Introduction to Finnish Gender Studies
Course program / Week 41
10th to 14th October
INTRODUCTION
Teachers: Annamari Vänskä & Tuija Saresma
The first theme, feminism and gender, will be explored through your own personal experiences, activist art and women’s history.
Introducing ourselves to each other. Tell to the group about yourself: Where do you come from, who you are, why you are taking the course, and what do you expect from the course.
PART II (discuss this in your discussion group)
Look at the visual environment of the course web site. The visual theme of this web environment is part of the work called "Feminist wallpaper". It has been made by the Finnish artist Heidi Lunabba together with her colleagues Freja Bäckman and Fredrika Biström, known as the artist trio Megafån. You can see the Feminist Wallpaper on Megafån's homepage.
Read carefully Annamari Vänskä's interview Genitals, Feminists and Bearded Ladies. How does Heidi Lunabba define feminism? You can see the pictures at Heidi Lunabba's homepage.
How does Heidi Lunabba define feminism? How would you define your relationship to feminism? What kind of feminist slogan would you create and why? Where in the public space would you hang the feminist wallpaper?
The second task this week is to learn about women’s history. Early modern women’s suffrage brought Finland international reputation as the model country for equality. Finnish women gained the right to vote 1906, as part of a radical parliamentary reform, after which Finnish citizens above the age of 23 were entitled to vote, regardless of gender. The case of women’s early vote may affect the domain of politics in Finland. Could you think of an example?
Go to the Centenary of women’s political rights -pages, and glance through the web site. Read carefully Irma Sulkunen’s article on Finnish women’s suffrage from the international perspective. Then compare the situation of Finnish women in politics to that in your own country.