Kendra Willson Researches Sami Runes in the TIAS Research Collegium
Kendra Willson, who is from the United States, has lived in Finland for six years. Willson enjoys living in Turku and is currently working in the University of Turku’s TIAS research collegium, and still does not know if she has come to Finland to stay. At least the language barrier poses no problem for Willson, as she can also do improvisational theatre in Finnish, which acts as a counterbalance to her work as a researcher.
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Kendra Willson, who researches Sami runes, says that runes that are based on different languages may have been interpreted as being related to magic, for example, because researchers did not recognise the original language of the writing.
Willson, who studied Germanic and Scandinavian languages in Harvard and Berkeley, became interested in North and Central European runic writing during her studies. Her interest in Nordic languages brought Willson to a summer course in Sweden, where she had her first contact with Finnish.
– I thought that it was astounding that on the other side of the bay, people in Finland and Estonia spoke completely different languages than in other Nordic countries. I wanted to get to know Finland and I came for a study exchange in Helsinki, tells Willson.
Willson, who enjoys living in Finland, has not only been enchanted by the Finnish language, but by the peacefulness of Finland as well.
– Everything’s going well in Finland, it’s peaceful and neat here. People follow the rules and do their best, describes Willson.
Revealing the Secrets of Runes with Multidisciplinary Research
After spending her exchange in Finland, Willson returned to her research and teaching work in the United States, and also worked and studied in Iceland for many years. She was finally brought back to Finland by her desire to research Sami runes. Willson first worked in the University of Helsinki, and started in the University of Turku in 2015.
– I became interested in my research subject during a summer course on Lule Sami in Jokkmok, Sweden, where I heard that the earliest preserved Sami writing can be found in Icelandic runic writings. The Sami origins of the writing has been accepted in Sami research, but rejected in runic research. In this respect, the research communities don’t talk much with each other, notes Willson.
According to Willson, runic research is mainly focused on Central Europe, and runic researchers rarely know Finno-Ugric languages. Runes that are based on different languages may have been interpreted as being related to magic, as researchers did not recognise the original language of the writing. Willson thinks that the fascination of runes is in the broad and multidisciplinary approach that is needed to interpret the writings.
– Runic research combines archaeology, cultural history, and linguistics. Runes are a mysterious and difficult subject for researchers, tells Willson.
Willson thinks that the multidisciplinary nature of her current work environment is also the best side of the TIAS research collegium.
– The multi-field TIAS is a very high-quality research community. I have received valuable feedback from researchers from different fields for my research, says Willson.
As a counterbalance to her work, Willson likes to swim, and her Finnish is so fluent that she has done improvisational theatre in different open universities in Helsinki for a few years. And has the world-trekking researcher found a home in Finland?
– Turku is beautiful and I like it here, maybe I want to stay. I’m open to new adventures, Willson concludes with a mysterious smile.
The Research Collegium Promotes Multidisciplinary Research Collaboration
The Turku Institute for Advanced Studies (TIAS) was founded in the University of Turku in 2008. TIAS is a research collegium of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Education, Faculty of Law and Turku School of Economics. Its mission is to promote cutting-edge university research in the humanities and social sciences by offering researchers three-year research grants as well as an international high-quality research community.
In spring 2015, TIAS began its new three-year period, and the collegium now employs 20 Finnish and international researchers from different disciplines. The collegium’s multidisciplinary nature and internationality open new possibilities.
– The world is complicated and to understand it, we need multidisciplinary approaches. Authentic multidisciplinary research requires that researchers have the time to learn to understand one another. TIAS provides an open environment and a free atmosphere for new ideas and collaborations, from which research projects that transcend the borders between disciplines can grow, says TIAS Director Anne Kumpula.
– In the research collegium, researchers can focus on their research for three years at a time. In the constantly intensifying competition for grants and scholarships, this a necessary luxury for researchers, continues Kumpula.
According to Kumpula, both researchers and the faculties have been happy with the collegium’s activities.
– TIAS has in the passing years established its status as a collegium where different researchers can find each other. The collegium works, and the faculties want to invest in its activities in the future, promises Kumpula.
Text and photo: Liisa Reunanen
Translation: Sam Parwar