Ruairidh Tarvet (Ph.D, M.A)
Lecturer in Scandinavian Studies
Contact details
- Email: rtarvet@ed.ac.uk
Address
- Street
-
3.08
50 George Square
Edinburgh - City
- Post code
Background
I am a Lecturer in Scandinavian studies at the University of Edinburgh. Having completed an MA (Hons) in Scandinavian Studies, German and European Union Studies, I went on to pursue research in the Danish-German border region. In 2018, I completed my PhD in Scandinavian studies. My thesis focussed on language and identity in Schleswig (Southern Jutland) and the interplay of regional, national and transnational identities in minority communities and this has now been published as a monograph (Re-Imagining Sleswig: University Press of Southern Denmark 2021). My latest book, European Minorities in Times of Crisis, is published by Routledge in 2024.
I am a regular speaker/attendee of the Nordic Research Network conference series and organiser of the Scandinavian Research Seminar Series at The University of Edinburgh and contributor to national newspapers on issues related to nationalism, national minorities, identity and Scandinavia.
I am currently principal investigator (PI) of a project entitled Borders as Living Spaces: De-Bordering and Re-Bordering Identities in Europe, funded by the LLC Research Fund.
At its first peak in 2020, the COVID-19 crisis saw the closure of most of Europe’s national borders and many internal boundaries. Were these closures only a temporary measure or, in light of similar responses to migration, war and terror, do they signal an evolution in re-bordering trends? Situating these questions in the wider context of national, transnational and regional identities, Borders as Living Spaces examines the complex impact of COVID-19, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and migration on European borderlands. In the project, Dr Ruairidh Tarvet uses the theoretical framework he developed for his 2018 PhD thesis, and which he recently expanded upon in a study of COVID-19’s impact on national identity and societal sustainability in the Danish-German borderlands.
Borders as Living Spaces is a comparative analysis of re-bordering trends using survey and interview material. It documents the impact of re-bordering on the lives of the residents and minority populations in two different European border regions: Denmark-Germany; and Austria-Slovakia. The communities studied have centuries of experience as sites of conflict resolution, integration and identity negotiation. As well as policy makers, the study will be of particular use to the minority and borderland community institutions who struggle to find a voice and recognition in times of major crises.
https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/research/current-projects
Qualifications
Doctor of Philosphy (Ph.D), Scandinavian Studies, The University of Edinburgh, 2018
MA (Hons) in Scandinavian Studies, German and European Union Studies, The University of Edinburgh, 2014
Undergraduate teaching
Scandinavian Studies
Danish 1 2020
Danish Language 2 2016- present
Danish 3 2020- 2021
Language paper 1 (Scandinavian Studies) 2020- 2021
Nordic Languages 2 2022-present
Oral for Danish 4 2020-2021
Scandinavia and the World (hons) 2022-present
Scandinavian Civilisation B 2016-present
Scandinavian Languages 2 2016- 2021
Scandinavian Literature 2 2021-present
History of the Scandinavian Novel 2022
Language Paper 2 (Scandinavian Studies) 2018
Guided Language Study in Danish 2020- 2021
German
German Oral 1a 2017-2018
German Oral 1b 2017-2018
German Oral 2 2018- 2019
German 1b Grammar 2018- 2019
German 2 Grammar 2019
German 2 Translation/Text Production 2018- 2019
German 2 Literature 2019
DELC
Crime and Detection in Literature 2021-present
Postgraduate teaching
MSc Comparative literature (dissertation) 2022-present
Current PhD students supervised
Lynn Schoenbeck (PhD): Bog bodies, and their place in Danish national identity, 2022-present
Research summary
My research covers the following areas:
Nationalism
National Minorities
National identity
Language and identity
Migration
Borderlands
Current research interests
I am currently principal investigator (PI) of a project entitled Borders as Living Spaces: De-Bordering and Re-Bordering Identities in Europe, funded by the LLC Research Fund. At its first peak in 2020, the COVID-19 crisis saw the closure of most of Europe’s national borders and many internal boundaries. Were these closures only a temporary measure or, in light of similar responses to migration, war and terror, do they signal an evolution in re-bordering trends? Situating these questions in the wider context of national, transnational and regional identities, Borders as Living Spaces examines the complex impact of COVID-19, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and migration on European borderlands. In the project, Dr Ruairidh Tarvet uses the theoretical framework he developed for his 2018 PhD thesis, and which he recently expanded upon in a study of COVID-19’s impact on national identity and societal sustainability in the Danish-German borderlands. Borders as Living Spaces is a comparative analysis of re-bordering trends using survey and interview material. It documents the impact of re-bordering on the lives of the residents and minority populations in two different European border regions: Denmark-Germany; and Austria-Slovakia. The communities studied have centuries of experience as sites of conflict resolution, integration and identity negotiation. As well as policy makers, the study will be of particular use to the minority and borderland community institutions who struggle to find a voice and recognition in times of major crises. https://www.ed.ac.uk/literatures-languages-cultures/research/current-projectsMore video
In the press
Discussion on research article in newspaper Der Nordschleswiger, 26.01.2023, https://www.nordschleswiger.dk/de/nordschleswig-daenemark-schleswig-holstein-hamburg-suedschleswig/grenzfriedenshefte-blick-geschehen
Interview with Danish national radio broadcaster DR P1, Orientering, 24.11.2022, https://www.dr.dk/lyd/p1/orientering/orientering-2022-11-24
Article in Grænsen, 5.10.2021, https://graenseforeningen.dk/magasinet-graensen-nr-5-oktober-2021/danskhed-i-sydslesvig-er-under-forandring?fbclid=IwAR1uRECnjN6bCAfO-Ds50SZLG62cX4WMj78VfpBDELo1HdOttHNAeSYtwyo
Podcast interview with Zetland.dk, 06.05.2021, https://www.zetland.dk/historie/so4EP7mn-a8RVB0BV-39849
Interview with TV2 News, Denmark, 06.05.2021
Article in The Times, UK, 22.02.2021, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/norways-covid-success-is-a-hard-act-for-scotland-to-follow-gvj77xhtd
Article in The Times, UK, 12.05.20 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-in-scotland-a-shared-history-but-miles-apart-dutiful-danes-show-its-done-5rw63hqmz
Article in Der Nordschleswiger, February 2020 https://www.nordschleswiger.dk/de/nordschleswig-schueler-machen-zeitung/grenze-im-kopf
Article in Der Nordschleswiger, https://www.nordschleswiger.dk/de/nordschleswig-suedschleswig/grenzschliessung-akademiker-suche-nach-antworten
Article by Sydslesvisk Foreningen, https://syfo.de/en/feed-arkiv/post/100829723304362-3165358313518139
Interview with TV2 News, Denmark, 20.11.2019
Second interview with TV2 News, Denmark, 13.12.2019
Article in Danish newspaper, Jyllandsposten, 08.12.2018
Public lecture at the Nordic Embassies, Berlin https://www.nordischebotschaften.org/veranstaltungen/die-d-nisch-deutsche-minderheit-ein-modell-f-r-die-zukunft-europas
Discussion in Flensborg Avis https://www.fla.de/wp/dailys/dansk-ambassade-i-berlin-inviterer-til-debat-om-mindretal-og-graenseland/
Interview with BBC Radio Scotland https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09hc9j2
Interview in Grænsen https://issuu.com/graensen/docs/gr-0317_net/24
Interview with Grænseforeningen http://www.graenseforeningen.dk/mindretal-er-populaere-i-forskningen.html#.WKW6AmdviUk
Interview with Flensborg Avis http://www.fla.de/wp/dailys/mindretal-maal-for-videnskabelig-undersoegelse
Article in Sydslesvigsk Foreningen (KONTAKT) http://syfo.de/fileadmin/syfo/KONTAKT/Kontakt_16.02.2017.pdf
Article in Der Nordschleswiger http://www.nordschleswiger.dk/news.4460.aspx?newscatid=36&newsid=100788&h=Forscher-aus-Edinburgh-befragen-das-Grenzland
Article in The National 1 http://www.thenational.scot/news/15198670.Wha_s_like_us__The_true_measure_of_oil_riches_is_surely_how_you_use_wealth_for_the_good_of_all_citizens/
Article in The National 2 http://www.thenational.scot/news/15203259.Wha_s_like_us__Common_values_between_Scotland_and_Denmark_could_be_priceless/?ref=rl&lp=1
Article in Kristeligt Dagblad https://www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk/udland/skotsk-forsker-eu-skal-fremme-den-rummelige-nationalisme
Article by EU delegation in Denmark https://ec.europa.eu/denmark/news/press_review/180806_da
Article by Copenhagen University on parallel languages https://cip.ku.dk/om_parallelsproglighed/sagt_og_skrevet/artikler_2012/
Tarvet, R & Puzey, G. "Minority Place Name Standardisation in the UK" in Jordan, P. "Minority Place-Name Standardisation: A Comparison of Regulations and Approaches in Europe", DeGruyter, (forthcoming)
Tarvet, R. "No Single Model: How Minority Identities in the Danish-German and Austrian-Slovak Border Regions have been Shaped by Recent International Crises" in "European Minorities in Times of Crisis: Negotiating Identities", Routledge, 2024
Tarvet, R. "Introduction" in "European Minorities in Times of Crisis: Negotiating Identities", Routledge, 2024
Tarvet, R. (editor) "European Minorities in Times of Crisis: Negotiating Identities", Routledge, 2024
Tarvet, R. "Schleswig umgedacht: Zusammenspiel und Wechselwirkungen von Sprachen und Identitäten im deutsch-dänischen Grenzgebiet", Grenzfriedenshefte, 2022 (journal article)
Tarvet, R. "Our Nordic Neighbours: The present state of the Danish community in Scotland", in "Scandinavia Refracted", ed. Ian Giles, Scottish Society for Northern Studies, 2022 (book chapter)
Tarvet, R. "The Current State of Linguistic Identity in the German Minority of Northern Schleswig", in "Like Snow in the Sun? The German Minority in Denmark in Historical Perspective" ed. Peter Thaler, DeGruyter, 2022 (book chapter)
Tarvet, R. (Translator), Hansen, H.S. "A Community Takes Shape: Germans in North Schleswig between the 1840s and 1914", in "Like Snow in the Sun? The German Minority in Denmark in Historical Perspective" ed. Peter Thaler, DeGruyter, 2022 (book chapter)
Tarvet, R. & Klatt, M. "The Impact of the Coronovirus Pandemic on Borderland Living in the German-Danish Border Region" "National Identities", Taylor & Francis, 2021 (journal article)
Tarvet, R. "Re-imagining Sleswig: Language and Identity in the German-Danish Borderlands. Understanding the Regional, National and Transnational Dimensions of Minority Identity", University Press of Southern Denmark, 2021 (monograph)
Tarvet, R. in Das, Divya, Lassen, Kim Bildsøe. "Briterne og Brexit" (The Brits and Brexit), Politikens Forlag, 2020 (interview contribution)
Tarvet, R. "Mapping out Identity in the German-Danish Borderlands: New Perspectives on Hybridising Identity in National Minority Communities", in "The North As Home", Norvik Press, 2019 (book chapter)
LLC Research Fund £500 (2021), £1000 (2022)
Den Hielmstierne-Rosencronske Stiftelse (August 2020) 15,000 DKK
Traugott Møller Fonden (July 2020) 25,000 DKK
Oberst H. Parkovs Mindefond (July 2020) 20,000 DKK
Konsul George Jorck og Hustru Emma Jorck's Fond (April 2020) 30,000 DKK
Kjeld of Vera Schmidts Mindefond (2015) £350
Anglo-Danish Society Anniversary Award (2014) £1,000