Page 20 - Tallinn University

The citizen of the year, ambassador of the Heritage Year 2013, holder of the V Class Order
of the White star – for MarJU KÕIVUPUU, a researcher and folklorist, the list of honorary titles in front of her name is long.
Marju seems to be tireless: one moment she has just written and published yet another book, another moment she speaks on the radio, plays in a quiz show on television or receives an award from the President. People quickly become friends with Marju, because her colourful way of storytelling is very captivating.
“I am a teacher with a twist, because I like students who listen and notice when I make a mistake on purpose or
ask one and the same question in a different way - I like students who think,” admits Marju. “Very charmingly, I can ask a very tricky question.” Former students of the lifelong teacher are active in the spheres of public culture, music, politics or media.
The topic of Marju´s doctoral thesis is very interesting; she studied funeral customs in Võrumaa. “In contemporary Estonian society, death and funerals is a branch of economy; it provides work and also offers a good overview of people’s beliefs, eternal values and also of our familial relations. Although life has changed quite a lot in the past couple of decades, funeral customs in the countryside have remained relatively similar to what they were before, but in the city the customs have undergone many changes.”
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“Marju is a great example of the fact that if a person does their own thing in life and puts their heart into it then that person achieves great recognition and prominence. After she received the Citizen of the Year title and the presidential Badge of Merit, people who hadn’t noticed her previous prizes and letters of thanks became aware of who Marju really is,” says Marju´s former student Vilja Kiisler, head of the opinion editorial office of the Äripäev newspaper.
Marju kõivuPuu
students think
teacher,
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