Category
Topic
Year
Schoolboy acts of resistance to the policy of Russification in Tartu in the early 1900s
Keywords: policy of Russification in the Russian Empire, repressions and resistance, public city school of Tartu, memorial evenings for Koidula and Veske, Friedebert Tuglas, Gustav Suits
The article describes some remarkable events that took place in Tartu in 1902 and 1903, when young students under the leadership of Gustav Suits and Friedebert Tuglas assisted by the local Estonian societies Vanemuine, Taara, and Karskuse sõber /Friend of Abstinence/ organised special literary evenings to celebrate the memory of Lydia Koidula and Mihkel Veske, the great figures of the Estonian people. This was a protest of youth against the policy of Russification, an action marking the beginning of a…
The article describes some remarkable events that took place in Tartu in 1902 and 1903, when young students under the leadership of Gustav Suits and Friedebert Tuglas assisted by the local Estonian societies Vanemuine, Taara, and Karskuse sõber /Friend of Abstinence/ organised special literary evenings to celebrate the memory of Lydia Koidula and Mihkel Veske, the great figures of the Estonian people. This was a protest of youth against the policy of Russification, an action marking the beginning of a…
Homelessness in one’s own home as reflected in Peeter Sauter’s oeuvre
Keywords: homelessness, phenomenology, existential feelings, Peeter Sauter
The article analyses a feeling of being homeless in one’s own home, a feeling experienced without a clear problem or compelling reason. The study rests on a phenomenological approach to homelessness. Part One of the article describes such experience of homelessness as depicted by Peeter Sauter by using his protagonists’s inner voice, which is followed by an analysis of the spatial, intersubjective and operational aspects of the experience. Part Two deals with a homeless, estranged subjectivity and how such a subject defines its position in the universe. Part Three discusses the strategies used by…
The article analyses a feeling of being homeless in one’s own home, a feeling experienced without a clear problem or compelling reason. The study rests on a phenomenological approach to homelessness. Part One of the article describes such experience of homelessness as depicted by Peeter Sauter by using his protagonists’s inner voice, which is followed by an analysis of the spatial, intersubjective and operational aspects of the experience. Part Two deals with a homeless, estranged subjectivity and how such a subject defines its position in the universe. Part Three discusses the strategies used by…
The birth of Estonian and Latvian poetry from the spirit of the German lied. Part 1
Keywords: folk song, Estonian poetry, German lied, theory of poetry, J. G. Herder, lyrical poetry
The year 1779 could well go down in history as the year of Estonian poetry, as this is when two seminal works were published. Those two differed in their understanding of the mission of poetry, thus anticipating two competing possibilities for the development of Estonian written poetry. One of them was Part Two of the collection of folk songs called Volkslieder, which wascompiled by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803) and contained some Estonian folk songs as treated by Herder, while the other was the poetry almanac Ehstländische poetische Blumenlese für…
The year 1779 could well go down in history as the year of Estonian poetry, as this is when two seminal works were published. Those two differed in their understanding of the mission of poetry, thus anticipating two competing possibilities for the development of Estonian written poetry. One of them was Part Two of the collection of folk songs called Volkslieder, which wascompiled by Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803) and contained some Estonian folk songs as treated by Herder, while the other was the poetry almanac Ehstländische poetische Blumenlese für…
The image of Spain in Estonian travel literature
Keywords: travel literature, Spain, imagology, Black Legend, Friedebert Tuglas
The article discusses the image of Spain in Estonian travel literature, taking the axis at the travelogue Teekond Hispaania (“Journey to Spain”) by Friedebert Tuglas (1918) and basing on the popular imagological view that literary texts, in particular those written by prestigious authors, can have a significant and long-standing effect on one’s idea of a certain country and its people, even to the extent that the brightness of vision gained from the texts can surpass that of personal experience.
The article surveys, on the one hand, the historical image of Spain in Europe…
The article discusses the image of Spain in Estonian travel literature, taking the axis at the travelogue Teekond Hispaania (“Journey to Spain”) by Friedebert Tuglas (1918) and basing on the popular imagological view that literary texts, in particular those written by prestigious authors, can have a significant and long-standing effect on one’s idea of a certain country and its people, even to the extent that the brightness of vision gained from the texts can surpass that of personal experience.
The article surveys, on the one hand, the historical image of Spain in Europe…
Folk singer’s image in text-based studies of early Estonian folk songs
Keywords: history of Estonian folklore studies, folklore text studies, folk singer, early Estonian folk song
Since the late 18th century, early Estonian folk song has been discussed with the focus either on its text or on its performing situation. In the 19th and early 20th centuries folk song was mostly understood as poetry (“oral literature”). This can only be expected as the recitative singing style was combined with a richly figurative text. In the 1930s, two trends could be discerned in professional Estonian folkloristics: one philological (comparative analysis of song texts) and the other ethnological (an approach based on the living…
Since the late 18th century, early Estonian folk song has been discussed with the focus either on its text or on its performing situation. In the 19th and early 20th centuries folk song was mostly understood as poetry (“oral literature”). This can only be expected as the recitative singing style was combined with a richly figurative text. In the 1930s, two trends could be discerned in professional Estonian folkloristics: one philological (comparative analysis of song texts) and the other ethnological (an approach based on the living…
The egg is (not) teaching the hen
Keywords: proverbs, truth, lie, proverbial wisdom
The Estonian Folklore Archives at the Estonian Literary Museum contains 105 recordings of proverbs of the type “The egg is teaching the hen” (EV 6901) and only 11 of the type “The egg cannot teach the hen” (EV 6902). Still, the relative proportions need not imply actual predominance of the former view in the proverbial wisdom: although some of the proverbs of the former type have been recorded all in earnest, some have been registered in an ironic sense, but for a number of the latter kind no such specification is available. This proves that…
The Estonian Folklore Archives at the Estonian Literary Museum contains 105 recordings of proverbs of the type “The egg is teaching the hen” (EV 6901) and only 11 of the type “The egg cannot teach the hen” (EV 6902). Still, the relative proportions need not imply actual predominance of the former view in the proverbial wisdom: although some of the proverbs of the former type have been recorded all in earnest, some have been registered in an ironic sense, but for a number of the latter kind no such specification is available. This proves that…
Philology, philosophy, and truth
Keywords: philology, philosophy, stasis, conceptual history
On the borderline of philology and philosophy, it often happens that the two approaches collide, claiming both to be true, whatever ‘true’ may mean. A distinction can be made between the Platonic qualitative movement towards truth and the quantitative approach to truth inherent in modern philology. At the same time, both perspectives are culture-specific, closely related to the dominant discourse, selection principles and hierarchy. This creates obstacles, for example, in the study of conceptual history but also in philology in general. The solution is to let go of the truth to some extent, accepting its…
On the borderline of philology and philosophy, it often happens that the two approaches collide, claiming both to be true, whatever ‘true’ may mean. A distinction can be made between the Platonic qualitative movement towards truth and the quantitative approach to truth inherent in modern philology. At the same time, both perspectives are culture-specific, closely related to the dominant discourse, selection principles and hierarchy. This creates obstacles, for example, in the study of conceptual history but also in philology in general. The solution is to let go of the truth to some extent, accepting its…
True physics and actual physics
Keywords: philosophy of physics, theories of physics, physical world-view
The essay reviews briefly relation of contemporary theoretical physics to the truth and describes various philosophical approaches to physical knowledge.
Piret Kuusk (b. 1947), PhD, University of Tartu, Department of Theoretical Physics, Senior Research Fellow (W. Ostwaldi 1, 50411 Tartu), piret.kuusk@ut.ee
The essay reviews briefly relation of contemporary theoretical physics to the truth and describes various philosophical approaches to physical knowledge.
Piret Kuusk (b. 1947), PhD, University of Tartu, Department of Theoretical Physics, Senior Research Fellow (W. Ostwaldi 1, 50411 Tartu), piret.kuusk@ut.ee
On truth in Estonian language descriptions
Keywords: history of Estonian language description, Estonian case system, quantity degrees, palatalisation
The article sketches a picture of the past 400 years of studying the Estonian language, starting from the very first attempts to describe it. It is speculated whether and to what extent the truth about the Estonian language has been revealed by now and what might the truth about a language be anyway. Also, to what extent, if any, does it depend on the ideological background of this or that period of history, the method of research applied, and the purpose of the particular description? The discussion is illustrated…
The article sketches a picture of the past 400 years of studying the Estonian language, starting from the very first attempts to describe it. It is speculated whether and to what extent the truth about the Estonian language has been revealed by now and what might the truth about a language be anyway. Also, to what extent, if any, does it depend on the ideological background of this or that period of history, the method of research applied, and the purpose of the particular description? The discussion is illustrated…
Truth, identity and the moral absolute
Keywords: social constructivism, core values, ethnocentric truth, perception of moral truths, absolute truth
The article analyses the mutual relationship of truth and identity in the context of the crumbling hegemony of truth, and its ramifications for the humanities. The author highlights the difference between the physical and humanitarian scientific truths, which during the past hundred years or more has led to serious scepticism about truth. Regarding truth as a social construct one has to admit that any truth is bound to identity: Truth is ethnocentric as it is based on the consensus of a community or a cultural group. Yet, although…
The article analyses the mutual relationship of truth and identity in the context of the crumbling hegemony of truth, and its ramifications for the humanities. The author highlights the difference between the physical and humanitarian scientific truths, which during the past hundred years or more has led to serious scepticism about truth. Regarding truth as a social construct one has to admit that any truth is bound to identity: Truth is ethnocentric as it is based on the consensus of a community or a cultural group. Yet, although…
The moral choices of a researcher in the process of creating cultural memory
Keywords: folklore, archives, cultural process, national culture, morality
The article aims to analyse, on the example of folkloristics, a researcher’s choices in studying and documenting culture. The article reveals the contradictions arising from the dual role of a cultural researcher who, on the one hand, should function as an independent observer, but on the other hand their work, activities and knowledge make them a creator, transmitter and developer of culture, as well as a designer of identity-bound social processes. The modern standards of cultural studies require an awareness of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting the researcher’s perspective and the research…
The article aims to analyse, on the example of folkloristics, a researcher’s choices in studying and documenting culture. The article reveals the contradictions arising from the dual role of a cultural researcher who, on the one hand, should function as an independent observer, but on the other hand their work, activities and knowledge make them a creator, transmitter and developer of culture, as well as a designer of identity-bound social processes. The modern standards of cultural studies require an awareness of the extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting the researcher’s perspective and the research…
Die Wahrheit in Wissenschaft, Geisteswissenschaft, Philologie
Stichwörter: Wahrheit, Geisteswissenschaft, Philologie
Philologie ist die Wissenschaft, die sich mit der Beziehung
WIRKLICHKEIT (MENSCH ↔ TEXT)
befaßt: erstens untersucht sie, wie der Mensch die Wirklichkeit in Texte verwandelt, und zweitens, wie er Texte wirklich werden läßt. Als Wissenschaft muß Philologie bestimmten Kriterien entsprechen (logisch zweiwertige Metasprache, Entdeckungspflicht, Zuläßlichkeit der Annahmen nur in Folgerungen, nicht in Voraussetzungen), als eine Geisteswissenschaft geht sie deduktiv von der Idee (Hypothese) aus, die Interpretation eines Textes ist zuläßlich, soweit sie den Text nicht durch einen anderen oder durch sich selber ersetzt. Die Einhaltung dieser Kriterien gewährt der Philologie die wissenschaftliche Wahrheit, die sich von der geoffenbarten Wahrheit…
Philologie ist die Wissenschaft, die sich mit der Beziehung
WIRKLICHKEIT (MENSCH ↔ TEXT)
befaßt: erstens untersucht sie, wie der Mensch die Wirklichkeit in Texte verwandelt, und zweitens, wie er Texte wirklich werden läßt. Als Wissenschaft muß Philologie bestimmten Kriterien entsprechen (logisch zweiwertige Metasprache, Entdeckungspflicht, Zuläßlichkeit der Annahmen nur in Folgerungen, nicht in Voraussetzungen), als eine Geisteswissenschaft geht sie deduktiv von der Idee (Hypothese) aus, die Interpretation eines Textes ist zuläßlich, soweit sie den Text nicht durch einen anderen oder durch sich selber ersetzt. Die Einhaltung dieser Kriterien gewährt der Philologie die wissenschaftliche Wahrheit, die sich von der geoffenbarten Wahrheit…
Cognitive autonomy – a perishing ideal?
Keywords: cognitive autonomy, personal autonomy, liberalism, John Locke, Russell Hardin
In today’s world, knowledge is increasingly becoming a social, collective phenomenon. Enlightenment philosophers, notably John Locke, declared that any opinion accepted without critical scrutiny, based on pure trust and testimony of others, was worthless, whereas it seems more characteristic of our time to claim that to pursue cognitive autonomy is an obsolete ideal. It is now normal and desirable to delegate judgment in intellectual matters to special sciences, human or machine experts, opinion leaders. The agent’s general personal autonomy is often (though not always) highly valued by those endorsing the liberal…
In today’s world, knowledge is increasingly becoming a social, collective phenomenon. Enlightenment philosophers, notably John Locke, declared that any opinion accepted without critical scrutiny, based on pure trust and testimony of others, was worthless, whereas it seems more characteristic of our time to claim that to pursue cognitive autonomy is an obsolete ideal. It is now normal and desirable to delegate judgment in intellectual matters to special sciences, human or machine experts, opinion leaders. The agent’s general personal autonomy is often (though not always) highly valued by those endorsing the liberal…
From the truths of the 20th century to 21th-century post-truth
Keywords: truth, humanities, post-truth, existentialism, postmodernism, constructivism, emancipation
Contemporary humanities are increasingly criticized for their abandonment of rigorous scientific methods and their indifference, if not hostility, to the issue of truth. Particularly postmodernism is accused of being directly responsible for the emergence of the post-truth era in the academic and cultural field. Such critiques have been recently appropriated by conservative thinkers and the far-right, who turn them into political attacks against liberal values.
The article aims at identifying and analyzing those features of the contemporary humanities which risk to offer theoretical support to the practical attitudes characteristic of our post-truth era. I…
Contemporary humanities are increasingly criticized for their abandonment of rigorous scientific methods and their indifference, if not hostility, to the issue of truth. Particularly postmodernism is accused of being directly responsible for the emergence of the post-truth era in the academic and cultural field. Such critiques have been recently appropriated by conservative thinkers and the far-right, who turn them into political attacks against liberal values.
The article aims at identifying and analyzing those features of the contemporary humanities which risk to offer theoretical support to the practical attitudes characteristic of our post-truth era. I…
Situated knowledge in the post-truth era
Keywords: discourse analysis, post-truth, post-critique, postmodernism
Postmodernism and situated truths have been named among the creators of the post-truth world in both academic texts and mainstream media. Discourse studies is one of the disciplines associated with situated truths. That label covers, on the one hand, theoretical analyses inspired by the work of Michel Foucault and, on the other hand, the subfield of linguistics that studies contexualised language use. While critics habitually target discourse theory, the present think piece asks whether we could use empirically grounded discourse analysis to study the post-truth condition. The focus is on Johannes Angermüller’s programme of discourse…
Postmodernism and situated truths have been named among the creators of the post-truth world in both academic texts and mainstream media. Discourse studies is one of the disciplines associated with situated truths. That label covers, on the one hand, theoretical analyses inspired by the work of Michel Foucault and, on the other hand, the subfield of linguistics that studies contexualised language use. While critics habitually target discourse theory, the present think piece asks whether we could use empirically grounded discourse analysis to study the post-truth condition. The focus is on Johannes Angermüller’s programme of discourse…
What is his game?
Keywords: Mati Unt, game, archetype, postmodernism, modernism, romanticism
The article discusses Unt’s oeuvre of the 1990s and 2000s, with the main focus on his novels Öös on asju (Things in the Night, 1990) and Brecht ilmub öösel (Brecht will appear at night, 1997) and the keyword “game”. The article investigates whether Unt’s later works, described in his time as complicated and confusing, really differ so much from his earlier period as far as the themes and focus are concerned. In addition, the article makes an attempt to map the relationship between Unt and postmodernism, which is by no means clear. Although Unt seems…
The article discusses Unt’s oeuvre of the 1990s and 2000s, with the main focus on his novels Öös on asju (Things in the Night, 1990) and Brecht ilmub öösel (Brecht will appear at night, 1997) and the keyword “game”. The article investigates whether Unt’s later works, described in his time as complicated and confusing, really differ so much from his earlier period as far as the themes and focus are concerned. In addition, the article makes an attempt to map the relationship between Unt and postmodernism, which is by no means clear. Although Unt seems…
More on the language of Agenda Parva
Keywords: Tartu dialect, Agenda Parva, Estonian language history
The Catholic church manual Agenda Parva (1622) is a South Estonian linguistic monument. Its language has been studied since 1938, but some specifications are still in order. In the phrase omme wiide mielde-ga ‘with one’s own five senses’ (modern spelling omme viide meeldega) omme should not be interpreted as an erroneously spelt genitive singular but rather as the genitive plural of the pronoun oma ‘one’s own’, spelt according to the general principle followed throughout the publication, notably that a long consonant is rendered by doubling the letter. As for wiide (the middle word of the phrase) it has hitherto been interpreted as a very archaic…
The Catholic church manual Agenda Parva (1622) is a South Estonian linguistic monument. Its language has been studied since 1938, but some specifications are still in order. In the phrase omme wiide mielde-ga ‘with one’s own five senses’ (modern spelling omme viide meeldega) omme should not be interpreted as an erroneously spelt genitive singular but rather as the genitive plural of the pronoun oma ‘one’s own’, spelt according to the general principle followed throughout the publication, notably that a long consonant is rendered by doubling the letter. As for wiide (the middle word of the phrase) it has hitherto been interpreted as a very archaic…
Palatalisation of consonants after a long vowel at the end of monosyllabic i-stemmed words
Keywords: Estonian, palatalisation, i-stemmed words, reading experiment, dialectical variation, text-to-speech synthesis
The study focuses on the palatalisation of the consonants l, n, s, t and d at the end of i-stemmed monosyllabic Estonian words, e.g. saal ‘hall’, veen ‘vein’, roos ‘rose’, pruut ‘bride’, kood ‘code’. The purpose of the study is to ascertain the extent of palatalisation. According to the Dictionary of Standard Estonian, which provides the basis for Estonian text-to-speech synthesis,the final consonant of an i-stemmed word with a (C)VVC structure should be palatalised. There is, however, large variation in actual pronunciation.
The investigation addresses 2274 pronunciations of 57 words with the above structure. There are 36 i-stemmed words and 21 words with some other stem vowel, chosen to enable a comparison of…
The study focuses on the palatalisation of the consonants l, n, s, t and d at the end of i-stemmed monosyllabic Estonian words, e.g. saal ‘hall’, veen ‘vein’, roos ‘rose’, pruut ‘bride’, kood ‘code’. The purpose of the study is to ascertain the extent of palatalisation. According to the Dictionary of Standard Estonian, which provides the basis for Estonian text-to-speech synthesis,the final consonant of an i-stemmed word with a (C)VVC structure should be palatalised. There is, however, large variation in actual pronunciation.
The investigation addresses 2274 pronunciations of 57 words with the above structure. There are 36 i-stemmed words and 21 words with some other stem vowel, chosen to enable a comparison of…
What is a posthuman theatre text?
Keywords: dramaturgy, subjectivity, consciousness, corporeality, technology
In this article, I read a selection of 21st century Estonian plays through the lenses of posthumanism. I examine the matters of subjectivity, corporeality, consciousness and relation to technology of the characters based on Katherine N. Hayles’ pioneering How We Became Posthuman (1999) and Rosi Braidotti’s The Posthuman (2013); some relevant ideas of transhumanism exceeding the biological limits of the human organism (Nick Bostrom) are also considered.
The first selected play is uus elysium. une luup (new elysium. dream loupe, 2001) by Andreas W and Jaak Tomberg. The play is a textual experiment of the technological…
In this article, I read a selection of 21st century Estonian plays through the lenses of posthumanism. I examine the matters of subjectivity, corporeality, consciousness and relation to technology of the characters based on Katherine N. Hayles’ pioneering How We Became Posthuman (1999) and Rosi Braidotti’s The Posthuman (2013); some relevant ideas of transhumanism exceeding the biological limits of the human organism (Nick Bostrom) are also considered.
The first selected play is uus elysium. une luup (new elysium. dream loupe, 2001) by Andreas W and Jaak Tomberg. The play is a textual experiment of the technological…