Memory between buildings: Post-accession semiotic transformation of public spaces in Riga and Tallinn

Summary, in English

The thesis analyses four public spaces in Riga and Tallinn which have undergone architectural and therefore semiotic transformation between 2004 and 2024. The analysis is guided by a theoretical framework which combines concepts of (transnational) memory studies and urban semiotics. Together, these emphasise a distinction between the memory of transnational space, the local place, and the materialisation of both through juxtapositions of semiotic signs within choices of material, spatial planning, aesthetics and urban functions. The thesis finds that the new expressions of each space are influenced both by hierarchical shifts in national memory figurations along ethnic lines, as well as by transnational memory discourses. The EU-national dimension of such mnemonic interactions is found to reflect two-way processes of mnemonic Europeanisation. The spaces perpetuate a marginalisation of Soviet memory frames and a centring of the "double occupation" memory frame, a frame which is contemporarily shaped by foreign relations and security concerns. Finally, motifs associated with prewar memory are found to be particularly compatible with inclusive and sustainable public space design while additionally supporting a political and legal narrative of state continuity.

• Author: Simon József Dahm Lous
• Department/s: European Studies
• Publishing year: 2025
• Language: English
• Full text: Available as PDF - 16 MB; Download statistics
• Document type: Student publication for Master's degree (two years)
• Topic: History and Archaeology
• Keywords: Urban semiotics; collective memory; mnemonic Europeanisation; Baltic States; public spaces; European Studies
• Supervisor: Barbara Törnquist-Plewa