In my research, I have focused especially on the history of cultural encounters and interaction in the 19th and 20th centuries and the processes whereby Europeans have come to know and represent the non-Western world, especially Africa. My doctoral dissertation (2006) traced the roots of stereotyped European imagery of Africa by focusing on the illustration processes in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

I have also conducted research on the history of collecting and displaying “exotic” material cultures in the Finnish context. I’m interested in how Finnish people travelled to Africa and vice versa. Currently, I’m writing a monograph on the history of Africans in Finland with Anna Rastas.

I am also interested in the history of Finnish involvement in colonial activities during the period of Russian rule. I was one of the editors of Finnish Colonial Encounters: From Anti-Imperialism to Cultural Colonialism and Complicity (Palgrave Macmillan 2021) and Colonial Aspects of Finnish-Namibian Relations, 1870–1990. Cultural Change, Endurance and Resistance​​​​​​​ (Finnish Literature Society 2024). I organise a seminar on the history of colonialism.

I am the principal investigator of a Finnish-Namibian research project FinNamKnow, funded by the Kone Foundation (2024-2027). We examine the collective processes of knowledge formation generated by the Finnish presence in Owambo in present-day northern Namibia (1870-1990).