The University of Tartu is Estonia’s national university and one of the most important academic institutions in Northern and Eastern Europe. Founded in the 17th century and reopened as an Estonian-language university in 1919, it has played a central role in the development of Estonian culture, education, research and public life.
Today, the University of Tartu is internationally recognised for the quality of its teaching and research. It is the largest and most comprehensive university in Estonia and consistently ranks among the leading universities in the region. Its international profile, research excellence and strong engagement in European cooperation make it a valuable partner in projects addressing major social, cultural and democratic challenges.
Within CONSPIRE – CONSPIracism and RAdicalisation Risks in Europe, the University of Tartu brings a distinctive perspective: the study of conspiracy theories through the lens of folklore, belief systems, science, vernacular knowledge and contemporary cultural narratives.
The Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore
The University of Tartu is represented in CONSPIRE by the Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, part of the university’s Institute of Cultural Research.
Established in 1919, the department has a long and unique tradition in the study of folklore, vernacular religion, folk belief, narratives, memory, cultural practices and meaning-making processes. Its work connects historical depth with contemporary social questions, allowing researchers to explore how people interpret the world, how beliefs circulate and how narratives shape collective life.
The department’s expertise is particularly relevant to CONSPIRE because conspiracy theories are not only a matter of false information. They are also forms of narrative, belief and social imagination. They circulate through stories, rumours, humour, mistrust, identity and alternative ways of understanding reality.
For this reason, folkloristics offers a powerful contribution to the project. It helps analyse conspiracy thinking not only as a digital or political phenomenon, but also as a cultural process rooted in everyday communication and vernacular interpretations of authority, science and society.
Folklore, belief and alternative knowledge
The research profile of the Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore includes topics that are directly connected to the themes of CONSPIRE: conspiracy theories, spirituality, religion, alternative belief systems, vernacular religion and contemporary ways of making sense of uncertainty.
Much of this work is particularly sensitive to post-socialist contexts, where questions of trust, authority, political memory, science, religion and public communication are often shaped by complex historical experiences. At the same time, the department’s expertise extends to wider comparative perspectives, including research on vernacular religions and belief systems beyond Europe.
This combination of local, regional and global perspectives allows the University of Tartu team to enrich CONSPIRE’s interdisciplinary approach. The project benefits from a research tradition that takes seriously the ways in which people produce meaning outside official institutions, expert systems and mainstream forms of knowledge.
This does not mean treating all explanations as equally valid. Rather, it means understanding why certain ideas become credible, how they circulate, and how they can affect public debate, democratic trust and attitudes toward science.
The University of Tartu team in CONSPIRE
The University of Tartu team is led by Professor Anastasiya Astapova, whose research focuses on humour, rumours, conspiracy theories and political expression, particularly in post-socialist and authoritarian contexts.
Astapova has developed an internationally recognised profile in conspiracy theory studies. Her academic work has addressed the circulation of rumours, humour and political narratives, and she has contributed to major research networks and publications on conspiracy theories in Eastern Europe and the Nordic countries. She has also been involved in research on COVID-19 conspiracy theories, disinformation and media literacy.
Within CONSPIRE, Professor Astapova serves as the lead coordinator of the University of Tartu team. She coordinated and contributed to the development of the Science module, including video lectures, video pills, tutoring activities and the final Conspirology games.
Her role is central to ensuring that the module does not treat science as a neutral background, but as a social field that can be contested, politicised, misunderstood or strategically manipulated.
Kristel Kivari, Research Fellow at the Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, also contributes to the project. Her work explores folk beliefs, contemporary alternative discourses and alternative ways of understanding the world, with particular attention to their connections with personal experience and authority.
In CONSPIRE, Kivari contributed to course planning and delivered a video lecture. Her expertise helps students understand how alternative explanations of reality emerge, how they gain legitimacy in everyday contexts and how they interact with broader cultural and social frameworks.
The team also includes Kadi Prii, MA student at the University of Tartu. Her earlier research involved a close ethnographic study of a regilaul — or runosong — group in her bachelor’s thesis, while her current interests focus on place-related meanings and the sense of place in folklore.
Within CONSPIRE, Prii supported students through tutoring, responded to both content-related and organisational questions, and assisted with practical aspects of the course. Her contribution reflects one of the key strengths of the project: students and early-career researchers are not only beneficiaries of the learning process, but also active participants in its implementation.
The Science module: conspiracy theories, science and public trust
The University of Tartu team is responsible for the CONSPIRE module dedicated to Science.
This module approaches conspiracy theories from a scientific and cultural perspective. It examines how conspiracy narratives intersect with science and academia, how they are weaponised in politics and media, and how institutions and citizens can respond to them.
The module invites students to reflect on a crucial question: what happens when scientific knowledge is mistrusted, distorted or reframed through conspiracy narratives?
Rather than presenting science only as a collection of facts, the module explores science as a public institution, a method of inquiry and a social practice. It helps students understand how scientific authority is built, how it can be challenged, and how conspiracy thinking can exploit uncertainty, complexity and public mistrust.
This approach is particularly relevant in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, when debates around vaccines, public health measures, expertise and institutional legitimacy became central to public life across Europe.
From debunking to understanding
The University of Tartu’s contribution to CONSPIRE helps move the project beyond simple debunking.
Debunking remains important, but conspiracy theories cannot be addressed only by correcting false claims. To respond effectively, students need to understand the cultural, emotional, narrative and social mechanisms that make conspiracy thinking persuasive.
The Science module therefore supports students in developing a more complex understanding of misinformation. It shows how conspiracy narratives may draw on partial truths, mistrust of institutions, personal experience, political conflict, media dynamics and alternative belief systems.
This makes the module particularly suitable for the broader educational philosophy of CONSPIRE: bringing non-formal education methods into formal university settings.
Students are not simply asked to memorise definitions. They are encouraged to analyse, discuss, compare, reflect and apply knowledge to real social challenges. Through lectures, video pills, tutoring and the Conspirology game, they engage with conspiracy theories as living cultural narratives that affect democratic life.
Folkloristics as a tool for democratic resilience
The University of Tartu’s participation shows why folklore studies matter in contemporary Europe.
At first glance, folklore might seem distant from debates on disinformation, radicalisation and democratic resilience. In reality, folkloristics offers essential tools to understand how people tell stories, share beliefs, create meanings, interpret crises and build trust or mistrust.
Conspiracy theories often function like powerful contemporary legends. They explain uncertainty, identify hidden causes, create communities of interpretation and offer emotionally compelling narratives. They circulate through media, but also through everyday speech, humour, rumours and informal communication.
This is precisely where the University of Tartu’s expertise becomes central. By studying conspiracy theories as vernacular narratives, the UT team helps CONSPIRE understand not only what people believe, but how and why certain narratives become meaningful.
A partner connecting research, education and society
The University of Tartu brings to CONSPIRE a strong combination of academic excellence, cultural analysis, international research and innovative teaching.
Through the Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, the university contributes a perspective that connects conspiracy theories with broader questions of belief, science, authority, identity and everyday meaning-making.
This contribution strengthens the project’s interdisciplinary character and supports its educational mission: helping students critically understand conspiracy thinking, recognise the social dynamics of misinformation and develop the competences needed to participate responsibly in democratic life.
In the CONSPIRE project, the University of Tartu shows how the study of folklore can become a powerful resource for contemporary higher education. It helps students see that conspiracy theories are not only claims to be disproved, but narratives to be understood, analysed and addressed through knowledge, dialogue and civic responsibility.
