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:
Professional Background
Recent Media Appearances and Interviews
Lecture Series at the Helsinki Summer University
"Celebrating Books by OSU Authors"
Since 1997, Jason Lavery has been a member of the Department of History at Oklahoma State University, first as an assistant professor and since 2002 as an associate professor. He teaches a variety of courses and serves on various departmental and university-wide committees.
Jason Lavery received his B.A. (with high honors) in 1988 from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. and and M.Phil in 1994 from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in 1997 from Yale University. All degrees were in the field of history.
His Ph.D. dissertation entitled The Holy Roman Empire and the Danish-Swedish Rivalry 1563-1576 was published in 2002 under the title Germany's Northern Challenge: The Holy Roman Empire and the Scandinavian Struggle for the Baltic, 1563-1576 by Brill Academic Publishers in its series Studies in Central European Histories. The navigation link Germany's Northern Challenge leads to more information.
Jason Lavery participates in the leadership of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study (SASS). He is the president of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinvian Study. At the beginning of the academic year 2007 he took on the position as vice president and president-elect. He further has been the president of the Society of Historians of Scandinavia.
Jason Lavery has been asked repeatedly by the Finnish Academy of Sciences to review grant proposals and by professionals journals such as the Sixteenth Century Journal and Scandinavian Studies to review submissions by other scholars.
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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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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.
Here is the information for 2008, which remains the same for 2009 except for dates and location:
FREE PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES
HISTORY OF FINLAND
Finland Prehistory to Present
June 1 - June 11m 2009
Monday - Thursday 17:15 - 20:00
Place Metropolia, Bulevardi 31, vanha auditorio (v013)
This series of lectures will examine questions in Finnish history from prehistory to the present. The emphasis will be placed on the period after 1809. The approach to the course will be thematic, chronological, and focused on the major questions concerning the country’s past. This course is designed to benefit both Finns as well as foreigners who have no previous knowledge of Finnish history.
This is a public lecture series with the opportunity to receive course credit.
Completion of the course for credit consists of participation in lectures and composition of an essay. Credits (3) for the course are given by the Faculty of Social Sciences (University of Helsinki) for its Social Science History studies (study unit 6). Students seeking course credit from other institutions and majors should make arrangements with them concerning transfer of credit.
Luentosarjassa tutustutaan Suomen historiaan esihistoriasta nykypäivään. Pääpaino on vuoden 1809 jälkeisessä ajassa. Lähestymistapa on temaattinen ja kronologinen keskittyen Suomen menneisyyden tärkeimpiin kysymyksiin. Kurssi sopii sekä suomalaisille että ulkomaalaisille, jotka eivät ole aiemmin perehtyneet Suomen historiaan. Kurssi luennoidaan englanniksi. Kurssin hyväksytty suoritus (luennot ja essee, jonka aiheesta sovitaan luennoilla) korvaa 3 op Helsingin yliopiston yhteiskuntahistorian opinnoista kohdasta 6 sivuaineopiskelijoille. Muiden oppiaineiden/korkeakoulujen opiskelijoiden tulee varmistaa korvaavuus omasta oppilaitoksestaan.
Monday, June 1: Finland’s Origins: Prehistoric and Historic
Tuesday, June 2: Finland as Part of the Swedish Realm (circa 1157-1809)
Wednesday, June 3: The Creation of Autonomous Finland (1809-1890)
Thursday, June 4: Oppression, Independence and Civil War (1890-1918)
Monday, June 8: Finland between the World Wars (1918-1939)
Tuesday, June 9: Finland at War (1939-1945)
Wednesday, June 10: Finland during the Cold War (1944-1991)
Thursday, June 11: European Finland in a Globalizing World
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The Edmon Low Library at Oklahoma State University organized the "Celebrating Books by OSU Authors" to honor faculty members across the university. The two-hour event was open to the public.
Each author and his/her books were described - with a picture - on a poster board positioned on a table. Thus, the visitors could easily identify the authors.
Faculty and students used the opportunity to learn more about the book writing and book printing process. For example, students wondered why scholarly books have such few color images. Dr. Lavery was able to explain that it is the publishing company rather than the author who makes the final decision on such issues and that color images are costly to reproduce.
"Celebrating Books by OSU Authors" was a wonderful event to show that book authors are appreciated by the OSU community. Thanks to Bonnie Cain for making it happen.
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Chat with the author at The History of Finland, Germany's Northern Challenge, etc. at jason.lavery@okstate.edu
Website created December 2006; last revision December 2008
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