Heli Rantala
PhD, Docent
hemara@utu.fi Arcanuminkuja 1 Turku |
history; cultural history; nineteenth-century studies; Romantic era; history of concepts; intellectual history; press history; text reuse; travel writing; diaries; literary history; academic communities and university history; mobility studies (mobility of people and ideas)
I work as a researcher in the Department of Cultural History specializing in nineteenth-century cultural and intellectual history, press history and the history of learned communities. I have published also on the history of travel writing and on book history, among other topics.
I conducted my MA and PhD studies at the University of Turku, where I studied History, Philosophy and some Political Science as well. I gained my doctoral degree in 2013 in Cultural History at the University of Turku. In my doctoral dissertation, I studied the conceptual dimension of the Finnish nineteenth-century cultural discourse by investigating the entangled meanings of culture, Bildung and civilisation in the writings of Johan Vilhelm Snellman (1806–1881), a Swedish-speaking philosopher, journalist and academic.
During my academic career, I have had an opportunity to work in the field of doctoral training as a co-ordinator of several doctoral programmes. In addition to my academic work, I am active in some scholarly societies. I am especially interested in the fields of science communication, non-fiction writing and the dialogue between arts and sciences.
Currently (2024-) I'm occupied with my own project that explores the history of Finnish academic communities from the perspective of failures, death and oblivion. In 2020-2024 I have been leading the project Mobility of Words and Places of Knowledge: Learned Communities in Early Nineteenth-Century Finland (Kone Foundation).
I have had an opportunity to work in several research projects led by Professor Hannu Salmi, first in Travelling Notions of Culture: Itineraries of Bildung and Civilisation in Early Nineteenth-Century Europe and later in Computational History and the Transformation of Public Discourse in Finland, 1640–1910, and in Viral Culture in Early Nineteenth-Century Europe. In these projects, I have studied the spatial dimension of civilisation (for example in Nordic travelogues), text re-use in Finnish newspapers and the viral nature of revolution in early nineteenth-century Europe.
During 2020-2023, I have been active in the research project Information Flows across the Baltic Sea: Swedish-language press as a cultural mediator, 1771-1918 led by Prof. Salmi. In 2023-2024 I have also worked in the research project Fauna et Flora Fennica led by Otto Latva.
I have worked as a teacher and a supervisor in the interdisciplinary study programme Baltic Sea Region Studies (UTU) for several years. In this programme, I have taught courses on the themes of identity, nationalism, transnationalism and cultural transfer. I have also been involved in various teaching activities at my home department including a MA level seminar in cultural history.
- Euroopanmajava (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Hirvi (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Latva, Otto; Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Koivuhiiri (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Liito-orava (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Metsäpeura (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Metsäsopuli (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Pyöriäinen (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Kallioniemi, Nora; Jämsä, Aino; Laine, Silja; Latva, Otto Latva; Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Supikoira (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Tammihiiri (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Vaivaispäästäinen (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Valkohäntäkauris (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Vesikko (2025) Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Rantala, Heli
(B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Kirja-arvio: Filosofisia kysymyksiä matkanteon äärellä. Thomas, Emily: Matkanteon mieli - Filosofit liikkeellä. 2022. ISBN 978-952-7189-88-7 (2024)
- Agricolan kirja-arvostelut
(E1 Popularised article) - Kirjojen kaipuu. Kirjakulttuuria 1800-luvun alun Suomessa (2024) Rantala Heli, Sarjala Jukka, Tunturi Janne, Ijäs Ulla, Hakkarainen Heidi
(C1 Refereed scientific book) - Kuka oli Immanuel Ilmoni? (2024)
- Kirkhakkinen : Lohjan kotiseutulehti
(E1 Popularised article) - Sivistyskäsitteen merkitysulottuvuuksista J. V. Snellmanin historiakäsityksessä (2024) J. V. Snellman ja suomalainen sivistyskäsitys Rantala, Heli
(Other publication) - Tutkijat ja taiteilijat kuvittelemassa historiaa yhdessä museoalan kanssa (2024)
- Museo
(E1 Popularised article) - Vaarallinen Uppsala? Opinkäyntiä ja uusia aatteita Uppsalan ja Turun välillä 1700- ja 1800-lukujen vaihteessa (2024) Tie meren yli. Turun akatemian aate- ja kulttuurihistoriaa 1640–1828 Rantala, Heli
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book) - Adventtikalenteri 2023: Sylvian laulu, Topelius ja häkkilinnut (2023)
- Kulttuurihistorian seura : blogi
(E1 Popularised article) - Crossing the Border: A bird’s-eye view on information flows between Sweden and Finland (2023) Information Flows across the Baltic Sea: Towards a Computional Approach to Media History Marjanen Jani, Paju Petri, Rantala Heli, Salmi Hannu
(A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book)