Marju Kõivupuu
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Tallinn University
Marju Kõivupuu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | November 14, 1960 Võru County, Estonian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Citizenship | Estonia |
| Alma mater | University of Tartu Tallinn University |
| Occupation | Folklorist |
Marju Kõivupuu (born 14 November 1960) is an Estonian cultural activist and folklorist. Born into a Võro family, Kõivupuu has advocated for the preservation and cultivation of both Võro and Estonian culture. In recognition of this, she was named as Estonia's Citizen of the Year in 2013.
Kõivupuu was born in the village of Mäepõru, Võru County, though her birth certificate stated she was born in Valga, due to it being the location of the nearest maternity hospital. Her mother was from Mõniste, while her father was of Latvian heritage. Kõivupuu's maternal family was ethnically Võro, and she grew up speaking both Estonian and Võro at home. Kõivupuu was educated in Valga and Tartu.[1][2]
In 1986, Kõivupuu graduated from Tartu State University with a degree in philology.[3][4] Between 1990 and 1993, she completed her postgraduate studies at the same university, before becoming a doctoral student at the Estonian Agricultural University, also in Tartu, between 1995 and 1999.[3] In 2002, Kõivupuu defended her thesis at Tallinn University, supervised by Tarmo Kulmar, entitled Surmakultuuri muutumine ajas: ajaloolise Võrumaa matusekombestiku näitel (lit. 'Changing death culture over time: using the example of historic Võru County funeral customs').[3][5]
Since 2017, Kõivupuu has been an associate professional at the University of Tallinn's Centre for Landscape and Culture, between 2007 and 2017, she was a senior researcher at the same institution.[3][5][6][7][8] Between 2005 and 2007, Kõivupuu worked as an associate professor at the Viljandi Academy of Culture at the University of Tartu.[3][9]
Kõivupuu has written for Estonian newspapers including Õhtuleht, Postimees and Maaleht.[4][10][11] She has also produced shows on Estonian television and radio about Estonian language and culture, and is a regular guest on the Vikerraadio memory game show Mnemoturniir.[4][8][9]
