The research procect analyzes poverty and citizenship in Finland, 1852-2022.
The project combines citizenship studies, the history of society and the history of experiences.
The focus is on the experience and meaning of receiving the means-tested aid that has been called poor relief (until 1956), public welfare (1957-1983) and income support (1984-).
The research project is funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and Otto A. Malm Foundation.
Recent publications in English:
”Poverty and deservingness for political and social citizenship: ’Universal suffrage’ in Finland after 1906”. In: Fia Cottrell-Sundevall & Ragnheiður Kristjánsdóttir (toim.), Suffrage, Capital, and Welfare: Conditional Citizenship in Historical Perspective. Palgrave 2024, 225–249. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-69864-4_10
”Encountering benefits for families: layered lived social citizenship in Finland in the 1930–40s”.
In: Johanna Annola, Hanna Lindberg, Pirjo Markkola (toim.), Lived institutions as histories of experience. (Palgrave, 2023), 129-157. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-38956-6_6
Framing the clients’ agency: Generational layers of lived social work, Finland 1940-2000. In: Pertti Haapala, Minna Harjula & Heikki Kokko (toim.) Experiencing society and the lived welfare state. Palgrave 2023, 149-177. Framing the Client’s Agency: Generational Layers of Lived Social Work in Finland, 1940–2000 | SpringerLink
Recent conference presentations in English:
Work and Minimun Income Aid in Finland, 1850-2020: Interconnections and Contradictions. Labour History Conference, Tampere University, May 8, 2025.
Spatial Boundaries of Social Citizenship: Layered legacy of 1852 Poor Law in Finland, 1852-2017. Nordiska Historikermöte,University of Iceland, Reykjavik, August 15, 2025.