Estonia and the Baltic Sea Region in the Age of Popular Sovereignty
Course code
AIG6104.HT
old course code
Course title in Estonian
Eesti ja Baltimaad rahvavõimu ajastul
Course title in English
Estonia and the Baltic Sea Region in the Age of Popular Sovereignty
ECTS credits
6.0
Assessment form
Examination
lecturer of 2026/2027 Autumn semester
Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.
lecturer of 2026/2027 Spring semester
Not opened for teaching. Click the study programme link below to see the nominal division schedule.
Brief description of the course
The course traces the transformation of Estonian and Baltic societies from the rise of nationalism and mass politics in the late nineteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century. It examines the spread of national, democratic and socialist ideas; revolutions and the establishment of republics; land reform and civil rights; ideological and national conflicts; and the crisis of democracy. It then considers authoritarian regimes, war and occupation, Soviet power and society, and the restoration of independence. Alongside political ruptures, the course follows longer-term social processes, including economic and industrial development, urbanisation, education, demographic change, housing, infrastructure and everyday life. Developments in Estonia are compared with those in Latvia, Lithuania and Finland, asking how relations between the people, the state and society changed and what popular sovereignty meant under different political regimes. One of the course’s principal outputs is an extended second-year research paper.
Learning outcomes in the course
Upon completing the course the student:
- possesses advanced knowledge of the principal processes and concepts in Estonian history from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries;
- interprets Estonian history in the age of popular sovereignty within a broader regional and global context and analyses its different trajectories, including liberal democracy, socialism and illiberal movements;
- critically analyses and evaluates relevant scholarship, materials and sources and is conversant with the state of research on the principal topics in twentieth-century Estonian and Baltic history;
- distinguishes scholarly historical interpretations from understandings shaped by cultural and family memory and presents evidence-based conclusions with sensitivity to cultural and historical context;
- has produced an independently researched, incrementally planned and problem-oriented research paper based on primary and secondary sources.
- possesses advanced knowledge of the principal processes and concepts in Estonian history from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries;
- interprets Estonian history in the age of popular sovereignty within a broader regional and global context and analyses its different trajectories, including liberal democracy, socialism and illiberal movements;
- critically analyses and evaluates relevant scholarship, materials and sources and is conversant with the state of research on the principal topics in twentieth-century Estonian and Baltic history;
- distinguishes scholarly historical interpretations from understandings shaped by cultural and family memory and presents evidence-based conclusions with sensitivity to cultural and historical context;
- has produced an independently researched, incrementally planned and problem-oriented research paper based on primary and secondary sources.
Teacher
Tiiu Kreegipuu
Study programmes containing that course