Gender and Family Relations. Medieval to Modern

The project, led by docent Anu Lahtinen (University of Turku, Finland), deals with gender and family relations in Finland from the Middle Ages to the Modern period. The aim of the project is to study changes and continuity in family relations from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. Special attention is paid to the role of gender hierarchies in family relations. The project is funded by Emil Aaltosen säätiö (Emil Aaltonen foundation) in 2013-2015.

The starting point of the project is, on the one hand, to analyse slowly changing legal, social, and cultural conditions that had an influence on the economic, social, and emotional interdependency between family members. On the other hand, the project also strives to highlight the various forms the family life could take at any given time period. Finally, the project endeavours to question the simplified notions of the ‘traditional’ Finnish family.