The History of Finland -- Suomen Historia
New Book by Historian Jason Lavery, Ph.D.

About the Author



Jason Lavery's interest in Finnish history goes back to his experience as a high school exchange student. He visited three Rotary families and made many life-long friends. He also spent a year as a student at the Helsinki University. From then on, he has traveled to Finland at least once a year to do research, network, and visit with friends.
Click on one of the following links to learn more about Jason Lavery:
Recent Media Appearances and Interviews

Lecture Series at the Helsinki Summer University


Recent Media Appearances and Interviews

Interview for program Rear View, “The True Finns: Populist Politics and Eurocepticism in Finland,” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 6 July 2011. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rearvision/the-true-finns-populist-politics-and/2921194
Interview for Newspaper “To Vima,” Athens, Greece, 23 April 2011.
Panel discussant on American patriotism, Yle (Finnish Broadcasting Company) (in Finnish), 10 July 2008 http://www.yle.fi/radiosoitin/lite.php?pn=real&a=clip&pa=clips&l=fi&p=7&i=59333&ca=153
Interviewed for article “After Darkness, Light,” in CNN Traveler, July 2008 http://cnntraveller.com/2008/07/01/after-darkness-light
Interview with Svenska Yle (in Swedish), 12 June 2008 http://svenska.yle.fi/vega/program/radiohuset/texter.php?id=330
Interview in Helsingin sanomat (in Finnish), 3 June 2008. Interview later translater for paper's online English version at http://www.hs.fi/english/article/The+History+Man/1135236877549
"An American in Ylivieska: Professor Lavery and Finnish Independence," Helsinki Times, 30 Nov. 2007 http://www.helsinkitimes.fi/ht/articles/finland/jason_lavery.php
“A Not-So-Distant Mirror: Finland between the World Wars.” Public lecture in series “Finland’s Pasts and Presents,” University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 10 Feb. 2004. Lecture available at http://depts.washington.edu/scand/new/pastsandpresents
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Lecture Series at the Helsinki Summer University

Jason has taught at the Helsinki Summer University every year since 1994 except 1995, 1998, and 1999. He covers the history of Finland from its first settlement after the Ice Age to the present.

This lecture series, open to the public with the opportunity to earn academic credit, consists of eight three-hour PowerPoint-supported lectures. The series draws regularly more than sixty participants of a variety of national and educational backgrounds.

Jason lectures in the evening hours from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, usually in June or August, in the facilities of the Helsinki Summer University. Each lecture is enhanced through PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and discussions. Attendants can choose which lectures to attend because each lecture stands alone.

Monday: Finland’s Origins: Prehistoric and Historic

Tuesday: Finland as Part of the Swedish Realm (circa 1157-1809)

Wednesday: The Creation of Autonomous Finland (1809-1890)

Thursday: Oppression, Independence and Civil War (1890-1918)

Monday: Finland between the World Wars (1918-1939)

Tuesday: Finland at War (1939-1945)

Wednesday: Finland during the Cold War (1944-1991)

Thursday: European Finland in a Globalizing World


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Chat with the author at The History of Finland, Germany's Northern Challenge, etc. at jason.lavery@okstate.edu

Cover of The History of Finland
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