Professors of the Department of Communication and Information

Prof. Viesturs Zanders

The research interests of the FESS professor, Senior Researcher at the Advanced Social and Political Research Institute, and Senior Researcher at the National Library of Latvia focus on the history of Latvian book publishing in the 19th–20th centuries and the history of Latvian libraries, as well as on uncovering new, previously unknown aspects in the lives and professional activities of both well-known and unjustly overlooked figures in the book industry. V. Zanders is a distinguished book historian and one of the leading researchers of book publishing and library history in Latvia.

Prof. Vita Zelče

Professor at FESS, Senior Researcher (Dr. hist.), Head of the study field Information and Communication Sciences, and Director of the Master’s programme in Communication Science. Prof. Vita Zelče is a leading scholar in Latvian media history, social and women’s history, collective memory, and ritual communication. She has received several prestigious scholarships, including IREX, Fulbright, BAFF, and DAAD, and has undertaken research placements at leading universities in the United States and Germany, such as Georgetown University, Iowa State University, George Washington University, and Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz. V. Zelče has not only led Latvian researchers’ projects within the Horizon 2020 and ERA.NET programmes but is also an expert for the Latvian Council of Science.

Assoc. prof. Baiba Holma

Associate Professor at FESS, Senior Researcher, Dr. philol., and Director of the Bachelor’s programme in Information Management. B. Holma's academic interests focus on knowledge organization, information retrieval, information literacy, digital and media literacy, digital collections, information behavior, as well as innovations in information services and design thinking. Associate Professor Baiba Holma has participated in national and international research projects, including the Life Mastery and Information Literacy project, as well as the international projects BIBLIO (2019– ) and DIDEL (Daily Innovators and Daily Educators, 2015–2018), which focused on enhancing librarians’ skills and developing new educational materials, including the educational package. (Educational package “Daily Innovators and Daily Educators in the Libraries”)

Assoc. prof. Visvaldis Valtenbergs

Associate Professor at FESS, Senior Researcher, and Dr. pol. sc., his research interests include political participation, deliberative practices, social movements, and territorial governance, as well as the impact of ICT and new technologies (artificial intelligence and quantum computing) on politics and governance (technopolitics). V. Valtenbergs is not only the scientific leader of national research programmes, a senior researcher, and an active participant in international research networks such as COST and the Quantum Humanities Network, but also a recipient of Fulbright and IVLP fellowships.

Prof. Emerita Skaidrīte Lasmane

Professor Emerita at FESS and Senior Researcher at the Advanced Social and Political Research Institute. Her academic interests are related to philosophy, philosophical culture, philosophy of literature, and ethics. S. Lasmane is the author of several significant works in ethics and philosophy, including the monographs “Western European Ethics from Socrates to Postmodernism” (1998) and “Turning Points in 20th Century Ethics” (2004). In the field of literary studies, her articles with a philosophical-literary focus on Rainis, Imants Ziedonis, and Zenta Mauriņa, among others, are of particular importance.