GRK 1540:  Baltic Borderlands - Shifting Boundaries of Mind and Culture in the Borderlands of the Baltic Sea Region

• Subject Area: History
• Term: from 2009 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 74155713

The International Research Training Group, a cooperation between Lund, Tartu and Greifswald, investigates cultural implications of border change within the entire Baltic Sea Region (B.S.R.) from the 15th century until the present. Besides the nine states bordering the Baltic Sea, the B.S.R. in a wider sense includes five hinterland states that form part of the Baltic Sea drainage basin. The underlying theoretical approach combines elements of open systems theory, network theory, neo-institutionalism and organisational development to explore the theoretical and analytical potential of concepts of borderland for the humanities and social sciences. The scope of the borderland goes beyond the territorial dimension to encompass mental and cultural interactions in abstract space.
The participating disciplines examine the boundaries, borders and adjacent borderland areas in the B.S.R., whereby the focus in Tartu is on historical-anthropological studies, in Lund on human geography, cultural anthropology and political economy, and in Greifswald on approaches from history, linguistics and social sciences. These complementary foci offer a broad and innovative spectrum of macro and micro-level perspectives on the issue of borders and borderlands. In this context, the Research Training Group explores four interdisciplinary themes: (1) the emergence and transformation of historical borderlands, (2) the cultural contexts of cross-border action in borderland areas, (3) the economic permeability and persistence of borders, (4) new border regimes: the political dimension of border formation and dissolution.
These four themes will be examined with particular focus on the overarching theorisation of synchronic and diachronic processes of change. These issues have yet to be investigated in a broader transnational perspective and form a productive, sustainable basis for doctoral research.

• DFG Programme: International Research Training Groups
• International Connection: Estonia, Sweden
• Applicant Institution: Universität Greifswald
• IRTG-Partner Institution: Lunds Universitet; Tartu Ülikool
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Michael North
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Dr. Rikard Bengtsson; Dr. Bo Torwald Isenberg; Professor Dr. Andres Kasekamp; Professorin Dr. Ene Koresaar; Professor Dr. Mati Laur; Professor Dr. Jan-Henrik Nilsson; Professor Dr. Anti Selart
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Heinrich Assel; Professorin Dr. Margit Bussmann; Professor Dr. Kilian Heck; Professor Dr. Stephan Kessler; Professor Dr. Mathias Niendorf; Professor Dr. Jens E. Olesen; Professor Dr. Joachim Schiedermair; Professor Dr. Alexander Wöll
• IRTG-Partner: Spokespersons: Professor Dr. Riho Altnurme; Professorin Dr. Barbara Törnquist-Plewa