Doctoral defence: Sten-Erik Tammemäe "A ‘bridge of science’ across the Gulf of Finland. Scientific relations between Estonia and Finland from 1918 to 1940"

During the past decades, there have been numerous studies into cultural ties and cooperation between Estonian and Finnish intellectuals between the two world wars, but the study of scientific cooperation between the two countries has mostly concentrated on connections in the fields of humanities. There has been less research into what ties and connections there were in natural, agricultural, medical, and other sciences. The aim of this dissertation is to show that scientific communication and cooperation between Estonia and Finland during the 1920s and 1930s was considerably more diverse than suggested by previous historiography. The dissertation analyses what were the channels of communication that Estonian and Finnish scientists used to share knowledge and experiences, whether there were changes in the level of activity in said channels, what were the fields of research where cooperation was more active, and which party benefited more from the connections. This research is based on materials found in the archives and published literature of both countries and some of the information has not been previously used in the context of scientific connections between Estonia and Finland. The analysis of channels of communication is based on a model developed by the Finnish historian Marjatta Hietala, according to whom the main channels of communication were employment of foreign experts, study abroad and personal contacts, work and research trips abroad, publication and exchange of research papers, literature, journals etc., and international congresses and exhibitions. The dissertation reveals that there were numerous connections in a wide range of sciences, including humanities, natural, agricultural, medical, veterinarian sciences, and theology. Simultaneously, the dissertation confirms that, as suggested by previous studies, the most active cooperation took place in humanities. The most diverse channels of communication were revealed to have been trips abroad and scientific congresses, but examples from a wide range of fields of research could be seen in all channels of communication. Scientific ties between Estonia and Finland were stronger and more numerous during the early 1920s and late 1930s and, in general, the Estonian scientists benefited more from the connections between the two countries.