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This edited collection re-examines the long history of Finnish-Namibian relations through the lens of colonialism without colonies as well as anti-colonialism. The book argues that although Finland never acquired colonies, Namibia was once treated in the areas of culture and knowledge formation in a manner now recognised as colonial. Namibian people’s ways of being in the world was transformed when the Finnish Missionary Society started its work in Owambo in 1870 and introduced Christianity and European modes of education, medicine, material culture and social practices. In time, cultural colonialism faded and during the Namibian struggle for independence from South African rule in 1966–1990 Finns took an actively anti-colonial approach. The book was written as a collaborative effort of Namibian, Finnish and South African scholars.
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The Writer’s Poetics. Poetics as an Approach to an Author’s Body of Work is an introduction to the writer’s poetics as a distinctive research orientation, as well as a collection of case studies focusing on authors working in different eras and languages. While the 20th Century traditions of poetics have produced studies on the textual styles and techniques that characterize the writing of particular authors, the research orientation has not been explicitly defined and sufficiently theorized. The Writer’s Poetics frames the research orientation theoretically, and the 14 case studies making up the chapters demonstrate the diversity of viewpoints available within it. The contributors study authors ranging from 19th Century Finnish-Swedish female writers to 20th Century African-American novelists to postmodernist and contemporary authors of prose and lyric – and to the most successful Finnish rap artists of the 2010’s.
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Biographical approaches to early modern history
This book contributes to the debates on the role and theory of biographical and life-writing research in historical research and methodology. The first part of the study analyses how biographical approaches have until now been used in research into the early modern history of Finland. It explores how the trends in biographical history have evolved from the eighteenth century to today. Church leaders and bishops were emphasised in a country that could boast of few statesmen. Early modern women’s biographies have been strongly influenced by fictional traditions. The second part presents four attempts at new ways of producing and presenting biographical histories that yield new kinds of information on early modern society. These chapters are influenced by the so-called new histories (which by now have become rather traditional social and cultural histories), microhistory, gender history, and the history of experience.
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This edited volume looks at the spread of settlements and the development of living conditions favorable to permanent peasant habitation in Finland during the pre-industrial period. The case to study in this volume is the relatively late settled northernmost part of Savo, now known as the Upper Savo (Ylä-Savo in Finnish) region, which was a border region between Sweden and Russia until the first half of the 17th century. The aim of the volume is to deepen conceptual and empirical knowledge of what kind of living conditions the late-populated frontier offered to settlers and their descendants from the beginning of settlement to the early industrialization. At the end of the 19th century Upper Savo was known as an example of misery, poverty and backwardness in Finland. This volume, however, shows that this perception of exceptional poverty and backwardness is not unambiguous, let alone self-imposed by the people living in the area. Despite its land resources, Upper Savo has been in a position to catch up with the core areas of settlement throughout its history, such as the later settled peripheries and border regions in general. In this work, we show that the development of the conditions for living in Upper Savo has been strongly path-dependent: the region can do nothing about its history and location.
The photographs of Ahti Rytkönen (1899–1989) are at the core of the rich artwork of this volume. Rytkönen’s black-and-white photographs of the northern Savo countryside with its inhabitants and slash-and-burn fields from the 1920s and 1930s are unique depictions of the life of Upper Savo rural society.
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Finnish-Russian Literary Relations 1800-1930
Current volume examines Finnish-Russian literary contacts that have not been thoroughly studied previously – the translation and reception history of Russian literature in Finland, and Finnish literature in Russia from 1800 until 1930. Personal contacts have influenced the decisions of what to translate and by whom more than the evident European context of Russian literature. In Finland, the relationship with Russia and attitudes to its literature have always been a political issue. Hostile relations have meant a remarkable decrease in translations, but maintained active discussion of Russian culture. During more friendly times, the inquisitive interest has increased and led to more intensive translation activities. However, since the early days of Finnish literature, only few intellectuals have known Russian well enough to translate literature into Swedish or Finnish. Consequently, translating has been highly dependent on individual mediators, often with a transnational identity.
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This book is about how urban linguistic landscapes reflect and create sociolinguistic, societal and urban dynamics, and how these relations can be scientifically explored. Focusing on the linguistic landscapes of selected cities in northern and southern Europe, it sheds light on how urban areas with diverse profiles differ, and how the linguistic landscapes change through tourism and migration, or in times of crisis. The chapters put forward sophisticated and novel ways of approaching urban sociolinguistics and they enhance understanding of the challenges and opportunities included in the study of sociolinguistic variation in these linguistic landscapes.
The book is targeted at scholars in the field of urban sociolinguistics and those wishing to approach the subject through the lens of linguistic landscapes. It also gives interesting suggestions to people involved in language planning and policy reflection, as well as those engaged in urban redevelopment planning. Last but not least, it offers theoretical and methodological guidance to students and researchers in a variety of disciplines.
Book DetailsGenetic criticism investigates creative processes by analysing manuscripts and other archival sources. It sheds light on authors’ working practices and the ways works are developed on the writer’s desk or in the artist’s studio.
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Margaret Kilpinen. Pianist, pedagogue, spouse
The biography of Margaret Darling Kilpinen (1896–1965) represents the fields of music history and women’s studies. It brings forth a woman who is of pliable but also strong character. She was active for over four decades in the musical life of Finland. What kind of professional role, combining performing and pedagogical work, was she able to build for herself? She was the wife of a well-known, strong-willed composer who had many ties to Germany, and also the mother of a daughter. How was she able to keep up her own artistry?
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Michael Agricolas Randglossen zum Neuen Testament
Michael Agricolas Hauptwerk ist das 1548 erschienene Neue Testament, ein prächtiger Quartband von 700 Seiten mit hundert Holzschnitten. Als Grundtext dienten der von Erasmus veröffentlichte griechische Text, Erasmus’ lateinische Übersetzung, die Vulgata, die Lutherbibel und die schwedische Bibel von 1541.
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Superdiversity. Perspectives on the multiplicity of migration
This book is the first Finnish-language collection of research on superdiversity. At the core of the book is the growing migration to Finland since the turn of the 1990s and its numerous effects on Finnish society. The interdisciplinary examination of superdiversity is important at the current moment: Finland as a society has reached the point where certain social categories, such as ethnic background, country of birth, mother tongue or gender, are not necessarily sufficient to understand the increased diversity and its consequences.
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