Links
Areas of expertise
Biography
I am a scholar interested in the history of knowledge and science, especially in the context of the history of geographical thought and imaginations, history of maps and mapping, material culture, and the histories of European expansion, colonialism and decolonisation.
I am interested in the social and material processes constituting the production of knowledge, how knowledge is shared via different material products and how the places of consuming knowledge shape its reception. In particular, I am interested in investigating how the colonial world order and decolonisation have shaped the structures of knowledge production and the mobilities of knowledge on different scales.
Teaching
- History of science and knowledge
- Map history, history of cartography, history of geographical thought
- 19th century
- History of empires and colonial history
- Transnational history and global history
In 2023-2024 I coordinate the research seminar on the history of science, knowledge and technology at the department of European and World History.
Research
I am currently leading two research projects:
Maps for development: Finnish mapping practices in the postcolonial world, c. 1970-2000 (DEVMAP), Research Council of Finland, 2023-2027
The project examines Finnish development cooperation mapping projects that were executed in different parts of the world, including Nepal, Namibia, Tanzania, Bangladesh, and Egypt between 1970 and 2000. The project examines the mobilities of cartographical knowledge and Finnish cartographic experts on different scales. The project analyses how, why and in what type of roles did Finnish actors participated in these projects and why different actors (donors, recipients) considered mapping and maps important for development. The project also considers the societal and cultural implications of the mobilities of cartographical knowledge and mapping practices. The project is based on archival research and oral history interviews. The project provides a novel conceptualization of “development cartography” and develops further the methodologies constituting research on the mobilities of knowledge via its comparative geographical research setting.
Learn more: https://sites.utu.fi/devmap/en/
Transimperial mobility in the Grand Duchy of Finland, Kone Foundation, 2024-2026.
The project examines the Grand Duchy of Finland as a space of imperial and transimperial mobility in the decades between the end of the Crimean War and the First World War. At that time, Finland's position as part of the Russian Empire changed significantly, and the Russian Empire and its global position were in transition. The industrializing, bureaucratizing and colonizing empire mobilized people, objects and ideas in an unprecedented manner, thus connecting the Finnish region to transimperial networks. In this project we analyse the production of mobility and space in the Grand Duchy of Finland as part of transimperial and cross-border networks that mobilized people, things and information.
Learn more: https://sites.utu.fi/transimperial/en/
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Past projects:
Producing and mobilizing geographical knowledge in Finnish society, c. 1850-1930, Research Council of Finland, 2020-2023
In this three-year project, undertaken at the University of Helsinki, I researched the production and mobilities of geographical knowledge in Finnish society from mid-19th century to the interwar period. In the project, I examined various geographical publications and maps that were produced for Finnish audiences. In particular, I focused on studying the roles of different actors as map publishers (especiall book publishers, newspapers, Finnish Missionary Society, geographers) and identifying what kind of maps they published, why, and how the context of publishing affected the knowledge that was produced and communicated. A strong analytical perspective also related to evaluating what kind of meanings were given to the maps depicting different regions of the world and how they became linked to the nation-state building processes.