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Foreword to the INAUGURAL ISSUE OF of METHIS

Tiina Ann Kirss, Professor of Estonian Literature, University of Tartu, editor-in-chief of METHIS

December 2008

METHIS. STUDIA HUMANIORA ESTONICA is a collaborative publication of the Institute of Cultural Research and Fine Arts of the University of Tartu and the Archive of Cultural History of Estonian Literary Museum. It is published twice a year (in June and in December). METHIS has international editorial board and is peer-reviewed.

Methis publishes original research in the field of humanities, in particular in the field of literary and cultural studies and theatre studies. The journal is published in Estonian (or in English) with a summary in English (or in Estonian). The journal features thematic issues on a regular basis with every third issue being a varia issue. In addition to original research, from the fourth issue onward, the journal includes the following sections:

- TRANSLATION: translation of a key theoretical text within the field

- REVIEW: a review article on recent developments within the field

- ARCHIVAL FIND: annotated publication of relevant archival sources

The inaugural double issue of Methis, published in December 2008 under the editorship of Dr. Marin Laak and Dr. Sirje Olesk, was devoted to the Young Estonia movement of the last decades of the 19th century and the opening decade of the 20th  – a time of crucial self-positioning of Estonian scholars, thinkers and activists with respect to the Europe they both imagined and encountered in their peregrinations and political exile. Methis no 3 (June 2009) is a special issue on theatre studies that will be followed by a varia issue (December 2009).

How did the title of the journal come about? 

Metis is the mythological mother of Athena, and the symbolism of this lineage is connected with Tartu, a historic university city, referred to frequently with the locution “Emajõe Ateena” (“Athena on the Banks of the River Emajõgi“). The “Tartu spirit”, whether it is a figure for intellectual passion or a haunting of the past (or the name given to a very peppery chocolate truffle in one of Tartu’s famous cafes) is part folklore and part ideology. We hope that on the pages of this journal, it will be “catching” in the best sense of that word. Scholarly wisdom, championed by Athena, needs nurture and protection, perhaps especially these days, when the heat of institutional production requirements and bureaucratic quotas threaten to overpower the coolness, caution, slow absorption, meticulous tending and acumen of real scholarship. As a journal, Methis seeks to honour the solicitude of its mythological patroness. However, many of our colleagues in Classical Studies have been quite vocal about the extra letter in the name of our journal. While their objections are certainly justified, there is no gratuitous playfulness in the extra 

letter “H“. Since another European journal of the humanities already exists under the 

What is the aim of Methis?

The journal seeks to facilitate of forum of original research in humanities harbouring the potential of the pleasure of the text and firework of words, as well as intellectual and textual elegance. Such strategy helps to build a storehouse of key values and virtues of humanities so that they are not threatened by the burocratization and levelling processes of science. The advisory board and the editors of Methis have decided to facilitate a forum that is first and foremost in Estonian in a time when “science” is often validated by publications in an “international” language. This decision was fuelled by a conviction that the ultimate source feeding Estonian humanities is Estonian language and the advancement of its’ scholarly faculties was a key responsibility Estonian scholarship in this field.

Predecessors

Its predecessors were series of collections of articles “Studia litteraria estonica“ of the Chair of Estonian Literature of the University of Tartu, and series such as “Tradition and pluralism”, and “Accommodating Texts” of the Estonian Literary Museum. With due respect to its genealogy, the purpose of Methis is to provide a new forum for publication by young and established scholars, balancing between international and Estonian-language readerships. Since any new periodical is fraught with risk, especially in a country where the scholarly base is small, it is crucial to take the measure of the landscape, both in the homeland and in Europe. The pressures of publishing must take into account perils and perishing, both on the level of individual scholars and their institutions. 

Methis is primarily and philosophically committed to peer-reviewed publishing in 

the Estonian language. The editorial board sees this not as a symptom of insularity, 

but rather as a deep, intentional investment in the cultivation of scholarly Estonian 

as a flexible, rich medium for scientific expression and communication at a level in 

keeping with the highest international standards. The objective has been to launch a new journal of literary and cultural studies that publishes individual research, clusters of thematic articles and special issues. The journal is published twice a year. Every third issue is a varia issue that provides a forum for younger researchers in the field of literary and cultural studies and theatre studies.

Methis and Etis

In time, Methis hopes to develop its own particular characteristics, seeking to act as a site for lively and competent intellectual debates, state of the art style and immediacy of dialogue. It is a peer reviewed scholarly journal with international advisory board that sees as its aim the facilitation of multi-vocal dialogue between the authors, board members and reviewers. 

Dear readers and future contributors! I wish you the joy of discovery of our new publication!