NNL Pod 1+2: The Nordics and the Baltic Sea Region
Listen to two podcasts about the history and identity of the Baltic Sea Region and what has changed since the invasion of Ukraine.
NNL Pod 1: What is the Baltic Sea Region and how has it changed since the invasion of Ukraine?
Meet the student presenters!
Sóley: "I am a Master's student at Aarhus University. I am from the Faroe Islands and have travelled a lot through Europe and the Nordic countries the last few years, and I am really interested in knowing more about these countries and their development."
Chance: "I'm an Erasmus Mundus Master's degree student in Denmark but originally from the United States."
This is the first of our podcasts for the New Nordic Lexicon where students get the chance to put questions to researchers. In this episode, students from Aarhus University, Chance Dorland and Sóley Eliasdottir, speak to Kazimierz Musiał from Scandinavian and Finnish Studies at the University of Gdansk, Poland, and Alexander Drost from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Baltic Sea Region Research at Greifswald University in Germany.
Podcast
The Nordic Region is part of the Baltic Sea Region, connected in historical, cultural and economic ways. Listen to a podcast about the history of the Baltic Sea Region and what has changed since the invasion of Ukraine (27 mins, in English):
NNL Pod 2: Can we identify with regions like the Nordics or the Baltic Sea region?
Meet the researchers!
Kazimierz: "I look at the societies and politics of the Nordic countries, but increasingly also the Baltic Sea Region....I have developed a strong affinity to the Baltic Sea Region through living in Denmark, and on the coast in Germany and Poland."
Alexander: "I am from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Baltic Sea Region Research in Greifswald, Germany, but am also personally connected to the Baltic Sea Region through numerous holidays in Denmark and Sweden, as well as the food culture and nature, to name but a few points!"
Students from Aarhus University, Chance Dorland and Sóley Eliasdottir speak again with Kazimierz Musiał from the University of Gdansk Scandinavian Studies department and Alexander Drost from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Baltic Sea Region Research at Greifswald University in Germany, but this time, more to do with identity and the formation of regions. Both Kazimierz and Alexander work on a project called Young People Network for Balticness which runs summer schools.
Podcast
Pan-national regions – like the Nordics or the Baltic Sea region – can give us an alternative perspective to the nation state. What are the benefits and challenges of these pan-national regions and regional institutions and have feelings of identity changed since the Russian invasion of Ukraine? Listen to the podcast (30 mins, in English):
These podcasts were produced in response to readers’ interest in cultural heritage and the shape of Northern Europe particularly since the invasion of Ukraine.
Further reading:
- Alexander Drost, Bordering Beyond Territorial Boundaries: Intersectional Thinking and Phenomena of Inequality in "Netherlands Indies" in the 17th Century (2018).
- Alexander Drost, Borders. A Narrative Turn – Reflections on Concepts, Practices and their Communication (2017).
- Damian Szacawa, Kazimierz Musiał, eds., 'The Baltic Sea Region after Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine', Institute of Central Europe, IEŚ Policy Papers 11/2022.
- Olga Sasunkevich, Joachim Schiedermair, Barbara Törnquist-Plewa, and Alexander Drost, Collapse of Memory - Memory of Collapse: Narrating Past, Presence and Future about Periods of Crisis (2019).