Niiranen Susanna

Biography

I am a historian of medieval and early modern Europe. On one hand, I am interested in the medieval history of Southern Europe, especially Occitan culture and on the other, in the medieval and early modern history of Northern Europe, Sweden in particular. I have a European diploma in Medieval Studies (Rome, Italy, by Fédération des Instituts des Etudes Médiévales). My Ph.D. (in French) focused on the Occitan women troubadours. During and after my doctoral studies I was a member of the Centre of Excellence Philosophical Psychology, Morality and Politics (former History of Mind) at the Universities of Helsinki and Jyväskylä. I have also worked on other projects funded by the Academy of Finland such as Hoping for Continuity, Facing Oblivion, Childhood, Education and Death in Antiquity and the Middle Ages and Medieval States of Welfare. My own post-doctoral project (AoF) Medicine without doctors. Sexuality, sleep and sound mind in medieval vernacular medicine compared late-medieval Northern and Southern European medical recipe collections. My publications concern various aspects of medieval and early modern medicine, healing, vernacular literature, gender, material culture, and transmission of knowledge. I have also co-edited a wide-ranging handbook of medieval studies, the first medievalist’s manual in Finnish “Keskiajan avain”. Most recently, I have worked on Catherine Jagiellon and her memory in Finland and Sweden in the ERC-project The Jagiellonians. Dynasty, Memory, Identity based at the University of Oxford www.jagiellonians.com. Most recently, I am interested in regional history of Savonlinna, Punkaharju and Viipuri. In the future, I would like to combine various themes with environmental history.

Research Interest

- Health and well-being - Gender studies - Early Modern Morals