Emotions and the Cultural History of War in Finland, 1939–51

The research project "Emotions and the Cultural History of War in Finland, 1939–1951" studies the history of Finland in World War II and its immediate aftermath from the perspectives of the history of emotions and cultural history of war.The aim is 1) to develop the methodology and theory of the history of emotions; 2) to analyze the interplay of individual and social emotions in a modern war; and 3) writing a cultural history synthesis of Finland in the "long 1940s." The Finnish war and homecoming experiences are viewed as a part of the European context and as an example of a modern nation-state at war and in its aftermath. The significance of the history of emotions in the project is in bringing to fore the network of emotions, which forms the basis for social relations of a society. Both the home front and the front – and their interaction – are studied. The post-war manifestations of emotional conflicts and relations created by the wartime will be analyzed. Leader of the project is Professor Henrik Meinander, and Tuomas Tepora and Ville Kivimäki will conduct post-doctoral research. The site of research is the Department of Philosophy, History, Culture and Art Studies at the University of Helsinki.