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Invitation to a seminar at the Estonian Literary Museum
Dr. Aleida Bertran will read a lecture „International folk festivals, nation-building and transnationalism: A comparative study between Latvia and Northern Catalonia“ on April 11 at 4 p.m.
The lecture will take place on site at the Estonian Literary Museum, Vanemuise 42, Tartu
The rise of cultural nationalism across many regions of Europe between the late 18th and 19th century led to new forms of national and cultural identity expression and self-definition, including folklore. This presentation draws parallelism on the cultural nationalism pathways between Latvia and Northern Catalonia (Eastern Pyrenees) to develop a basis for understanding the role of postmodern international folk festivals with a political agenda in the regions from the mid-20th century until contemporary times. It examines the International Folklore Festival Baltica and the International Sardana Festival of Ceret through the lens of transnationalism and the emerging field of Cultural Border Studies. The presentation also offers an insight into the potential of this festival typology as an instrument for the rapid building of national sentiments in periods of high socio-political activity and as sites of collective memory and commemoration in more stable phases. The study is grounded on fieldwork and archival research undertaken as doctoral research at the Latvian Academy of Culture between 2018 and 2021.
Contacts: Liisi Laineste liisi@folklore.ee
Guillem Castañar gcastanar@gmail.com
