Ruairidh Tarvet (Ph.D, M.A)

Early Career Research & Teaching Fellow

Contact details

Address

Street

3.08
50 George Square
Edinburgh

City
Post code

Biography

Background

I am a research & teaching fellow 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 work as a teacher and lecturer at Rønshoved Højskole in Southern Denmark, where I taught Danish, German, English literature and Music. 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).

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-projects

More 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. "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

 

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