21/12/2025
The international conference “Social and Humanities Research in/on Central and Eastern Europe: Envisioning Futures from a Tumultuous Present”, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of Topos journal, has just concluded — and we are deeply grateful for what these two days brought into being.
As our Editor-in-Chief noted, these were 25 years of transformation. Topos began as a metaphorical “place for thinking,” a meeting point for authors and readers. Over time, this notion shifted: Topos became a situated intellectual space, rooted in the sociocultural and political realities of Central and Eastern Europe, with particular attention to Belarus as part of this regional agenda. The journal’s name came to signify epistemic agency, responsibility, and justice.
During the conference, this idea took on a tangible form.
For two days, Topos existed as a lived space of dialogue.
We discussed:
– epistemic injustice, invisibility, and marginalization
– re-framing the region and challenging imperial epistemologies
– knowledge production in emigration and exile
– the role of academic journals in and for the region
– anti-imperial approaches, networks, and practices
We were honored to listen to the keynote lectures by
Epp Annus (Tallinn University / The Ohio State University) and
Mykola Riabchuk (Ukrainian Academy of Sciences),
and grateful for the depth and openness of discussions across all panels.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to:
– all speakers and participants
– the Topos editorial team, authors, reviewers, and scientific board
– European Humanities University for its support and hospitality
– and our wonderful student volunteers, whose work, care, and responsibility shaped the atmosphere of the conference in countless visible and invisible ways.
This conference reminded us that Topos is more than a journal.
It is a community, a situated intellectual practice, and a shared commitment to thinking critically from within the region — and beyond it.
