The project NAMS (‘house’) examines how Latvian identity functions as a resource of societal resilience under geopolitical pressure. It treats identity not as a fixed essence but as a historically layered and contested “living house” of meanings shaped by epistemic plurality – coexisting academic, vernacular, spiritual, creative and policy-driven knowledge logics. Focusing on the folklife sphere, where identity has been continuously produced through state institutions, disciplines and grassroots practice, the project studies how heritage is activated, commercialized and reconfigured in contemporary society. 

Through archival research, fieldwork with heritage communities, critical disciplinary history, analysis of vernacular knowledge and spirituality, and a national survey, the project analyzes identity resources, risks and future imaginaries. The project links identity and cultural heritage with national security, analyzing how communities of cultural spaces in crisis could act as resilience infrastructures and proactive strategists. 

LAC is responsible for two project work packages: “Resilience of Heritage Communities in the Context of National Security” and “A Nationally Representative Social Survey on the Significance of Latvian Identity”. 

Anda Laķe (Lead project participant) 

Rūta Muktupāvela (Lead project participant) 

Ieva Vītola(Project participant – LAC team coordinator)