Interviews

Oral history is a central part of the project. Over the course of the project, we will conduct a total of 200 interviews with Finnish scholars. These interviews are not only focused on the most accomplished scientists, but will also bring forth experiences of scholars who have changed careers to a field outside academia, or have otherwise an unconventional or critical perspective on the scientific community in Finland. The interviewees represent both Finnish- and Swedish-speaking scholars as well as non-native researchers that have been active in Finland for a longer period.

The interviews deal with, for instance, researchers’ career paths, teaching, everyday work activities, national and international collaboration, hierarchies of knowledge production, as well as notions on the relationship between science and the society. The interviews also touch upon themes such as the construction of science policy, funding systems and everyday challenges in the researcher profession.

The interviews demand a lot from the interviewer, both in terms of planning as well as execution. A certain critical approach is also necessary in regard to oral history (historians are well aware of the narrative dimension involved in autobiographical recollection). The interviews and oral history collection will result in a unique material, which will be at the scientific community’s disposal also after this current project has run its course.

The written collection will be archived in collaboration with the Finnish Literature Society and the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland. A selection of the interviews will be collected into the online database for the History of Science in Finland.