Maarja Merivoo-Parro

Estonians have experienced numerous waves of migration: some voluntary and others forced. From a macro perspective, those instances provide a telling vantage point onto the history of both nation and state. From a micro perspective, they encompass a plethora of poignant revelations about the human condition. While there are informative case studies, there does not yet exist a monograph which would encompass the totality of these migrations. With launching my ambitious monograph project I aim to do just that: span centuries and include the whole world. While at Stanford, I will be zooming in on the international connections pertaining to Estonian individuals and communities abroad in the 19th century and early 20th century until World War II.

Maarja Merivoo-Parro is dedicated to exploring the history of mentality at the crossroads of culture and politics and has extensive field work experience among Estonian communities from Abkhazia to Australia. She is a Fulbright scholar, a consultant for the Vabamu Museum of Occupations and Freedom, and was recently a Marie Curie fellow at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland. Maarja has received national recognition for her work as a public intellectual bridging academia and society through documentary films, television and radio programs.