Collaboration with Ilmar Rootsi concluded

My collaboration with Estonian Ilmar Rootsi (which has been assisted by Nelly Mäekivi) has come to an end, since it today emerged we have a fundamental disagreement about a key source for our planned but now cancelled article on people killed by wolves historically in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Estonia.

This means we will not co-write any article. However, I have offered assistance in making sure a translation is good quality if he wants to present more of his own work in English.

Cooperator for wolf article on man-eaters reshuffled once again

For quite some time now I have had an agreement with Estonian wolf researcher Ilmar Rootsi which involves co-writing an academic article on canid man-eaters in the next-to-modern history of Estonia, Finland, Sweden and Norway. In mid-October 2011 Nelly Mäekivi got back into that project, replacing Silver Rattasepp yet again as the third co-writer. By now she's a doctoral student (as is he).

Collaboration on wolf article uncertain

During my stay here, and in the days preceding it, I have not succeeded in making contact with my collaborator Silver Rattasepp, who is mediating in my scheduled collaboration with Estonian wolf ethologist Ilmar Rootsi, on the theme of man-eating wolves in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Estonia the last 200 years or so. Last November we did not succeed in making contact with Rootsi, who was out of town at the time. As it stands, then, this whole collaboration is for the time being on uncertain ground (since I might only be back in Tartu in November, and we were supposed to have had a second meeting a long time ago, after agreeing to proceed with the project last September).

Brief report from my visit in Estonia Sept. 5-9 (= Academic news in brief XI)

1. On Monday 6th of September I met for the first time with the Estonian wolf ethologist Ilmar Rootsi, with Nelly Mäekivi as mediator. Me and Rootsi (72) agreed to co-write an academic article on man-eating and rabid wolves in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Estonia. The article will have a perspective of at least 200 years of history. Fellow ecosemiotician Silver Rattasepp later agreed to partake in making the article happen, stepping in for Nelly as mediator. He will be credited as a co-author.

:)

2. For a week or so, I pondered upon contributing to the third Center of Excellence in Cultural Theory conference, which is due in late October, with a joint poster presentation on wolves. Prospective cooperators were too busy, however.

:)

3. Tuesday 7th I met with my supervisor Kalevi Kull. We agreed on a time schedule for my thesis work this last year of my PhD studies. A full thesis (monograph) is to be completed by April 1st, 2011, and revised following comments by pre-reviewers by May 20th, at which point I'll formally apply for a doctoral degree. The defense will take place approximately September 30th, 2011, at Tartu's Department of Semiotics.

:)

4. The same day I met the Italian PhD student Davide Weible, who studies a topic not so different from mine (phenomenology + biology).

:)

5. On Wednesday 8th I met briefly with the Estonian folklorist Merili Metsvahi, who specializes on Estonian werewolves.

:)

6. An important task during this visit was to move our things from the apartment we have been renting up until August 15th, in Kuu street. Me and my wife left the country with 66 kg of luggage, after having sent 25 kg by post.

:)

7. Around the conclusion of the trip I arranged tickets for my next visit to Tartu, which will take place November 23rd-30th.