Transnational Finnish Mobilities: Proceedings of Finnforum XI

This volume is based on a selection of papers presented at the conference FinnForum XI: Transnational Finnish Mobilities, held in Turku, Finland, in 2016. The eleven chapters discuss two key issues of our time, mobility and transnationalism, from the perspective of Finnish migration. The volume is divided into four sections. Part I, Mobile Pasts, Finland and Beyond, brings forth how Finland’s past – often imagined as more sedentary than today’s mobile world – was molded by various short and long-distance mobilities that occurred both voluntarily and involuntarily. In Part II, Transnational Influences across the Atlantic, the focus is on sociocultural transnationalism of Finnish migrants in the early 20th century United States. Taken together, Parts I and II show how mobility and transnationalism are not unique features of our time, as scholars tend to portray them. Even before modern communication technologies and modes of transportation, migrants moved back and forth and nurtured transnational ties in various ways. Part III, Making of Contemporary Finnish America, examines how Finnishness is understood and maintained in North America today, focusing on the concepts of symbolic ethnicity and virtual villages. Part IV, Contemporary Finnish Mobilities, centers on Finns’ present-day emigration patterns, repatriation experiences, and citizenship practices, illustrating how, globally speaking, Finns are privileged in their ability to be mobile and exercise transnationalism. Not only is the ability to move spread very unevenly, so is the capability to upkeep transnational connections, be they sociocultural, economic, political, or purely symbolic. Altogether, the volume brings together fresh perspectives on Finnish migration. It is geared toward anyone with a professional or personal interest in research on migration, mobility, and transnationalism.