Haapala, Pertti:
The History of a Society: Rethinking Finland 1400–2000

The CoE studies the history of Finland from 1400 to the present day. The approach and the method used are a theory of the history of society, how society is constructed as functions, structures and identities. The mission is to research the construction of society and identities from a historical point of view and to find out how people form an understanding of their history.

The main goal is to contribute to a rethinking of the history of Finnish society, but the research interests are relevant to all countries and to modern nation states in particular.

The aim is also to redefine our historical understanding, and this has a close link with the perceptions and motivations of our time that are invoked both in daily life, education and politics. From an international research perspective, Finland is an interesting case to study major societal changes and so-called development premises.

Professor Pertti Haapala, University of Tampere, tel. +358 3 3551 6542, hipeha(at)uta.fi

Sites of research: University of Tampere, University of Jyväskylä, Åbo Akademi University