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Transregional Resonances

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

The Coastal Town as a Topos in the Norwegian Novel of the Late 19th Century

A significant proportion of the authors we associate with the Modern Breakthrough in Norway (Bjørnson, Ibsen, Kielland, Lie, Skram, Garborg), seem to make use of the coast town, and other communities along the Norwegian coast, as literary settings. Few literary scholars have commented on why this particular spatial object gains influence. This leads me to ask: Who took part and helped shape the literary-geographical imaginary of the coast-town? Was it shaped also by non-canonized, ‘forgotten’ authors? Is there a special connection between ideology and form on the one hand, and the figure of the coast-town on the other?

- Olga Syrova, 22.11.2025

European Memory Conflicts Reflected in the Baltic Sea Region on the Example of “August 23rd”

"August 23rd", commemorating the historic date of the so-called Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, an agreement between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, is both known as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes as well as the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and National Socialism. My project determines the debates surrounding “August 23rd” as an example for memory conflicts and for competitions over the (historical) authority of interpreting Europe’s violent history of the 20th century.

- Olga Syrova, 21.11.2025

Building a Union through Crises: The EU, Crisis-induced Policy Learning and the European Integration Process, 2008-2022

Since the late 2000s, the EU has faced an abundance of external and internal crises, from the Sovereign Debt Crisis to Russia’s current war on Ukraine and the subsequent energy crisis. To understand how these crises affect the EU, it is essential to understand how the Union deals with and, crucially, learns from crises.

- Olga Syrova, 21.11.2025

“A great and unheard-of sea wonder” Narratives and Perceptions of Historical Storm Surges in the Southwestern Baltic Sea from the 14th to 17th Century

Extreme storm surges occurring on the southwestern coasts of the Baltic Sea were perceived as disasters. How can this be concluded from the narrative texts concerning these events and which factors played a key role in their depiction?

- Olga Syrova, 21.11.2025

Gold Treasures as Objects of Identification in the Baltic Sea Region from 1800 until Today

The PhD project investigates the reception of Viking Age gold treasure finds in the Baltic Sea Region during the 19th and 20th centuries. Their discovery, their way into museums and collections, their presentation there, as well as their research and popularisation allow conclusions to be drawn about processes of identification with and demarcation from early medieval Scandinavian culture that took place around the Baltic Sea during this period.

- Olga Syrova, 21.11.2025

The Influence of Russia-related Critical Junctures on Its Standing in the Baltic Sea Region

In my thesis I am concentrating on relations between the Baltic States and Russia, analyzing how international crises with Russian involvement influence the security architecture in the Baltic Sea Region. In particular, I am exploring the question of how Russia is securitized in the narratives of the Baltic States and how historical memory influences such narratives.

- Olga Syrova, 21.11.2025

Written Traces of Contact in Medieval Greenland and Sápmi (1000-1550)

Medieval Greenland and the north of Fennoscandia (Sápmi) share a very interesting feature, namely the existence of people who, at least partly, did not become Christians until after the reformation. This is the case even though Christians lived in rather close proximity. Therefore, my research focuses on two main questions: How did the coexistence of Christian and non-Christian groups, namely Saami and Proto-Inuit, look like in the Middle Ages? How where non-Christians perceived, and what influence did these views have on the interaction between them and Christians?

- Olga Syrova, 21.11.2025