Inimkond: Prof Karsten Brüggemann: How Estonians and Latvians entered the empire

04/22/2015 - 09:00 - 11:00

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Our next Inimkond seminar will be held by Dr Karsten Brüggemann from Tallinn University and is titled: How Estonians and Latvians entered the imperial stage: Russian perceptions of the multicultural Baltic Provinces in the late tsarist empire.

The seminar will take place on Wednesday, April 22nd, from 6 to 8pm in room M-342 (Tallinn University Mare building). You are cordially invited to attend!

See also the Facebook event.

Abstract
Who were Estonians and Latvians in the eyes of an educated Russian public during tsarist times? What role if at all did they play in the Russian imperial discourse? For centuries, the Baltic provinces have been perceived as a region dominated politically and culturally by Germans.Therefore, it was this proud possession of the tsars that made the empire a truly European state. However, under the influence of Russian nationalism, this perception changed dramatically during the second half of the 19th century when the region started to play the role of a potential source of separatism. How did this affect the perception of the demographic majority who usually were regarded to be nothing more than silly, naive and stubborn peasants? How were their national movements reflected in Russian descriptions of the Baltic provinces? What did this pattern of perception had to do with the complete failure of Russian imperial nationalities policy in early 20th century?


Bio
Karsten Brüggemann is professor of history at Tallinn University. He is the author of over a hundred articles, reviews, books and conference presentation in English, German, Russian and Estonian. Titles include 'Tallinn: Small City History' authored with R. Tuchtenhagen.(2011, Böhlau); and 'Russia on the Baltic. Imperial Strategies of Power and Cultural Patterns of Perceptions (16th-20th Centuries)' edited with B.D. Woodworth (2011, Böhlau).


Inimkond: Current Issues in Anthropology and Beyond
full program at http://www.tlu.ee/en/estonian-institute-of-humanities/Anthropology/inimkond

This seminar series features speakers from anthropology and related fields, and fosters discussion of their research with a transdisciplinary audience. It aims to contribute to the culture of academic scholarship and debate at Tallinn University. Speakers include both local researchers and guests from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and with various takes on anthropological theory and methods. Presentations in the seminar series will be of interest to staff and students in anthropology, cultural theory, sociology, and history, among others.