Heli Rantala
 PhD, Docent


hemara@utu.fi

Arcanuminkuja 1

Turku


Personal webpage

Academia.edu



Areas of expertise
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)

Biography

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.



Research

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 2020-2023 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.



Teaching

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.  



Publications
  
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  • Digitised historical press data as research material for interdisciplinary biodiversity research  (2026)  
    • Biodiversity and Conservation
     Latva, Otto; Jämsä, Aino; Sääksjärvi, Ilari; Vuorisalo, Timo; Rantala, Heli; Uusitalo, Harri; Salmi, Hannu
    (
    A2 Refereed review article in a scientific journal )


  • Records of the Harbour Porpoise in the Finnish Region from 1828 to 1975  (2026)   Latva, Otto; Kallioniemi, Noora; Laine, Silja; Jämsä, Aino; Rantala, Heli; Tiilikainen, Tiina
    (
    I2 ICT program or software application )


  • Records of the Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in the Finnish Region based on the Digitised Press DataKirja-arvio: Filosofisia kysymyksiä matkanteon äärellä. Thomas, Emily: Matkanteon mieli - Filosofit liikkeellä. 2022. ISBN 978-952-7189-88-7  (2026)  
    • Boreal Environment Research
     Latva, Otto; Kallioniemi, Noora; Laine, Silja; Jämsä, Aino; Rantala, Heli; Tiilikainen, Tiina
    (
    A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal)


  • Turku Romantics and the Problem of Finnish RomanticismPyöriäinen2026Finnish Romanticism: Language, Nationalism, and the Fine Arts of Finland's Long Nineteenth Century Rantala, Heli
    (
    A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book)


  • 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)


  •   (2025)  Suomalaisten lajien historiallinen kartasto Rantala, Heli
    (
    B2 Non-refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book)


  •   (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)


  • 2025
    • Mediehistorisk årsbok800 tarinaa Turun historiasta -blogi
     Lundell, Patrik; Edoff, Erik; Paju, Petri; Marjanen, Jani; Rantala, Heli; Salmi, Hannu
    (
    B1 Non-refereed article in a scientific journal)


  •   (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)


  •   (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)


  •   (2025)  
    • Zenodo
     Latva, Otto; Lähdesmäki, Heta; Jämsä, Aino; Laine, Silja; Kallioniemi, Noora; Rantala, Heli; Salmi, Hannu; Uusitalo, Harri; Sonck-Rautio, Kirsi; Latva, Johanna; Tiilikainen, Tiina; Sundell, Nina; Haanpää, Jenni; Lahdenniemi, Elina; Laine, Verna; Lindberg, Pelle; Nissinen, Tiina; Rantanen, Henna; Saurio, Miriam; Selin, Lotta; Tiempo, Nina; Vaskivuori, Sonja; Venäläinen, Emilia Morfin; Vilkkula, Petra; Kyyrö, Jere
    (
    I2 ICT program or software application )


  • Turusta lähtemisen vaikeudesta  (2025)  
       Rantala, Heli
      (
      E1 Popularised blog post)


    • 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)


    •   (2024)  
      • Agricolan kirja-arvostelut
       Rantala, Heli
      (
      E1 Popularised article)



    Last updated on 27/03/2026 10:55:44 AM