Humanities Day brought the faculty community together at Arcanum

The traditional Humanities Day was celebrated once again on a spring afternoon in the Aava Auditorium in Arcanum. The event was attended by undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, teachers, and other staff of the Faculty.

The event was opened by Dean Marja-Liisa Helasvuo. She said that humanists are doing well in terms of both objectives and results, but also pointed out that work in humanities means much more than bare numerical outcomes. She encouraged humanists to look after their community through both constructive criticism and praise. The Dean congratulated the Faculty’s recent graduates, particularly the two who were awarded at the ceremony.

Dean Marja-Liisa Helasvuo and the humanities graduates of the year, MA Jarno Lantta and MA Suvi Kivimaa.

From the School of History, Culture, and Arts Studies, the award was given to MA Jarno Lantta. He majored in the Study of Religion in the Degree Programme in Study of Cultures, and in his master’s thesis he combined the study of religion, AI, and futures studies with great success. In addition, Lantta has been actively involved in the student community and advocacy work.

From the School of Languages and Translation Studies, the award was given to MA Suvi Kivimaa. She has studied Latin philology in the Language Specialist Degree Programme, as well as Greek philology, classical archaeology, French, and phonetics. Kivimaa has a keen interest in classical studies and has also gained international experience in the field. In her demanding master's thesis she analysed the metrical inscriptions of Pompeii from the perspective of historical linguistics. 

Doctor of Humanities of the year, PhD Liisa Peura, and Dean Marja-Liisa Helasvuo.

In addition to the master's degree graduates, an award was also rewarded to the Doctor of Humanities of the year, PhD Liisa Peura, selected by Professor Emeritus Yves Gambier. In her doctoral dissertation, Peura provides a thorough assessment of foreign language learners’ robot literacy and the impact of robots on foreign language learning in the classroom. Her thesis offers new perspectives on language teaching and emphasises the physical nature of learning instead of virtual reality.

The programme for Humanities Day also included the workshop The Faculty as a Diverse Community, which is part of Rector Marjo Kaartinen’s initiative to highlight one of the strategic values of the University  – strong community. The theme of the workshop was introduced by presentations of the Faculty’s own researchers on queer and norm-critical pedagogy, representations of race and ethnicity in learning materials, and gender diversity within the University community.

The workshop groups had participants from many different floors and user groups of Arcanum, such as staff, doctoral researchers, and students. The discussions brought up a number of things that promote a sense of community, such as the functionality of Arcanum. In addition, praise was also given to the so-called Rector’s coffee, which makes it possible for staff to take their coffee break in any of the coffee rooms in the building, and thus meet people from the different schools. Taking multilingualism into account in the Faculty community was also highlighted as a positive aspect. Areas for improvement that were mentioned included the flow of information and accessibility, and the workshop groups also thought of concrete solutions to these challenges.

Text, translation, and photos: Elli Elo