Every academic year an EANC scholarship is awarded to a Tallinn University graduate student whose research is related in some way to Estonia. This year’s recipient is Liis Jõhvik, who began her master’s degree studies in history at Tallinn University last fall. The prior spring, she successfully defended her Bachelor’s thesis, which examined the portrayal of men and masculinity in Soviet-era Estonian women's magazines. This research won her first place in a multi-university-wide competition.
For her master’s degree, Liis is analyzing gender representation of Estonian children and young adults in Soviet-era media. Her research focus is understanding the process of how gender perceptions among children and young adults are formed and influenced through media exposure. Together with fellow students, Liis founded the Soviet History Research Centre at Tallinn University last spring.
Next semester Liis plans to be a visiting student at the University of Vienna, whose women’s and gender studies curriculum will be a valuable resource both professionally and practically. After obtaining her Master’s degree, Liis intends to pursue her PhD.
It is welcome news that serious research on the impact of the Soviet era on Estonia and Estonians is now being conducted in Estonia.
