{{no footnotes, date=January 2015
Finnish studies is a research area which is part of humanities and social sciences, and usually studies
Finnish language
Finnish (endonym: or ) is a Finnic languages, Finnic language of the Uralic languages, Uralic language family, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official langu ...
,
Finnish culture
The culture of Finland combines indigenous heritage, as represented for example by the country's Languages of Finland, national languages Finnish language, Finnish (a Uralic languages, Uralic language) and Swedish language, Swedish (a Germanic ...
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
there are Finnish studies activities in the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
, and
Lakehead University
Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...
in
Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...
.
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
Chair is occupied by one individual at a time as Lakehead has a rotating position for scholars from
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
. In the United States Finnish studies are available at the
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
(
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
), at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
(
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
),
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
(
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
) and at
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
Finnish language
Finnish (endonym: or ) is a Finnic languages, Finnic language of the Uralic languages, Uralic language family, spoken by the majority of the population in Finland and by ethnic Finns outside of Finland. Finnish is one of the two official langu ...
and culture courses are offered at
Finlandia University
Finlandia University was a private Lutheran university from 1896 to 2023 in Hancock, Michigan. It was the only private university in the Upper Peninsula. Founded in 1896 as Suomi Opisto (Finnish College) and Theological Seminary, it was affiliat ...
University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...
(
Berkeley
Berkeley most often refers to:
*Berkeley, California, a city in the United States
**University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California
*George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher
Berkeley may also refer to ...
), and at the
University of Oregon
The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
(
Eugene
Eugene may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Gene Eugene, stage name of Canadian born actor, record producer, engineer, composer and musi ...
).
The
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
has held the
Government of Finland
The Finnish Government (; ; ) is the executive branch and cabinet of Finland, which directs the politics of Finland and is the main source of legislation proposed to the Parliament. The Government has collective ministerial responsibility an ...
and David and Nancy Speer Visiting Professorship in Finnish Studies from 1989. The chair was established in with the joint efforts of the Government of Finland, University of Minnesota, and Mr. David Speer. In the early 1990s the chair changed into visiting professorship. The following persons have been visiting in the position in the previous years.
*1992 (Spring) Pertti Pesonen (1931–2005) (
Political Science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
,
University of Tampere
The University of Tampere (UTA) (, ) was a public university in Tampere, Finland that was merged with Tampere University of Technology to create the new Tampere University on 1 January 2019.
The university offered undergraduate, postgraduate an ...
)
*1992 (Fall)
Aulis Aarnio Aulis may refer to:
* Aulis (given name)
* Aulis (ancient Greece), an ancient Greek town in Boeotia, traditionally the port from which the Greek army set sail for the Trojan War
* ''Aulis'' (beetle), a genus of ladybird beetle
* Aulis (mythology) ...
(
Law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
International Politics
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
,
University of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki (, ; UH) is a public university in Helsinki, Finland. The university was founded in Turku in 1640 as the Royal Academy of Ã…bo under the Swedish Empire, and moved to Helsinki in 1828 under the sponsorship of Alexander ...
Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
, University of Helsinki)
*1994 (Fall) Kaarle Nordenstreng (University of Tampere)
*1996 (Winter) Clas Zilliacus (
Literature
Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...
,
Ã…bo Akademi University
Ã…bo Akademi University ( , ) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Ã…bo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activities in Vaasa. Ã… ...
)
*1996 (Fall) Risto Alapuro (Sociology, University of Helsinki)
*1998 (Winter) Max Engman (
History
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
, Ã…bo Akademi University)
*1998 (Winter) J.P. Roos (
Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
, University of Helsinki)
*1998 (Spring) A. William Hoglund (History, University of Connecticut)
*1998 (Fall) Hannu Nurmi (Political Science, University of Turku)
*1999 (Winter)
Eero Tarasti
Eero Aarne Pekka Tarasti (born 27 September 1948 in Helsinki) is a Finnish musicologist and semiotician, currently serving as Professor Emeritus of Musicology at the University of Helsinki. He has contributed significantly to the semiotics of ...
(
Musicology
Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...
, University of Helsinki)
*1999 (Spring) Marjatta Hietala (History, University of Tampere)
*2000 (Spring)
Leena Ahtola-Moorhouse Leena is a feminine given name. It is a variant spelling of Lina and Lena.
It is a direct Quranic Arabic name, meaning "young palm tree", or figuratively "tender, young, delicate".
In Persian, it means "light", "a ray of sunlight" or "beautiful g ...
(
Art History
Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history.
Tradit ...
,
Ateneum Art Museum
Ateneum is an art museum in Helsinki, Finland and one of the three museums forming the Finnish National Gallery. It is located in the centre of Helsinki on the south side of Rautatientori square close to Helsinki Central railway station. It has t ...
Geography
Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
, University of Helsinki)
*2004-2005 Pauliina Raento (Geography, University of Helsinki)
*2005-2006
Juha Suoranta
Juha Suoranta (born 24 February 1966 in Tampere, Finland) is a Finnish social scientist, and public intellectual. He is currently professor in adult education at the University of Tampere. Previously he worked as professor of education at the Unive ...
(
Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
,
Education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
, University of Tampere)
*2006-2007
Mika Aaltola
Mika Petteri Aaltola (born 2 May 1969) is a Finnish political scientist and a member of the European Parliament. He is a former director of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. He has gained media attention since the Russian invasion ...
(
Political Science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...