Rein Raud | |
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| Born | December 21, 1961 |
Main interests | Cultural theory · Japanese culture · Asian philosophy |
Notable ideas | Cognitive adequacy · Symbolic authority |
Rein Raud (born 21 December 1961) is an Estonian academic and author.
Rein Raud | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Born | December 21, 1961 |
Main interests | Cultural theory · Japanese culture · Asian philosophy |
Notable ideas | Cognitive adequacy · Symbolic authority |
Rein Raud (born 21 December 1961) is an Estonian academic and author.
He was born in 1961 in the family of Eno Raud and Aino Pervik, both children's authors. He is the eldest of three children. His younger brother Mihkel Raud is a playwright, television personality, singer, guitarist, journalist and member of the Estonian Parliament; his sister Piret Raud is an artist and translator. He is the grandson of playwright, poet and writer Mart Raud. [1]
He graduated from the Leningrad State University (now called Saint Petersburg State University) in 1985 in Japanese Studies and earned a PhD degree in Literary Theory at the University of Helsinki in 1994.
Raud is an honorary doctor of the University of Latvia [2] and the Vytautas Magnus University. [3]
Raud has worked in the Estonian Institute of Humanities (now a part of Tallinn University) and the University of Helsinki, where he served as a professor in the Department of World Cultures till 2016. [4] From 2006 to 2011 Raud served as the first rector of the Tallinn University. [5] In 2011-14 he was the President of the European Association for Japanese Studies. [6] Currently he is a research professor at the School of Humanities, Tallinn University.
As a scholar, Raud has published on a wide range of subjects from cultural theory to pre-modern Japanese literature and philosophy, both in English and Estonian. [7] His theoretical project combines the cultural semiotics of the Eco and Lotman traditions with anthropological and sociological approaches (particularly those of Bourdieu and Alexander) in order to achieve a more holistic understanding of cultural phenomena. His work on Japan has dealt with some of the most important philosophical thinkers, notably Dōgen and Nishida Kitarō.
As an author, Raud has published five collections of poetry, seven novels and several collections of short stories and plays. He has received the Estonian Cultural Endowment Annual Prize for Hektor and Bernard (2004) [8] and The Reconstruction (2012) [9] as well as the Vilde Prize for Vend (Brother, 2008). [10] The Reconstruction, The Brother and The Death of the Perfect Sentence, his latest novel to date, have been published in English. [11] [12] [13]
Raud has also frequently contributed to the Estonian public debate by opinion pieces, essays and critical newspaper columns, in which he has expressed left-liberal views and criticised nationalist attitudes. In 2003, he received the prize of the Estonian Journalists' Union for a series of articles criticising the American invasion of Iraq and the Estonian support to it. [14] In 2003-2004 he hosted a philosophical talk show on the Estonian TV called Vita brevis. [15]
Raud is also well known for his translations of Japanese classical literature into Estonian. These include Süda on ainuke lill (Heart is the Only Flower, anthology of waka poetry, 1994), Hullunud pilv (The Crazy Cloud by Ikkyu, 2010) and Mäetipp järve põhjas (The Mountain Peak on the Bottom of the Lake, anthology of haiku poetry, 2008). He has also translated Dante Alighieri's Vita Nova into Estonian.
Raud has been awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, 2nd Class, Gold and Silver Star (Japan, 2011), [16] the Order of the White Star, 3rd Class (Estonia, 2001) [17] and the Commander's Cross for services to Lithuania (2009). [18]
Cognitive adequacy is a term proposed by Rein Raud as a standard of judging cultural phenomena. [19] According to this method, a cultural phenomenon is cognitively adequate if it provides the means of solving certain problems in a certain socio-cultural context. This is true even when that solution is, according to other criteria, wrong. For example, before the Great Depression in the US many people thought that it is cognitively adequate to think of getting rich quickly through land speculation. All cultural phenomena are replaced by others when they are no longer cognitively adequate. For example, when a community has embraced a new religion, or when science has displaced religion as the primary explanatory discourse for their world.
Eno Raud was an Estonian children's writer. His works are considered classics in Estonia as well as in the other former Soviet countries. Raud was included in International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honour List in 1974.
Eesti otsib superstaari(Estonia is Searching for a Superstar) is an Estonian reality-competition gameshow airing on TV3. It debuted on 11 March 2007 and it has since become one of the most popular shows in Estonia. Part of the Idol franchise, it originated from the reality program Pop Idol created by the British entertainment executive Simon Fuller, first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom.
Jüri Talvet is an Estonian poet and academic. He is the author of various literary works including poetry, criticism, and essays.
Leonhard Lapin, also known under the pseudonym Albert Trapeež, was an Estonian architect, artist, architecture historian, and poet.
The fourth season of Eesti otsib superstaari premiered on February 13, 2011, on TV3. The show was won by Liis Lemsalu.
Tanel Tammet is an Estonian computer scientist, professor, software engineer, and computer programmer. He was also one of the founding members of the Estonian Greens party, and helped found the IT College in Tallinn.
The fifth season of Eesti otsib superstaari premiered on September 2, 2012, on TV3.
Mihkel Raud is an Estonian writer, music artist, actor, and a former member of the Estonian parliament. He is best known for his book Musta pori näkku and as a former host of an Estonian talk show on TV3.
Helene Vannari was an Estonian stage, radio, television and film actress.
Ellen Alaküla was an Estonian stage, radio, television, and film actress and theatre teacher whose career spanned over forty years.
Liina Olmaru is an Estonian stage, radio, television, and film actress.
Pääru Oja is an Estonian stage, film, voice, and television actor.
Jaan Rekkor is an Estonian stage, film and television actor.
Ivo Uukkivi is an Estonian stage, film, radio, and television actor, television producer and, under the nickname Munk, founder of and singer with the punk band Velikije Luki.
Merle Jääger is an Estonian television, stage and film actress, poet and author who frequently uses the pen name Merca. Initially associated with the burgeoning Estonian punk rock scene of the early to mid 1980s, she has been described as the "bard of protest". Her career as an actress began in her early 20s and she has received a number of high-profile awards for stage roles.
Paul Poom is a former Estonian stage, film, television, and radio actor whose career began in the late 1970s and ended in 1993 after an assault left him permanently disabled.
Aino Pervik is an Estonian children's writer, and translator.
Ülo Õun was an Estonian sculptor whose career began in the late 1960s and came to prominence in the 1970s. Õun mainly worked as a portrait and figural sculptor and was known for his works in colored plaster and bronze.
Maarja Jakobson is an Estonian television, stage and film actress whose career began in the late 1990s.
Henrik Kalmet is an Estonian actor, comedian, and television personality. Kalmet began his career in 2010 and has appeared as an actor on stage, television, and films. He is also a stand-up comedian and has appeared as a judge and presenter on several Estonian television series. In 2011, he was a cofounder of the theatre troupe Kinoteater.
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