Guest lecture "Minorities in Europe: Reflections on Minorities by way of the Estonian-Swedes"

Minorities are everywhere, and have been throughout history. However, minorities became far more visible in society – and debates concerning minorities more prominent – in the modern era as the relationship between individuals (or groups) and the state were radically changed from being subjects of a monarch to being citizens of an increasingly democratic state. This shift saw new political actors and ideologies that challenged the status quo.

States define their populations in numerous ways, ranging from identifications based on language, religion, culture, ethnicity, or race. But those are not the only categories; populations are also divided by age, class, gender, sexuality, and/or disability to name a few. How a state defines the majority versus the minority population can give us tremendous insights into the internal structures of governing, the values of the state in question, and how groups and states define the “other.” Should minorities be protected and allowed a certain level of autonomy within the modern state or should they be encouraged (or forced) to assimilate into the majority? With the modern era promoting democratic forms of governments, should the majority rule or is it the role of the government to safeguard and protect minorities against majority rule? These are not easy questions to answer.

This talk will look at the broader issue of studying minorities, while exploring the specific case study of the Swedish minority population in Estonia over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The event will be broadcast on Zoom. The lecture will be followed by a Q&A session and fika.