Authors

Heidi Hein-Kircher¹;  ¹ Martin-Opitz-Library and Ruhr-University, Germany

Discussion

The introductory remarks will discuss the concept of the panel and the project which provides the framework of the panel: Land as property and as a space of hard, physical labour is not only a symbol of home and homeland, but also of social status present and past. In the modern Baltics, the power of land redistribution as a force that fundamentally reshapes societies and states is particularly evident. Here, support for the protection of land against foreign ownership remains particularly high. The panel puts the far-reaching land reforms of the interwar period, Soviet collectivization, and post-war Cold-War privatization, into a common frame. By focusing on the aggregate impact these reforms had on subjectivities, it makes a profound contribution to the history of the Baltics and a case for the relevance of this European region for the study of agrarian reform across time and space.Subjectivity refers to the unique lens through which individuals experience and interpret their surroundings, interactions, and life more broadly, thus constituting an individual’s sense of ‘selfhood’ (Giddens). The panel investigates how experiences of land redistribution interpreted through these lens guide the individual’s engagement with the world, i.e. how they translate into (inter)actions, thus shaping society and politics alike.