Tallinn University Brought Together Slavic Studies Scholars and Lecturers from Across Europe
From 14 to 18 September, Tallinn University hosted 27 university teachers and researchers from 20 European universities for the Erasmus+ Blended Intensive Programme “Teaching Slavic Studies After 2022: Challenges and Perspectives”, organised and led by Kapitolina Fedorova.
PThe programme brought together colleagues working in different academic and national contexts to discuss how Slavic Studies is changing in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine, transformations in higher education, and the rapid growth of AI and digital technologies. Workshops combined discussion of shared challenges with networking and hands-on work on new forms of international cooperation.
The programme extended well beyond the university classroom. At the Yuri Lotman Repository, Senior Research Fellow Tatjana Kuzovkina introduced participants to its collections and ways of involving students in archival research. A two-day study trip organised by Danila Rygovskiy, Research Fellow at Tallinn University’s School of Governance, Law and Society, took the group to the Old Believer settlements on Lake Peipsi and to Narva and Sillamäe. There, participants explored Estonia’s historical and contemporary Russian-speaking communities and discussed how Russian and Slavic Studies can move beyond their traditional focus on Russia by paying greater attention to other geographical and cultural contexts.
Most importantly, the BIP created new connections that are already turning into plans for future cooperation. Participants discussed Erasmus staff exchanges, joint BIPs for students, collaboration on a COST Action proposal, a shared information resource, and the possibility of establishing a wider European association or network for Slavic Studies. The final workshop focused on turning these ideas into practical forms of cross-border cooperation.
By the end of the week, participants left Tallinn not only with new ideas about teaching Slavic Studies, but also with new colleagues, partners and plans for working together across universities and countries.
