Leila Koivunen profile picture
Leila
Koivunen
Professor, History and Archaelogy
Professori, Euroopan ja maailman historia / Professor, European and World History

Contact

+358 29 450 3449
+358 50 328 9844
Arcanuminkuja 1
20500
Turku

Areas of expertise

cultural interaction
19th-20th centuries
Europe and Africa
European images of Africa
Africans in Finland
history of mobility, exploration
history of colonialism
Finland and colonialism
Finnish-Namibian relations
history of knowledge and science
book history
illustration history
material culture
history of museums
exhibition medium

Biography

I work as a professor of European and World History with a special emphasis in global history and history of cultural interaction. I defended my doctoral thesis in 2006 and was awarded the title of docent in 2007. I have previously worked as an assistant, senior assistant, university lecturer and postdoctoral researcher (Academy of Finland).

Teaching

Typical teaching year: Master’s seminar, supervision of MA and doctoral theses, lecture course on a changing topic of my expertise and participation in jointly taught courses.

Research

In my research, I have focused especially on the history of cultural encounters and interaction in the 19th and 20th centuries and the processes whereby Europeans have come to know and represent the non-Western world, especially Africa. My doctoral dissertation (2006) traced the roots of stereotyped European imagery of Africa by focusing on the illustration processes in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

I have also conducted research on the history of collecting and displaying “exotic” material cultures in the Finnish context. I’m interested in how Finnish people travelled to Africa and vice versa. Currently, I’m writing a monograph on the history of Africans in Finland with Anna Rastas.

I am also interested in the history of Finnish involvement in colonial activities during the period of Russian rule. I was one of the editors of Finnish Colonial Encounters: From Anti-Imperialism to Cultural Colonialism and Complicity (Palgrave Macmillan 2021). I organise a seminar on the history of colonialism. I have also been involved in projects that shed new light on the intertwined histories of Finland and Namibia.

Publications

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Dialogus – Historian taito (2002)

Koivunen Leila, Heinonen Meri, Ollitervo Sakari, Paalumäki Heli, Salmi Hannu, Tunturi Janne
(Toimitustyö tieteelliselle lehdelle, kokoomateokselle tai konferenssijulkaisulle (C2))