Estonia’s Identity Narrative: Ideological and Rhetorical Models of Cultural Discourse

The aim of the research project is to provide innovatory conceptual means for describing Estonia’s identity. In addition to the fairly advanced nation-centered arguments, in this project some cultural-geographical factors as well as these pertaining to the history of ideas are emphasized. Some fundamental propositions are being made, concerning the typological modelling of Christian culture, taken as a narrative, or rhetorical, process. The same kind of rhetorico-narratological models will be applied to describe the Baltic cultural-geographical space, at the same time attaching much more importance than usual to the Baltic-German factor in Estonia’s historical identity. The range of texts used as sources will vary from the belletristic to the historiographical and dramatic ones. In the subdivision “Estonian Culture in the 20th Century”, an exhaustive overview of the area and a big collective monograph is planned.

 

Principal investigator

• Jaan Undusk

 

Senior personnel

• Liina Lukas
• Anneli Mihkelev
• Piret Kruuspere
• Rein Undusk
• Mirjam Hinrikus
• Aare Pilv
• Eneken Laanes
• Hilve Rebane
• Epp Annus