ViliinaSilvonen

I am a folklorist specialising in the Karelian lament tradition. My research is situated at the intersection of folklore studies and ethnomusicology, covering topics ranging from the emotions and affectivity of historical lament performances on archival audio recordings to a variety of contemporary adaptations of laments within Finland. Additionally, I incorporate insights from critical heritage studies, with particular interest in postcolonial discourse and minority perspectives related to Karelian culture in Finland.

I am a grant-based postdoctoral researcher at the Karelian Institute of the University of Eastern Finland, where I work remotely. I am also a Research Fellow at the Finnish Literature Society’s Research Department, and my office is located there in Helsinki.

Currently, I am researching contemporary applications of the lament tradition from the perspectives of religion and spirituality (Feb 2026–Mar 2027; Alfred Kordelin Foundation). I am also involved in the project ‘Controversial Folklore: Involving Communities in Future Archival Research’ (2026–2029; Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts; Kone Foundation, PI: Outi Valo).

I defended my dissertation in the field of Folklore Studies at the University of Helsinki in January 2022. In my dissertation, I analysed the emotions, affect, and poetics of Olonets Karelian laments using archival recordings. This study combines perspectives from folkloristic and linguistic anthropological performance and practice theories as well as interdisciplinary emotion and affect theories. Methodologically, the research is based on analyses of text, music, and sound/voice, as well as multisensory observation.

In the ‘Kyynekanavat – Laments in Contemporary Finland’ project (2021–2025, Kone Foundation, University of Eastern Finland, PI: Elina Hytönen-Ng), I collaborated with folk musician and lamenter Emmi Kuittinen. We studied lamenting as a performing art and contemporary folk music, exploring different ways to integrate scholarly and artistic perspectives; among other things, we published an audio article. In that project and in the project ‘Karelian Perspective on Folk Music in Finland’ (2023–2025, Finnish Cultural Foundation, University of Eastern Finland, PI: Pekka Suutari), I have also analysed the diverse interpretations and contradictions within the lamenting scene in present-day Finland.

I am a member of the editorial board for the Elore Journal, and I have founded a popular science blog Päivystävä folkloristi (‘a folklorist on-call’) with my colleagues in 2018.

Silvonen, Viliina. 2026. Affective Arrangements in Laments: Emotions as a Connecting Feature and a Separator in the Contentious Field of Lament in Finland in the 2020s. In Living Lament. Explorations in Shifting Ideologies, eds.. Viliina Silvonen & Eila Stepanova, 117–140. Studia Fennica Folkloristica 26. Helsinki: Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. https://doi.org/10.21435/sff.26

Silvonen, Viliina & Emmi Kuittinen. 2024. Collaboration between an artist and a researcher in the field of laments in Finland. In Joint Knowledge Production and Collaboration in Research, eds. Kendra Stepputat & Felix Morgenstern, 57–77. Graz Studies in Ethnomusicology 29. Institute for Ethnomusicology University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. Saatavissa: https://www.shaker.eu/en/site/content/shop/index.asp?lang=&ID=8&ISBN=978-3-8440-9686-6

Silvonen, Viliina & Kati Kallio. 2023. Tradition and ownership: Disputes about Karelian laments in Finland. Appropriation as a Perspective and Topic in the Study of Religion and Spirituality. Theme volume of Approaching Religion 13(3): 40–59. https://doi.org/10.30664/ar.131229

Silvonen, Viliina & Emmi Kuittinen. 2023. Creating grief and lamenting on stage. A case study of lamenter’s emotions in the context of performing arts in contemporary Finland. Grief. Sonic expressions of loss, pain and sadness. Special issue of Seismograf Peer. [Audio paper] https://seismograf.org/node/20095

Silvonen, Viliina. 2022b. Formulaic Expression in Olonets Karelian Laments: Textual and Musical Structures of the Composition of Non-Metrical Oral Poetry. In Weathered Words. Formulaic Language and Verbal Art, 363–384, eds. Frog & Will Lamb. Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature Series. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Open access to preprint version: http://hdl.handle.net/10138/354669

Silvonen, Viliina & Eila Stepanova. 2020. Language, Music and Emotion in Lament Poetry. The Embodiment and Performativity of Emotions in Karelian Laments. In The Routledge Handbook of Language and Emotion, 203–222, eds. S. Pritzker, J. Fenigsen & J. M. Wilce. London ja New York: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367855093-12