Contribution short abstract:

The first ethnology professorships in Finland were established at the University of Helsinki and Åbo Akademi University (both in 1921). The University of Turku was the third university to establish a professorship in ethology in 1961. This period has not properly been studied in Finnish ethnology.

Contribution long abstract:

The University of Turku was the third university to establish a professorship in ethology in 1961. The Ethnology Department was founded in 1958 in Turku and Ilmar Talve came to Turku to work first as an acting professor until 1962, when he received a permanent professorship.

Talve’s initial years with the department can be described as a starting point for changes in ethnology in general and the beginnings of a regional ethnology focusing on the modernisation process in rural areas.

Did the Ethnology at the University of Turku differ from other ethnological disciplines, and if so, why? What would have been the main reasons for such a different focus? What role did Talve play and what were his main ideas as the first professor of ethnology in Turku? He started his ethnological studies in Tartu, was a prisoner in Germany, escaped via Germany and Denmark to Sweden and did his PD studies at the University of Stockholm’s Ethnology Department under professor Sigurd Erixon. Professor of Sociology Esko Aaltonen had thought that it was important to establish an ethnology professorship at the University of Turku. According to Aaltonen, it had to differ from the tradition of Finno-Ugric ethnology at the University of Helsinki. Aaltonen also mentioned that Sigurd Erixon and his teachings on Swedish ethnology would serve as an ideal role model for ethnology in Turku. I will discuss the legacy of ethnology at the University of Turku and especially the first professor of ethnology, Estonian-born Talve, in my paper.