Paper short abstract:

We will examine the trajectories of Helmut Hagar, whose ideas about reforming Estonian ethnology in the 1940s-1950s could not be implemented for political reasons, and Vilve Kalits, a Soviet Estonian ethnologist who has also been omitted from the national disciplinary history for political reasons.

Paper long abstract:

The current rewriting of the history of Estonian ethnology has raised questions about the narrow national paradigm that has prevailed so far. It has been presented as a linear story from the

interwar period to the end of the Soviet period, in which the main emphasis has been on the study of Estonian material peasant culture. The discovery of forgotten scholars may change this perspective. Helmut Hagar (1914–1991) is an obscure name in disciplinary history, possibly because he was not able to pursue

a scholarly career in Estonia, and also failed academically in Sweden, where he fled in 1944. The analysis of Hagar’s correspondence and articles in Estonian refugee journals reveal, however, that Hagar had innovative ideas for reforming Estonian ethnology. During the Soviet period, Estonian ethnology managed

to preserve its pre-war national traditions to a large extent, as it tended to attract people who valued their roots and national identity. Vilve Kalits (1926-1992) was somewhat exceptional, as she was also involved in studies of Soviet modernity that were unpopular among her colleagues because they presupposed an approval of

Soviet policies. In addition, Kalits took part in inventing new Soviet traditions. Therefore, historians of Estonian ethnology have seen her as somewhat alien and excluded her almost entirely. A comparative approach to these two figures may trigger new understandings of the history of ethnological and anthropological sciences in Estonia and beyond.