• Digital Humanities and Cultural Heritage
• Publicationsclose
• Research dataclose
• Other research productsclose
• EE close
• DSpace at Tartu University Library close

The aim of this research is, above all, to investigate the formation story of the Estonians’ own museum, with the emphasis on the relations between the museum and people. The evolution of the idea of the Estonian National Museum (ENM) and its realization reflects the maturing story of Estonian people into a nation. After the official foundation of the ENM in 1909, during the first decade of its existence, the museum underwent a change in its paradigm, growing from a national-romantic idea generated by a few intellectuals into a memory institution with extensive membership and clear visions. The museum constructed a valued past narrative, through which it was possible to find in the past the things to be proud of and to prove that Estonians are also a cultured nation. The strategies and practices of the ENM in pursuing its objectives were directed both inside and outside the museum. During the initial years of the museum the primary course of action constituted heritage collection and shaping the essence of the museum, which in European context yielded a remarkable result. The museum statutes had stipulated broad-based objectives and although as early as during the initial years of its existence the museum had theoretically developed into a versatile institution, in practice the identity was based on material heritage. There was still no wider intellectual potential for elaborating the results: however, the unique collections presented a great opportunity for the future specialists. Käesoleva uurimistöö eesmärgiks on eelkõige selgitada välja eesti rahva oma muuseumi kujunemise lugu rõhuasetusega muuseumi ja rahva vahelisel suhtel. Eesti Rahva Muuseumi (ERM) mõtte areng ja teoks saamine peegeldab eesti rahva rahvuseks küpsemise lugu. 1909. aastal ametlikult eluõiguse saanud muuseumi esimese kümnendi jooksul toimus paradigma muutus, kus üksikute haritlaste idealistlikust rahvusromantilisest ideest kujunes välja rahvaga aktiivselt suhtlev laiaulatusliku liikmeskonnaga ja selgete sihtidega mäluasutus. Muuseum konstrueeris väärtustatud mineviku narratiivi, mille kaudu oli võimalik leida oma minevikust seda, mille üle uhke olla ja mille kaudu tõestada, et ka eestlased on kultuurrahvas. ERMi strateegiad ja praktikad eesmärkide elluviimisel olid suunatud nii muuseumi sisse- kui väljapoole. Esmaoluline tegevussuund muuseumi esimeste aastate jooksul vanavara korjamise ja muuseumile sisu moodustamise näol andis kogu Euroopa kontekstis tähelepanuväärse tulemuse. Muuseumi põhikiri oli sätestanud laiapõhjalised eesmärgid ja kuigi muuseumist kujunes teoreetiliselt juba esimestel aastatel mitmekülgne institutsioon, sai aga praktikas identiteedi alus vanavarast. Tulemuste teaduslikuks läbitöötamiseks puudus veel laiem vaimne potentsiaal, see-eest oli loodud võimalus tulevastele erialateadlastele suurepäraste ja unikaalsete kollektsioonide näol.

Proceedings of the NODALIDA 2009 workshop Nordic Perspectives on the CLARIN Infrastructure of Language Resources. Editors: Rickard Domeij, Kimmo Koskenniemi, Steven Krauwer, Bente Maegaard, Eiríkur Rögnvaldsson and Koenraad de Smedt. NEALT Proceedings Series, Vol. 5 (2009), 12-15. © 2009 The editors and contributors. Published by Northern European Association for Language Technology (NEALT) http://omilia.uio.no/nealt . Electronically published at Tartu University Library (Estonia) http://hdl.handle.net/10062/9207 .

http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2429471~S1*est

Eksemplaris kohaviidaga XIIIb 1930:5103 (konvoluut) kokku köidetud 18 raamatut http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b1221875~S1*est

The article seeks to analyze discourses of two Orthodox Churches—Georgian (GOC) and Russian (ROC)—from the vantage point of their various interconnections with Europe and the ensuing representations of Europe framed in religious terms. Of particular salience are relations between ROC and GOC, on the one hand, and the Roman Catholic Church, on the other, as well as the positioning of both ROC and GOC within the global community of Orthodox Churches. The analyzed political circumstances force religious hierarchs of both institutions, even if they share the similar ambivalence toward the West, to differently reproduce the image of Europe. The broader geopolitical picture puts the GOC in the position of supporting government’s foreign policy agenda which goes in opposition to the Kremlin, in spite of the fact that the former has a lot of common with the Moscow Patriarchate when it comes to criticism toward the Western liberal value systems.

http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b2288320~S1*est

The aim of this thesis is to investigate Estonian history textbooks published in the Republic of Estonia in Estonian as well as in Russian languages and used in the gymnasium during the period from 1991-2012. The thesis is focused on the following landmarks in the history of Estonia: The World War II, the Stalin's repressions, the time under the Soviet rule, the collapse of the Soviet union and the sovereignty of Estonia stemming from it. It is these periods and landmarks which may originate different theoretical interpretations of history in terms of the framework of Estonian Republic. Estonian as well as Russian textbooks of history for gymnasium can serve as sources and media for interpretations. Topicality and actual value of the thesis today is certain and evident owing to the reasons. Since it is perfectly possible to influence and shape the worldviews and perspectives of a personality especially during one's reaching the age of puberty. History textbooks or as in the case Estonian textbooks on history in particular are the means enabling to create certain viewpoints and perspectives. School plays the role of institution with its curricula realizing the mentioned function. The young among the local Estonians as well as Russian-speaking minorities may have different perspectives and viewpoints. Besides that, the Estonian textbooks used do not necessarily reflect the historical facts the same way, neither give similar understanding of the same landmarks of significance. Given the mentioned assumptions it is important to learn whether the history textbooks published in this particular time lapse in Estonia have possibly influenced in certain way and shaped different understandings of the past events or on the contrary, suggest the same identical worldview and perspective or imply several alternative possible interpretations. There have been made certain conclusions with the help of analysis made on the basis of comparisons and juxtaposing. The conclusions found are that Estonian textbooks can shape and create different viewpoints being in stark contrast with one another. There are differences between the Estonians textbooks written in Russian and Estonian as well as numerous differences between the textbooks written in Estonian. It is worth mentioning that the difference between the textbooks written in Russian language are negligible and minor.

http://tartu.ester.ee/record=b1276397~S1*est

The paper will focus on the structures of collective identities of the Russian-speaking population of Estonia.1 Particular cultural and political orientations held by individuals and frequencies of self-categorization as Russian, ex-Soviet, citizens of Estonia, etc. have been discussed extensively.2 Much less attention has been paid to the structures of self-identification, which draw out people’s thinking patterns. The paper is based on the methodological premise that analysisand interpretation of the disposition of different types of self-categorization is worth the effort, as it helps to elucidate the general meta-structures behind people’s interpretation of different identification narratives and provides an opportunity to make prognoses about future scenarios. The first section discusses the different public identity narratives and social prerequisites for their internalization. The second and third sections provide an overview of the methodology and data of the study. The fourth section presents the main findings regarding the frequencies and structures of self-identification both today and 15 years ago.

This dissertation, “The Rituals Connected to the Mari Family Cycle (based on the Example of the Eastern Mari) in the Context of the Ritual Transition Theory”, is structured through a structural semantic analysis of the rituals of this cycle and the ascertainment of their key concepts. This study analyzes marriage, birth, funeral, and memorial rituals and is organized in the same order. Chapter One is devoted to the theoretical justification of the semiotic con¬cep¬tion of the understanding of culture as well as to the outlining of the objec¬tives, methodology and historiography of this issue. I approach culture as a text and will elaborate on its principal function as a people’s traditional memory. Chapter Two juxtaposes the traditional wedding ritual with the modern wedding ritual of traditional character. In the wedding ritual, the bridal text is read simultaneously with the texts of the participants of the ritual. In the modern ritual, the interpretation of the bride’s text has changed; the conceptual core of the text is restored only within weddings of a traditional character. Chapter Three is devoted to the birth ritual. I examined the texts of pregnant women and newborns and the prohibitions that they are subject to in relation to their liminal states. I think that the peculiarity of the objects of this ritual is that the meanings of these texts have almost completely changed in the modern birth ritual, which I associate with the broadening of the network of medical insti¬tutions and neonatal health care provided therein. However, it may be observed that even in cases of changes in the form of the modern birth ritual, the con¬ceptual foundation remains the same. With regard to the structure of transition rituals, the text of the woman in labor is similar to that of the bride, while the text of the newborn resembles the text of the dead in its actual passivity. Chapter Four deals with the funeral and memorial ritual and issues which form the theoretical foundation of this ritual cycle: the cult of ancestors, animism, and ideas of death and the afterlife. The cultural text of the protagonists of this ritual is linked to their actual pas¬sivity in relation to their environment and the collective body. As for the text of this ritual as a whole I believe that the function of this text as a cultural memory of its people is especially pronounced, since it includes ideas about the universe and the functioning of the people and individuals as well as perceptions of life’s vicissitudes and continuity. These are probably the most important ideas and perceptions of a people’s existence. The common basis of the rituals of the Mari family cycle is the idea of “arriving at a new birth via death”, i.e. the transition to the next state is achieved through the protagonist’s ritual death. It is precisely the ritual that helps one to cope with life crises (which have assumed the form of transition rituals). Doktoritöö on üles ehitatud pereelutsükli rituaalide struktuur-semantilise analüüsi ja nende võtmeideede väljaselgitamise abil, kus analüüsitakse pulma-, sünni- ning matuse- ja mälestamisrituaale, samal põhimõttel on töö ka struktureeritud. Töös käsitletakse kultuuri kui teksti ning peatutakse selle põhifunktsioonil kui rahva traditsioonilisel mälul. Pulmarituaalis loetakse pruuditeksti rituaalis osalejate tekstiga samal ajal. Idamaride pulmade eripäraks peame selliseid funktsionaalseid elemente nagu neidude mänge, “asendusvanemate” funktsioone, pulmade korraldamist kahes majas – pruudi kodus ja peigmehe kodus, pruudi välimuse eripärasusi. Sünnirituaalis on sünnitaja tekst üleminekurituaalide struktuuri suhtes sarnane pruudi tekstiga, vastsündinu tekst on oma reaalses passiivsuses lähedane surnu tekstile. Kuid just kollektiivi suhtumises vastsündinusse ja surnusse on selgelt väljendatud rituaali kommunikatiivne funktsioon, kui kollektiiv on nii teksti saatja kui ka selle tõlgendaja rollis. Palju sarnaseid jooni näeme sünni- ja matuserituaalis kui käsitleme neid piirirituaalidena inimese elutsüklis – inimene tuleb ja lahkub ühest ilmast teise. Matuserituaali peategelase kultuuriline tekst seostub passiivsusega kollektiivi ja tema ümbruskonna suhtes. Perekondlikud rituaalid on üleminekurituaalid, mis sisaldavad kohustuslikku peategelase ja rituaalis osalejate suhtlust. Selles mõttes täidavad need täielikumal määral kultuurilise teksti kui kollektiivmälu funktsiooni, tegelikult mõtestabki kultuurilisi tekste lahti just kollektiiv, ning kohati neid ka moodustab. Maride perekondliku tsükli rituaalide ühiseks aluseks on idee „läbi surma uuele sünnile liikumine”, st üleminek järgmisesse seisundisse toimub läbi tegelase rituaalse surma. Just rituaal aitab elus kriisiperioodidest (mis on vormistatud üleminekurituaalideks) üle saada. Surres vanemas eas, kaotab rituaali peategelane kõik oma omadused, et taas ilmale tulles need uuesti saada. Matuse- ja mälestamisrituaalis on teksti funktsioon eriti kajastatud kui rahva kultuuriline mälu, kuna siin on täheldatud ideid maailma, sealhulgas rahva ja inimese funktsioneerimisest; ideid elukeerisest ning elu jätkuvusest. Antud rituaalide kompleksi püsivust võib seostada nende rituaalide tekstide tähtsusega kultuuri elujõulisuse seisukohast, kuna nendesse rituaalidesse on kätketud teave mari rahva maailmavaate kohta. Arvestades algset kirjaoskuse-eelset kultuuri saavad antud rituaalid võtmerolli kultuurilise eetose säilitamisel.