the difficulties of our era, we emphasize the necessity of reevaluating the very foundations of humanities education, resisting the
temptation to rely on abstract slogans or superficial reforms that only exacerbate existing crises.
The closure of EHU in 2004 and its subsequent survival as a university in exile symbolize not just the pressures exerted by authoritarian regimes but also the inefficiencies and bureaucratic
inertia of Western support mechanisms for higher education. Too often, such support remains performative rather than substantive, amounting to an imitation of real engagement, adorned
with rhetorical commitments but lacking meaningful structural change. EHU’s experience exposes these contradictions and offers a critical perspective on the broader failures of
international educational policies.
What distinguishes our approach is precisely this lived understanding of exile - not just as a geographical displacement but as a condition of intellectual and institutional existence. We do
not simply theorize about the challenges facing humanities education in "dark times"; we have lived them. This firsthand experience enables us to critically interrogate existing models
and develop strategies that are not only contextually informed but also adaptable to similarly restrictive environments worldwide.
In essence, EHU is not just another initiative responding to crises in humanities education; it is a case study in resilience, a laboratory for rethinking the role of independent scholarship in adverse conditions, and a testament to the necessity of intellectual resistance. Our history and ongoing struggle uniquely position us to address these challenges with an awareness and
urgency that few others can claim.

Author

• Mariia Laktionkina, European Humanities University (Lithuania)