Diasporaa-eestlaste enesekuvand muutuvas maailmas / The self-image of diaspora Estonians in the changing world
The paper deals with diaspora Estonians’ collective identity. Our research was based on interviews and Estonian exile literature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 48 respondents from Europe, Canada, the United States, and Australia. The first, second and third generations were represe...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Tartu and Estonian Literary Museum
2014-06-01
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| Series: | Methis: Studia Humaniora Estonica |
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| Online Access: | https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/methis/article/view/1309 |
| _version_ | 1811313171235864576 |
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| author | Triinu Ojamaa Kristel Karu-Kletter |
| author_facet | Triinu Ojamaa Kristel Karu-Kletter |
| author_sort | Triinu Ojamaa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The paper deals with diaspora Estonians’ collective identity. Our research was based on interviews and Estonian exile literature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 48 respondents from Europe, Canada, the United States, and Australia. The first, second and third generations were represented; ages ranged from 15 to 93. The respondents were also divided into „old” and „new” subgroups, based on whether they left Estonia before or after the 1990s. We analyzed the responses to the questions „How do you define an Estonian?” and „Do you consider yourself an Estonian, and if yes then why?” These questions were asked in order to examine the concepts of a „proper Estonian” and respondents’ personal ways of being Estonian. An interest in Estonian culture and history as well as an attachment to Estonia and to the Estonian language were almost equally important for all the respondents. The image of a „proper Estonian” was similar across the generations in both the old and new subgroups. A „proper Estonian” is the reflection of traditions and values. In reality, people usually develop identities based on their personal life experiences. The responses to the question „Do you consider yourself an Estonian, and if yes then why?” varied much more, depending most of all on the generation: the first generation of both the old and new subgroups identified themselves 100% as Estonians; the second and third generations consisted mainly of individuals with a conscious double-identity. Some respondents stated that they had been raised to be Estonians. All the respondents agreed that identifying with several cultures was possible whereas the new subgroup showed the highest multicultural scores. The topic that served to unite the diaspora with Estonia and with Estonians elsewhere was the Republic of Estonia: questions evaluating pride in the Estonian state produced the most similar and equally positive responses from all respondents.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:49:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6e792966947f4cbcbfa8eb9fb67f6656 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1736-6852 2228-4745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T10:49:09Z |
| publishDate | 2014-06-01 |
| publisher | University of Tartu and Estonian Literary Museum |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Methis: Studia Humaniora Estonica |
| spelling | doaj.art-6e792966947f4cbcbfa8eb9fb67f66562022-12-22T02:49:42ZengUniversity of Tartu and Estonian Literary MuseumMethis: Studia Humaniora Estonica1736-68522228-47452014-06-01101310.7592/methis.v10i13.13091288Diasporaa-eestlaste enesekuvand muutuvas maailmas / The self-image of diaspora Estonians in the changing worldTriinu Ojamaa0Kristel Karu-Kletter1Estonian Literary MuseumEstonian Institute The paper deals with diaspora Estonians’ collective identity. Our research was based on interviews and Estonian exile literature. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 48 respondents from Europe, Canada, the United States, and Australia. The first, second and third generations were represented; ages ranged from 15 to 93. The respondents were also divided into „old” and „new” subgroups, based on whether they left Estonia before or after the 1990s. We analyzed the responses to the questions „How do you define an Estonian?” and „Do you consider yourself an Estonian, and if yes then why?” These questions were asked in order to examine the concepts of a „proper Estonian” and respondents’ personal ways of being Estonian. An interest in Estonian culture and history as well as an attachment to Estonia and to the Estonian language were almost equally important for all the respondents. The image of a „proper Estonian” was similar across the generations in both the old and new subgroups. A „proper Estonian” is the reflection of traditions and values. In reality, people usually develop identities based on their personal life experiences. The responses to the question „Do you consider yourself an Estonian, and if yes then why?” varied much more, depending most of all on the generation: the first generation of both the old and new subgroups identified themselves 100% as Estonians; the second and third generations consisted mainly of individuals with a conscious double-identity. Some respondents stated that they had been raised to be Estonians. All the respondents agreed that identifying with several cultures was possible whereas the new subgroup showed the highest multicultural scores. The topic that served to unite the diaspora with Estonia and with Estonians elsewhere was the Republic of Estonia: questions evaluating pride in the Estonian state produced the most similar and equally positive responses from all respondents. https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/methis/article/view/1309social psychologyEstoniadiasporaself-conceptcultural identityinterviewing |
| spellingShingle | Triinu Ojamaa Kristel Karu-Kletter Diasporaa-eestlaste enesekuvand muutuvas maailmas / The self-image of diaspora Estonians in the changing world Methis: Studia Humaniora Estonica social psychology Estonia diaspora self-concept cultural identity interviewing |
| title | Diasporaa-eestlaste enesekuvand muutuvas maailmas / The self-image of diaspora Estonians in the changing world |
| title_full | Diasporaa-eestlaste enesekuvand muutuvas maailmas / The self-image of diaspora Estonians in the changing world |
| title_fullStr | Diasporaa-eestlaste enesekuvand muutuvas maailmas / The self-image of diaspora Estonians in the changing world |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diasporaa-eestlaste enesekuvand muutuvas maailmas / The self-image of diaspora Estonians in the changing world |
| title_short | Diasporaa-eestlaste enesekuvand muutuvas maailmas / The self-image of diaspora Estonians in the changing world |
| title_sort | diasporaa eestlaste enesekuvand muutuvas maailmas the self image of diaspora estonians in the changing world |
| topic | social psychology Estonia diaspora self-concept cultural identity interviewing |
| url | https://ojs.utlib.ee/index.php/methis/article/view/1309 |
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