About the research
The Diversity in Finnish comics history: minorities and self-representation project (2023–2026) has the aim of broadening and diversifying the understanding of Finnish comics art and its history. The project examines how comics by artists from minorities have been posited in the field of Finnish comics, how their comics have covered and depicted issues related to the minority status, and what kinds of means of expression that have been used to this end.
The multidisciplinary project, combining comics studies, literary studies and sociological perspectives, studies developments within Finnish comics culture from the 1850s to the 2020s. The project focuses in particular on the comics of the Swedish-speaking population, by women, and by gender and sexual minorities. The research purports to
- Document parts of Finnish comics history that have gone unnoticed
- Examine the changing relations between minorities and majorities on the field of comics and, in extension, in society at large
- Study comics as a means of self-representation and the (re)production and negotiation of identities
- Produce new knowledge about minorities and their separate and inter-related histories
The research combines the analysis of individual artists and their works with a broad outlook on society and history. On the one hand, the analysis looks at minority artists’ comics and prerequisites for acting in the comics field in relation to other actors of the field, such as other artists, publishers, critics, institutions, and audiences. On the other hand, the prerequisites of artistic work are approached in light of societal conditions and change, related to, for example, language politics, gender equality, and the rights of gender and sexual minorities.
Subprojects
The research is divided into three subprojects, each approaching a distinct minority – the Swedish-speking population, women, and gender and sexual minorities – and its comics production. The division serves the aim of highlighting the role of each minority’s position and activities in Finnish comics. In practice, minority positions overlap at times, and the boundaries between the subprojects are porous. Also, a particular group’s position as minority also fluctuates historically.
The first subproject documents and analyses the comics history of the Swedish-speaking minority – works, artists, publishing channels. The research maps out comics production in Swedish and studies the linguistic strategies of comics production among minority creators. In addition, the subproject examines how the changing identity and relationship to the Finnish-language majority and society at large is depicted in the comics. Ralf Kauranen is responsible for this part of the project. He is also the project’s PI.
The second subproject examines the position of women comics artists in different phases of Finnish comics history and the self-representation of women in their comics production. The research uncovers comics by artists who are previously unknown to research and analyses how women artists have addressed themes connected to, for example, gender equality, the social construction of gender, embodiment, and sexuality. In addition, the study focuses on the ways in which women artists have explored the boundaries and possibilities of comics expression. This subproject is carried out by Leena Romu.
The third subproject examines the comics produced by gender and sexual minorities as well as the collective organisation related to this comics production. The emphasis of research is on the period after the 1960s, but it also aspires at a queer reading of earlier comics. The analysis focuses on the following questions: where have the comics of gender and sexual minorities been published, how has comics been exploited in rainbow activism, and how has the diversity of genders and sexualities been depicted in the comics. Another line of inquiry examines the collective activities and organisation of comics artists from the gender and sexual minorities. The researcher responsible for this subproject is Anna Vuorinne.
Partners
Becoming a reading nation? Children’s books and educational literature in Finland, 1790-1850
Society of Swedish Literature in Finland
Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland
Tippelill. Den svenska barnlitteraturforskningen och –kritiken i Finland
Trans*Creative: Health, Violence, and Environment in Trans Cultural Production