Focusing on the margins of retail, our volume has demonstrated the increasing flow of people and ... more Focusing on the margins of retail, our volume has demonstrated the increasing flow of people and commodities in Northern Europe during the long nineteenth century, and it has examined exchanges between manifold locations and societies. Networks of petty trade extended through economically diverse regions, communities, and countries. From Russia to Finland, from Finland to Sweden, and so forth, itinerant traders traveled, sometimes quite long distances, along with their goods. The language used in these trading practices was often mixed. Russian sellers, for instance, quickly learned Finnish and Swedish, or at least enough to make themselves understood when trading. The chapters in Forgotten Livelihoods have investigated significant and heterogeneous yet relatively underexplored groups of traders. For many marginalized groups, such as the rural and urban poor, as well as Roma, Tatar, and Russian Karelian peddlers, self-employment was often an
This paper examines the impact of the Cold War on Finnish folklore studies as an academic discipl... more This paper examines the impact of the Cold War on Finnish folklore studies as an academic discipline. Drawing on the university curricula of folklore studies at the University of Helsinki, the article seeks to trace disciplinary shifts from 1943 to 1979. The era coincided with a period of Finlandization—that is, a political culture subservient to the Soviet Union. The research strategies that the leading folklorists took continued concentrating on ethno-historically important Finnishor Swedish-speaking oral traditions. International orientation consisted of balancing between the East and West scholarship. Among the academics, Finlandization often meant simply ignoring topics that dealt with the USSR.
Historically, since the 1930s, Finland, much like the other Nordic countries, has rested upon ide... more Historically, since the 1930s, Finland, much like the other Nordic countries, has rested upon ideas of openness and civic participation as a political project of modernity. The core principle has been that of a comprehensive welfare state-in Sweden, referred to as folkhemmet ('the People's home'), a society with social equality and solidarity between all citizens (e.g., Kettunen and Petersen 2011; Esping-Andersen 1990). This was initially a response to what has been called the breakthrough of mass society, referring to both the legal and cultural leveling of citizenship. Over the course of the twentieth century, the welfare state was constructed on the basis of providing services and security for its citizens. Health, housing, working life, education, and social and political efficacy were considered aspects of this core citizenship. The Nordic, or Social Democratic, welfare regime was built on the principles of universality, where comprehensive and usually not means-tested welfare services were provided. This included an idea of reciprocity: the citizens were understood to gain these rights by participating in society, mainly through work. This has been seen by some scholars as a historical continuum, transforming pre-modern Lutheran values into a dynamic understanding of secular modernity (Stenius 1997). In this interpretation, the tolerance for cultural deviations has been seen mainly as a question of normative enlightenment and a search to bring everybody into a modern concept of a Nordic society. The universalistic
The doctoral study of Konsta Kajander, a Jyväskylä-based ethnologist, is an interesting approach ... more The doctoral study of Konsta Kajander, a Jyväskylä-based ethnologist, is an interesting approach to examining the Finnish peasantry in the mid-nineteenth century. Kajander analyzes social categories related to the term "half-gentleman" in the Finnish press during this time. Half-gentleman was a pejorative name for male members of the peasantry and the rural working class who, according to their critics, tried to look or behave like a member of a higher estate. Kajander considers the newspapers as a cultural space that not only conveys meaning, but also influences and changes contemporary social reality. Thus, Kajander's premise is that the verbal expression of half-gentlemen signified change in the cultural expectations of the ideal peasant. The book has eight chapters. After presenting the research design, theory, source materials, and methodology, Kajander explores the discourse on half-gentlemen in various contexts. The research is based on eight newspapers that contain different writings regarding peasants. For example, the topic of peasants was usually discussed in the newspaper sections related to rural letters, editorials, and dialogues. Each of these sections used distinctive styles as textual genres. Using these sources ensured that Kajander reviewed multiple discourses related to his main approach. As Kajander explains, many of the authors used pseudonyms in their writing and were presumably part of the peasantry. Consequently, their expressions and views on the image of the ideal peasant may be considered self-reflection. Furthermore, these newspapers were the platform for nationalist expression of thought. For example, newspaper writers argued whether civilization (i.e., literacy and numeracy) was needed by peasants and whether it harmed the peasants, their families, and more broadly, the social order. In practice, the term half-gentleman referred to peasants or members of the landless working class who attended school, became literate, and started to wear clothes that some perceived as belonging to higher estates. Usually, half-gentlemen were officers, students, primary school teachers, artisans, and tavern keepers. Occasionally, "half-civilized" and "half-educated" were also used to describe these individuals, but these terms were embraced only superficial
Nineteenth century Romantic nationalism viewed the nation as one entity whose members shared a co... more Nineteenth century Romantic nationalism viewed the nation as one entity whose members shared a common language, folklore, customs and traditions. This view of nationalism inspired the collection of folklore which served as the cultural heritage of a society. Once collected and interpreted, folklore built a grand-although often exclusive, mean and racist-narrative of the past. This article examines the social boundaries between rural peasant commoners and the Roma in Finland in the early 20 th century. Using folktales from rural Finns about the Roma, this article examines how elements of everyday communication laid bare notions of social hierarchies among citizens and, simultaneously, served as political tools. Because the policy of collecting folklore only targeted majority groups of people, that is, white peasants and small landholders, their views were considered most important and more valuable. By contrast, the Roma, as outcasts from rural communities and removed from the idea of nationhood, were underrated through the narration of tales, which directed ridicule and, at times, harsh bullying at them.
Abstract:This article focuses on the culturally shared knowledge and understanding regarding fami... more Abstract:This article focuses on the culturally shared knowledge and understanding regarding family and kin relations held by the rural poor of Finland. The source material consists of the life stories, and poverty narratives within them, of Finns born between 1880 and 1938, seventy-nine texts altogether. Although all the narrators became financially secure by Western standards later in life, childhood poverty left them scarred. A recurrent focus in their life stories is how meager living conditions led to miserable childhoods and adolescences, a situation reinforced by the existing peasant family economic model. Stories that emphasize this situation are called poverty narratives. In this article I point to themes apparent in these narratives: tensions in the nuclear family, the perception of children as burdens, and criticism of extended relatives. Poverty narratives deal with topics, ideas, and evaluations that are relevant to their bearers; this article therefore provides insight into the linguistic competencies, concerns, feelings, and agencies of the individuals.
Until the Interwar period, the majority of the Finnish population lived in small peasant communit... more Until the Interwar period, the majority of the Finnish population lived in small peasant communities in remote parts of the country. Since the growing season was short, much of the country was unsuitable for arable farming, and, in the beginning of the twentieth century, traditional agriculture was not able to employ the increasing population. People moved to towns and industrial centers to seek better economic opportunities and lifestyles and to find employment. In this article, I will analyze the life stories of the common Finnish people, born between 1874 and 1939, who felt compelled to move from their rural family communities. Many of the narrators had integration difficulties in their new environments; for example, living as a tenant in a block of flats was depicted as difficult and, therefore, many of them returned to the rural countryside in order to set up a smallholding of their own. For many, ownership of a small farm and the rural lifestyle it provided represented the cul...
Puhe suomalaisuudesta nousee aika ajoin julkiseen keskusteluun tutkijoiden ja yhteiskunnallisten ... more Puhe suomalaisuudesta nousee aika ajoin julkiseen keskusteluun tutkijoiden ja yhteiskunnallisten vaikuttajien toimesta. Yleensä se osuu johonkin näkyvään poliittisen murroksen vaiheeseen. Kun 1990-luvulla se oli liittyminen Euroopan unioniin ja myöhemmin yhteiseen valuuttaan, on 2010-luvun suomalaisuuspuheen sytykkeinä ollut esimerkiksi perussuomalaisten saama kannatus ja heidän arvonsa. Suomen asettuminen Euroopan unionin talouspäätöksien keskiöön on vuorostaan synnyttänyt keskustelua, toisinaan jopa väittelyä kansallisista erityispiirteistä, joilla ajattelemme meidän eroavan muista kansallisuuksista. Taloudellisen menestyksen myötä suomalaiset ovat viimeisen vuosikymmenen ajan saaneet totutella myös moniin muihin onnistumisiin kansainvälisessä vertailussa. Näitä ovat peruskoulun opetuksen korkea laatu tai esimerkiksi korruption vähäisyys. Ei liene väärin sanoa, että Suomella menee hyvin. Suomi on monen mittarin perusteella tällä hetkellä yksi maailman parhaista maista. Tähän historiallisesti melko uuteen tilanteeseen on havahtunut joukko tutkijoita, toimittajia ja taiteentekijöitä, jotka ovat julkaisseet raflaavasti mutta samalla hauskasti otsikoidun Maailman paras maa-artikkelikokoelman. Nimestään huolimatta teos tarkastelee Suomea ja suomalaisuutta haastaen tarkoitushakuiset juhlapuheet. Kirjan nimi heijastelee vuonna 2010 julkistetun maabrändityöryhmän loppuraporttia Tehtävä Suomelle, joka sai mediassa verrattain paljon, pääosin ironista huomiota. Maabrändityöryhmä esitti raportissaan konkreettisia imagonkohennusehdotuksia, joiden avulla tulevaisuuden Suomesta saataisiin "maailman toimivin yhteiskunta." Maailman paras maa-teos osaltaan jatkaa tätä keskustelua, mutta sen sijaan että Suomea pidettäisiin muita maita parempana, kirjassa esitellään suomalaisiksi miellettyjä ilmiöitä ja asioita Anu Koivusen termein "poikkikansallisesti ja ylirajaisesti" (s. 21). Kokoomateos on ennen kaikkea empiirinen katsaus siihen, millaisissa tilanteissa tai puheenaiheissa suomalaisuutta ja Suomen erityisyyttä korostetaan. Kirja ei siis ota kantaa siihen, mitä on hyvä tai huono suomalaisuus tai millaisia tavoitteita Suomella yhteiskuntana tulee olla. Kirjaan valitut näkökulmat ovat positiivisella tavalla yllättäviä, mutta samalla kuitenkin suurelle osalle meistä ihan tunnistettavia. Historiantutkija Marja Jalava tarkastelee artikkelissaan kielteisen ja vähättelevän kansallisen omakuvan diskurssin historiaa sivistyneistön kirjoituksissa. Artikkelin otsikko on "S/M-kisat", jonka metaforinen osuvuus avautuu luki
The article examines Finnish proverbs that include the word "herra", or &qu... more The article examines Finnish proverbs that include the word "herra", or "master," in relation to the social history of the common people. The sample in the analysis consists of 174 proverbs that were collected on the ideological basis of the historic-geographic method where the primary focus was on the evolution of folklore texts. This quantitative emphasis led to the large collections in the Folklore Archives, which now need new methodological choices, such as analyzing the texts as the history of ideas from below.
Focusing on the margins of retail, our volume has demonstrated the increasing flow of people and ... more Focusing on the margins of retail, our volume has demonstrated the increasing flow of people and commodities in Northern Europe during the long nineteenth century, and it has examined exchanges between manifold locations and societies. Networks of petty trade extended through economically diverse regions, communities, and countries. From Russia to Finland, from Finland to Sweden, and so forth, itinerant traders traveled, sometimes quite long distances, along with their goods. The language used in these trading practices was often mixed. Russian sellers, for instance, quickly learned Finnish and Swedish, or at least enough to make themselves understood when trading. The chapters in Forgotten Livelihoods have investigated significant and heterogeneous yet relatively underexplored groups of traders. For many marginalized groups, such as the rural and urban poor, as well as Roma, Tatar, and Russian Karelian peddlers, self-employment was often an
This paper examines the impact of the Cold War on Finnish folklore studies as an academic discipl... more This paper examines the impact of the Cold War on Finnish folklore studies as an academic discipline. Drawing on the university curricula of folklore studies at the University of Helsinki, the article seeks to trace disciplinary shifts from 1943 to 1979. The era coincided with a period of Finlandization—that is, a political culture subservient to the Soviet Union. The research strategies that the leading folklorists took continued concentrating on ethno-historically important Finnishor Swedish-speaking oral traditions. International orientation consisted of balancing between the East and West scholarship. Among the academics, Finlandization often meant simply ignoring topics that dealt with the USSR.
Historically, since the 1930s, Finland, much like the other Nordic countries, has rested upon ide... more Historically, since the 1930s, Finland, much like the other Nordic countries, has rested upon ideas of openness and civic participation as a political project of modernity. The core principle has been that of a comprehensive welfare state-in Sweden, referred to as folkhemmet ('the People's home'), a society with social equality and solidarity between all citizens (e.g., Kettunen and Petersen 2011; Esping-Andersen 1990). This was initially a response to what has been called the breakthrough of mass society, referring to both the legal and cultural leveling of citizenship. Over the course of the twentieth century, the welfare state was constructed on the basis of providing services and security for its citizens. Health, housing, working life, education, and social and political efficacy were considered aspects of this core citizenship. The Nordic, or Social Democratic, welfare regime was built on the principles of universality, where comprehensive and usually not means-tested welfare services were provided. This included an idea of reciprocity: the citizens were understood to gain these rights by participating in society, mainly through work. This has been seen by some scholars as a historical continuum, transforming pre-modern Lutheran values into a dynamic understanding of secular modernity (Stenius 1997). In this interpretation, the tolerance for cultural deviations has been seen mainly as a question of normative enlightenment and a search to bring everybody into a modern concept of a Nordic society. The universalistic
The doctoral study of Konsta Kajander, a Jyväskylä-based ethnologist, is an interesting approach ... more The doctoral study of Konsta Kajander, a Jyväskylä-based ethnologist, is an interesting approach to examining the Finnish peasantry in the mid-nineteenth century. Kajander analyzes social categories related to the term "half-gentleman" in the Finnish press during this time. Half-gentleman was a pejorative name for male members of the peasantry and the rural working class who, according to their critics, tried to look or behave like a member of a higher estate. Kajander considers the newspapers as a cultural space that not only conveys meaning, but also influences and changes contemporary social reality. Thus, Kajander's premise is that the verbal expression of half-gentlemen signified change in the cultural expectations of the ideal peasant. The book has eight chapters. After presenting the research design, theory, source materials, and methodology, Kajander explores the discourse on half-gentlemen in various contexts. The research is based on eight newspapers that contain different writings regarding peasants. For example, the topic of peasants was usually discussed in the newspaper sections related to rural letters, editorials, and dialogues. Each of these sections used distinctive styles as textual genres. Using these sources ensured that Kajander reviewed multiple discourses related to his main approach. As Kajander explains, many of the authors used pseudonyms in their writing and were presumably part of the peasantry. Consequently, their expressions and views on the image of the ideal peasant may be considered self-reflection. Furthermore, these newspapers were the platform for nationalist expression of thought. For example, newspaper writers argued whether civilization (i.e., literacy and numeracy) was needed by peasants and whether it harmed the peasants, their families, and more broadly, the social order. In practice, the term half-gentleman referred to peasants or members of the landless working class who attended school, became literate, and started to wear clothes that some perceived as belonging to higher estates. Usually, half-gentlemen were officers, students, primary school teachers, artisans, and tavern keepers. Occasionally, "half-civilized" and "half-educated" were also used to describe these individuals, but these terms were embraced only superficial
Nineteenth century Romantic nationalism viewed the nation as one entity whose members shared a co... more Nineteenth century Romantic nationalism viewed the nation as one entity whose members shared a common language, folklore, customs and traditions. This view of nationalism inspired the collection of folklore which served as the cultural heritage of a society. Once collected and interpreted, folklore built a grand-although often exclusive, mean and racist-narrative of the past. This article examines the social boundaries between rural peasant commoners and the Roma in Finland in the early 20 th century. Using folktales from rural Finns about the Roma, this article examines how elements of everyday communication laid bare notions of social hierarchies among citizens and, simultaneously, served as political tools. Because the policy of collecting folklore only targeted majority groups of people, that is, white peasants and small landholders, their views were considered most important and more valuable. By contrast, the Roma, as outcasts from rural communities and removed from the idea of nationhood, were underrated through the narration of tales, which directed ridicule and, at times, harsh bullying at them.
Abstract:This article focuses on the culturally shared knowledge and understanding regarding fami... more Abstract:This article focuses on the culturally shared knowledge and understanding regarding family and kin relations held by the rural poor of Finland. The source material consists of the life stories, and poverty narratives within them, of Finns born between 1880 and 1938, seventy-nine texts altogether. Although all the narrators became financially secure by Western standards later in life, childhood poverty left them scarred. A recurrent focus in their life stories is how meager living conditions led to miserable childhoods and adolescences, a situation reinforced by the existing peasant family economic model. Stories that emphasize this situation are called poverty narratives. In this article I point to themes apparent in these narratives: tensions in the nuclear family, the perception of children as burdens, and criticism of extended relatives. Poverty narratives deal with topics, ideas, and evaluations that are relevant to their bearers; this article therefore provides insight into the linguistic competencies, concerns, feelings, and agencies of the individuals.
Until the Interwar period, the majority of the Finnish population lived in small peasant communit... more Until the Interwar period, the majority of the Finnish population lived in small peasant communities in remote parts of the country. Since the growing season was short, much of the country was unsuitable for arable farming, and, in the beginning of the twentieth century, traditional agriculture was not able to employ the increasing population. People moved to towns and industrial centers to seek better economic opportunities and lifestyles and to find employment. In this article, I will analyze the life stories of the common Finnish people, born between 1874 and 1939, who felt compelled to move from their rural family communities. Many of the narrators had integration difficulties in their new environments; for example, living as a tenant in a block of flats was depicted as difficult and, therefore, many of them returned to the rural countryside in order to set up a smallholding of their own. For many, ownership of a small farm and the rural lifestyle it provided represented the cul...
Puhe suomalaisuudesta nousee aika ajoin julkiseen keskusteluun tutkijoiden ja yhteiskunnallisten ... more Puhe suomalaisuudesta nousee aika ajoin julkiseen keskusteluun tutkijoiden ja yhteiskunnallisten vaikuttajien toimesta. Yleensä se osuu johonkin näkyvään poliittisen murroksen vaiheeseen. Kun 1990-luvulla se oli liittyminen Euroopan unioniin ja myöhemmin yhteiseen valuuttaan, on 2010-luvun suomalaisuuspuheen sytykkeinä ollut esimerkiksi perussuomalaisten saama kannatus ja heidän arvonsa. Suomen asettuminen Euroopan unionin talouspäätöksien keskiöön on vuorostaan synnyttänyt keskustelua, toisinaan jopa väittelyä kansallisista erityispiirteistä, joilla ajattelemme meidän eroavan muista kansallisuuksista. Taloudellisen menestyksen myötä suomalaiset ovat viimeisen vuosikymmenen ajan saaneet totutella myös moniin muihin onnistumisiin kansainvälisessä vertailussa. Näitä ovat peruskoulun opetuksen korkea laatu tai esimerkiksi korruption vähäisyys. Ei liene väärin sanoa, että Suomella menee hyvin. Suomi on monen mittarin perusteella tällä hetkellä yksi maailman parhaista maista. Tähän historiallisesti melko uuteen tilanteeseen on havahtunut joukko tutkijoita, toimittajia ja taiteentekijöitä, jotka ovat julkaisseet raflaavasti mutta samalla hauskasti otsikoidun Maailman paras maa-artikkelikokoelman. Nimestään huolimatta teos tarkastelee Suomea ja suomalaisuutta haastaen tarkoitushakuiset juhlapuheet. Kirjan nimi heijastelee vuonna 2010 julkistetun maabrändityöryhmän loppuraporttia Tehtävä Suomelle, joka sai mediassa verrattain paljon, pääosin ironista huomiota. Maabrändityöryhmä esitti raportissaan konkreettisia imagonkohennusehdotuksia, joiden avulla tulevaisuuden Suomesta saataisiin "maailman toimivin yhteiskunta." Maailman paras maa-teos osaltaan jatkaa tätä keskustelua, mutta sen sijaan että Suomea pidettäisiin muita maita parempana, kirjassa esitellään suomalaisiksi miellettyjä ilmiöitä ja asioita Anu Koivusen termein "poikkikansallisesti ja ylirajaisesti" (s. 21). Kokoomateos on ennen kaikkea empiirinen katsaus siihen, millaisissa tilanteissa tai puheenaiheissa suomalaisuutta ja Suomen erityisyyttä korostetaan. Kirja ei siis ota kantaa siihen, mitä on hyvä tai huono suomalaisuus tai millaisia tavoitteita Suomella yhteiskuntana tulee olla. Kirjaan valitut näkökulmat ovat positiivisella tavalla yllättäviä, mutta samalla kuitenkin suurelle osalle meistä ihan tunnistettavia. Historiantutkija Marja Jalava tarkastelee artikkelissaan kielteisen ja vähättelevän kansallisen omakuvan diskurssin historiaa sivistyneistön kirjoituksissa. Artikkelin otsikko on "S/M-kisat", jonka metaforinen osuvuus avautuu luki
The article examines Finnish proverbs that include the word "herra", or &qu... more The article examines Finnish proverbs that include the word "herra", or "master," in relation to the social history of the common people. The sample in the analysis consists of 174 proverbs that were collected on the ideological basis of the historic-geographic method where the primary focus was on the evolution of folklore texts. This quantitative emphasis led to the large collections in the Folklore Archives, which now need new methodological choices, such as analyzing the texts as the history of ideas from below.
Engaging the New Mobilities Paradigm in the Context of Finland, guest-edited by Driss Habti and Tuulikki Kurki, 2019
This special issue of the Journal of Finnish Studies, Engaging the New Mobilities Paradigm in the... more This special issue of the Journal of Finnish Studies, Engaging the New Mobilities Paradigm in the Context of Finland, brings to the readers twelve fresh examples of research about migration and mobility in Finland. The volume is divided into four sections: Social and Cultural Experiences and Meanings of Mobility (Part I); Everyday Life and Lived Places (Part II); Politizing Mobility and Mobilizing Policies (in Times of Crisis) (Part III); and Cross-Border and Transnational Mobility (Part IV). The articles introduce the reader to current topics about voluntary mobility and, in this case, Russians in Finland: Russians as second-home owners, Russian doctors in Finland, Russians as media users, and Russian media’s portrayal of Finland. We learn about art and mobility, mobility and belonging, and international mobility in an older population. We hear about the car culture as an inevitability in remote areas of Finland. Finland’s national interests and its security policy in the face of new mobilities are discussed in depth. Antti Paasi’s afterword brings the various themes together and places them in the context of the new mobilities paradigm.
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Papers by Eija Stark