Areas of expertise
Research field: religious studies
- vernacular healing
- cultural memory
- Swedish-language vernacular religion in Finland
I work in the Research Department of the Finnish Literature Society on the project Healers and the Diversity of Healing Practices in Finland from the 1500s to the 1900s, funded by the Emil Aaltonen Foundation and based at the University of Oulu.
In this project, I study disease concepts, healers and networks of healers during the long nineteenth-century, focusing especially on the regions of Ostrobothnia and Western Finland. I am particularly interested in the local historical level and the various cultural perceptions related to illness and healing. I have also authored several non-fiction books, including Helsingin henget: Opas aaveiden pääkaupunkiin (Spirits of Helsinki: A Guide to the Capital of Ghosts) co-written with Vanessa Kairulahti (SKS, 2018), and Pohjolan jumalattaret (Goddesses of the North) (SKS, 2021).
