Lectures on identity-building of Estonian residents after restoration of independence
In October, the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies at the University of Tartu will organise three public lectures on the identity formation of the Estonian and Russian-speaking population in Estonia between 1990 and 2020. Lectures in honour of the Cultural Diversity Year will be held in Tartu, Tallinn and Narva. All lectures are available for participation also online in the three cities and elsewhere.
The lectures will take place on 3, 10 and 17 October at 15:30–17:00 and will be given by researchers from the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies at the University of Tartu. The lectures are held in Estonian in Tartu, English in Tallinn and Russian in Narva.
As a tribute to the Cultural Diversity Year, the lectures will discuss how the discourse of identity of people living in Estonia in 1990–2020 has been portrayed in literature, media, politics and popular culture. Researchers are looking for answers to several questions. How have Estonians and Russians in re-independent Estonia dealt with the past, present and future? In what ways have people of one nationality or another defined their own identity through different understandings of history, different stories and human relationships? How have people become different and how have their own identities emerged? What can be learnt from these discourses and how can we find answers to today's topical issues, be it integration or valuing the diversity of languages and cultures?
On 3 October at 15:30–17:00, Lecturer in Politics of Baltic Sea Region Countries Heiko Pääbo will give a lecture in Tartu entitled “Nationality, memory, narrative: important others in the discourse of Estonian identity” (“Rahvus, mälu, narratiiv: olulised teised Eesti identiteedi diskursuses”). Pääbo's presentation examines how Estonians’ past was portrayed in 1990 and 1995, how Estonians perceived their own role in the past and what the relations with others were. The lecturer will put the results of this historical insight in a broader context – where we came from, how we have progressed and how these roles have changed.
The lecture will be held in Estonian in room 214 of the Lossi 36 academic building. The lecture can be attended online in room 311 of the Tallinn Office of the University of Tartu (Teatri väljak 3) and in room 100 of Narva College of the University of Tartu.
On 10 October at 15:30–17:00, Lecturer in Comparative Politics Alar Kilp will give a lecture in Tallinn entitled “Present Others in the identity narratives of Estonians: 1990, 1995, and today”. Kilp will speak about the historical characteristics of Estonians, discussing who were considered Others in the newly restored Estonia, and what can be inferred about the Others of today.
The lecture will be held in English in room 311 of the Tallinn Office (Teatri väljak 3). The lecture can be attended online in room 200 of Narva College and in room 305 of the Lossi 36 academic building in Tartu.
On 17 October at 15:30-17:00, Research Fellow in Political Science Elena Pavlova will give a lecture in Narva entitled “Who are we here? Debating Russian identity in Estonia through a cultural prism” (“Кто мы здесь? Дискуссия о русской идентичности в Эстонии сквозь призму культуры”). Pavlova discusses how Russian-speakers have defined themselves in Estonia after its regaining of independence. On the basis of the Russian-language literature published in Estonia, she examines the ways in which the views and perceptions of the Russian-speaking population living in Estonia have changed in relation to the main integration issues.
The lecture will be held in Russian in room 100 at Narva College. The lecture can be attended online in room 311 of the Tallinn Office (Teatri väljak 3) and in room 307 of the Lossi 36 academic building in Tartu.
The lectures can also be watched online without having to come to the venue or attend a joint viewing. Web links will be made available at the website of Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies.
The lecture series takes place in the framework of the Estonian Research Council-funded research project "National identity and Estonian-Russian relations: a longitudinal study of elite and mass discourses" in cooperation with the Integration Foundation.
