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The perception of political representation in times of demographic change

The research project examines Shifting Expectations regarding political representation due to societal ageing by asking whether and how age groups differ in the perception and evaluation of political representation in ageing societies. Based on a comparative mixed-methods approach, it analyses which dimensions of representation are particularly relevant for younger and older citizens and how these perceptions are linked to interpretations and narratives of demographic change.

- Maybritt Adolphi, 22.04.2026

Narratives of Finnish Neutrality: Discourse Linguistic Perspectives on Language Use, Semantic Change and Discursive Breaking Points

The concept of neutrality in Finnish foreign policy has taken different shapes since the declaration of the country’s independence in 1917, including such disparate stances as passive conflict avoidance in times of war and freedom from alliances in times of peace on the one hand and an active mediating role in international conflicts on the other. My project analyses how meanings and narratives around neutrality as a foreign policy have been constructed in the Finnish public discourse, how these narratives have conceptualized Finland’s place within the Nordic and Baltic Sea regions and how they integrate into the overarching narratives of Finnish national identity.

- Olga Syrova, 17.03.2026

Moving Pictures – Movements in Pictures. Protest Photography in Germany and Sweden, 1880-1918

Photos of protests evoke different associations. Whether they are blurry photos on social media or Pulitzer Prize-winning photo documentation, they share the commonality of transcending spatial boundaries and their potential to become history themselves. This project investigates how photographs related to protest movements for labor rights, women’s suffrage, and conservation between 1880 and 1918 in Germany and Sweden generated narratives and counter-narratives of the protesters, complementing or undermining written reports.

- Olga Syrova, 22.11.2025

Latvian Folk Ornament and Mythology Nexus as a Revival: Contested Historical Layers, Visualized Ideologies, and Commodified Creativity

Contemporary uses of folk ornament reach beyond the realm of traditional culture and it is a cultural phenomenon where belief, national and ethnic sentiments, esoteric outlook, commercialization and layers of historical meanings and contestations are intertwined in a mutually constitutive way. Through an ethnographic lens theoretically grounded in folklore studies, this dissertation explores the nexus of folk ornament and mythology in Latvia and its manifestations in different ideological constellations of the 20th century as well as contemporary settings.

- Olga Syrova, 22.11.2025

Heterogenity of Historical Time in the Contemporary Latvian Novel: A Comparative Perspective

Since the fall of communism, the experience of time in society and culture has changed significantly. Instead of linear and homogeneous time, we live in a fragmented, layered, and plural temporality. This is also evident in contemporary novels, which depict the present as incorporating the past. The doctoral thesis focuses on the contemporary Latvian novel as a paradigmatic case of multitemporality and compares it to other works of Eastern European literature.

- Olga Syrova, 22.11.2025

Bodies, Violence, Gender Roles: Shifting Expectations of Clerical Behaviour in Medieval Scandinavia

My doctoral project focuses on the expectations of clerical behaviour, largely dictated by canon law and ecclesiastical discourse of the time. While certain desirable behaviours and lifestyles for members of the clergy were known and promoted by the Scandinavian church from its beginnings, there are numerous accounts of clerical misconduct, regular breaches of canon law and even long-term disregard for certain conventions. The reaction of the papacy and papal legates to these incidents varied from time to time, and at times there was even tolerance of clerical behaviour that was explicitly contrary to canon law.

- Olga Syrova, 22.11.2025

Ruth Maiers place – In the Context of Collective Memory and Life Writing

The 2007 publication of Ruth Maier’s Diary. A Jewish refugee in Norway marked a turning point in the reception of her writings. Previously on the margins of Norwegian memory culture, her life story became recognized as a vital testimony to the Holocaust and has since taken a central place in narratives of Norway’s occupation years.

- Olga Syrova, 22.11.2025

Nature in Service of the Nation

How does literature shape national conceptions of nature? How are different nature types valued as regard to nation building – be it as an economic, or symbolic, asset? My PhD project arises from this question, and will combine literature geography, cultural memory studies, and digital humanities to examine how nature is constructed in the literature of Norway from 1814 to 1871.

- Olga Syrova, 22.11.2025