Couldn’t make it to HCAS Erkko Professor Kevin Durrheim’s lecture “Polarization: In Mind, Social Media and Public Life”? The full recording is now online!

Great news! HCAS Core Fellow Rob Boddice is featured in the latest issue of The Atlantic.

”The stay in Helsinki gave me time to develop a new tranche of ideas which continue to inspire my research and writing.” Alan Warde, Prof. Emer. & former Jane and Aatos Erkko Professor, fondly reminisces about his time at HCAS. Read more in the #HCASAlumni Gallery: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

"Looking back at my time at HCAS, it was clearly some of the best years in my academic life." Featured in this month’s #HCASAlumni Gallery is Natalya Bekhta. For Natalya, the Collegium provided the ideal environment for growth and the development of ideas. Read more: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

Professor Kevin Durrheim’s public lecture on polarization starts at 4:15 pm! Join us at Metsätalo Lecture Hall 1 or online via Unitube: video.helsinki.fi/unitube/live...

HCAS Fellow @boddice.bsky.social was recently featured on the BBC Radio 4 podcast Child. As a historian of emotions, Rob commented on how fear might have manifested in the lives and beliefs of Puritan children. Listen to the full episode: www.bbc.com/audio/play/m...

HCAS Fellows have recently been active in public outreach. In October, the Finnish media alone featured Annastiina Kallius, Mona Mannevuo, and Teivo Teivainen, who commented on timely issues in global politics and the impact of fatigue on today's working life.

We’re opening our doors for the Night of Science 2026! Meet our fellows at an open office hour, join a roundtable on happiness, and immerse yourself in the soundscape of Spain's Camino de Santiago through music. Curious for more? Visit: www.tieteidenyo.fi/fi/ohjelma/h...

Congratulations to HCAS Fellow Julia Lajus and her colleagues on their new publication, "Soviet Climate Change Science" (@routledgehistory.bsky.social ). The book examines the role of Soviet scientists in debates on climate change. Find out more about the publication: doi.org/10.4324/9781...

“Language constructs people and place – that’s where power lives.” Our Erkko Professor Kevin Durrheim discusses his journey as a researcher, South Africa’s development, and what he calls “human murmuration” in a @helsinki.fi interview.

This Wednesday night, our @koneensaatio.fi Art Fellow Corrie Tan hosted a cozy screening of Eila Babushka: The Past is a Foreign Country, joined by director Matti Elo and protagonist Kim Suponin. Who knew the Common Room would double so well as a private cinema!

“When I think back on my time at HCAS I remember my beautiful office, which gave me the solitude to get work done; but I also remember the new friends I made, some of whom I am still in touch with.” Assoc. Prof. Juliette Kennedy is #HCASAlumni of the Month! www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

“The Collegium is an oasis in the current academic milieu where academic freedom is increasingly curtailed and closeted." Assoc. Prof. Frog is featured in the November 2025 edition of the #HCASAlumni Gallery! Read more: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

HCAS warmly welcomes everyone to a public lecture by social psychologist Kevin Durrheim, our current Jane and Aatos Erkko Visiting Professor. Join us for the lecture in Metsätalo (Hall 1) or online, on December 3 at 4:15 pm. For more details, visit our website: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

Svenska YLE interviewed Fred Markowitz, our Professorial Fellow 2025–26, on what might make Finland an attractive place for US scholars. yle.fi/a/7-10086211

Heterogeneity and variation in cognition, language, and behavior, November 27 at HCAS and online! Read more and register: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

“I benefited enormously from the freedom and responsibility entrusted to me at HCAS.” Featured in our #HCASAlumni Gallery this month is Professor of Digital Humanities Mikko Tolonen (@helsinki.fi). Read more: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

“The Collegium offered both the solitude needed for reading and writing and a community of inspirational colleagues – scholars and artists – some of whom are now friends.” Prof. Anat Pick (@qmul.bsky.social) is our #HCASAlumni of the Month! Read more: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

Fall at the Helsinki Collegium wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the forest! HCAS Fellows and staff spent last Friday at Nuuksio National Park, continuing our cherished annual tradition of mushroom foraging and campfire grilling.

We had a great time last week at the annual Netias meeting and celebrating 40 years of the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study. Thank you SCAS for the warm hospitality!

Tomorrow at HCAS: Symposium on Post-Civil-War Societies Hosted by the ERC Advanced Grant Project “The Age of Civil Wars in Europe, c. 1914–1949”, led by Prof. Robert Gerwarth (University College Dublin), with Tuomas Tepora & HCAS. Full program: civil-wars.eu/wp-content/u...

“The fellowship at the Collegium provided me with the much-needed time and freedom to explore a new field, establish important collaborations, and shape my own research identity." Kateryna Golovina (@helsinki.fi) is one of the #HCASAlumni of the Month! Read more: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

”My stay at HCAS was the happiest time of my academic career.” Professor Adrian Blau (@kingscollegelondon.bsky.social), our #HCASAlumni of the Month, shares how his fellowship at HCAS led to new collaborations and a deep appreciation for Finland. Read more: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

Our seminar “Affective Canons – The Formation and contestation of normative and resistant feelings” is starting shortly in the HCAS Common Room. For the full program and further details, please visit the event website: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

HCAS Orientation Week came to a close the only way we know how: with an introduction to Finnish sauna culture. A warm thank you to all our new and continuing Fellows for the wonderful start to the academic year!

Undeniably, the highlight of HCAS Orientation Week is getting to know one another. We truly set that in motion yesterday and today through a series of short presentations, where both new and returning Fellows shared their backgrounds, research interests, and the goals of their Collegium projects.

Each semester, HCAS welcomes two trainees as research assistants. Today Dritëro Ferri, one of our Fall 2025 trainees, is getting hands-on with the Common Room AV setup. Over the next few months, the trainees will be supporting our Fellows and staff to ensure events run smoothly.

The new academic year has officially begun at HCAS! Today, we welcomed 25 new Fellows into our community and launched HCAS Orientation Week. Follow along as we share highlights from the week’s program in the days ahead.

We've just opened our call for applications for fixed-term appointments starting in August 2026. We're seeking 10-15 Core Fellows and 1-2 Postdoctoral Researchers in the Arts. For more details, please visit our website: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

Are you familiar with the AHEAD book series? This fully #OpenAccess series from the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies features high-quality monographs and article collections in the #Humanities and #SocialSciences. Find all books in the series at: hup.fi/books/series... @hcas.bsky.social

How does a form of feeling become commonplace? Join us for an afternoon of exploring the collective and psychosocial processes through which affective canons are formed, contested, and negotiated. 📅 September 8 at HCAS & Online 👉 Learn more: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

Warm congratulations to #HCASAlumni Elena Cirkovic (Aarhus University) on her new book "The Law of Complex Earth and Outer Space Systems: The Cosmolegal Proposal" (Routledge)! Learn more about the book: www.routledge.com/The-Law-of-C...

HCAS announces two calls for applications - Core Fellow and Fellowship in the Arts. The application period is between 21 August and 11 September. Feel free to distribute! www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

This week at the HCAS we delve into philosophical and theological ideas concerning divine simplicity. As one of the presenters stated, they are anything but simple! www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

The Diverse Academy Erkko Conference begins tomorrow, June 12, at the Helsinki Collegium! Registration is closed, but get in touch if you'd still like to join on-site or via Zoom. Full program: blogs.helsinki.fi/diverse-acad...

"The contacts I established during my stay in Helsinki paved the way for joint research projects." The June 2025 edition of the #HCASalumni Gallery features Professor Margit Sutrop (University of Tartu). Read more: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

"The interdisciplinary setting was a real turning point for me." Research Director Matti Hyvärinen (Tampere University) is featured in the June 2025 edition of the #HCASAlumni Gallery! Read more about Hyvärinen's time at the Collegium: www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

It’s been an intense week at the Collegium: we’ve hosted several highly engaging and successful events, including a visit from our Honorary Fellow prof. Martha C. Nussbaum. Topics ranged from democracy and war to enemies of liberalism and the politics of memory.

The Role of Art in Troubled Democracies – A Dialogue with Philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum, June 4 at 12 pm at HCAS. The event is free and open to all. Welcome! www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

Remember to register by Sunday, May 25! 🔗 blogs.helsinki.fi/internationa...

We are happy to announce that Dr. Juhana Toivanen has been selected as the new Research Coordinator of HCAS. Warm congratulations! www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

This week, scholars gathered in the HCAS Common Room to discuss texts, authority, and authorship at a collegium symposium organized by HCAS Fellows Frog, Paul Frosh, and Katja Kujanpää. Many thanks to all speakers, musicians, and participants for inspiring and illuminating conversations!

"My time at the Collegium was a wonderful experience that allowed me to complete my book Interfaces and Domains of Contact-Driven Restructuring (Cambridge University Press, 2021)." #HCASAlumni of the Month Prof. Sandro Sessarego (University of Texas at Austin). 🔗 www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

"The fellowship at the Collegium gave me a unique opportunity to focus on my research, but more importantly, to experience a truly vibrant, generous, and stimulating interdisciplinary research community." #HCASAlumni of the Month Prof. Mia Lövheim (Uppsala). 🔗 www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

We are thrilled to announce and welcome our new fellows who will join the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies in 2025–2026. www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

Prof. Jonathan Gray (University of Wisconsin-Madison) giving his keynote speech "The Ink is Never Dry, Or When is the Author?" at the HCAS Symposium "Texts, Authority, and Authorship: From Ancient Scribal Culture and Oral Traditions to Digital Media". Full program: blogs.helsinki.fi/texts-author...

Studying the International Politics of Memory: From the State of the Art to New Conceptualizations, June 2–3 at HCAS. Register by May 25: blogs.helsinki.fi/internationa...

Join us today at 4 pm in the HCAS Common Room. Welcome!

Welcome to the HCAS Salon: The Aesthetics of Nuclear Culture, today at 3 pm! The event features TIME ZERO, a sonic talk by Sean J Patrick Carney, followed by a discussion with Jason Waite, HCAS Postdoctoral Fellow in the Arts. www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-...

Warm congratulations to our alumna @mariellew.bsky.social, who has been appointed as a member of the Young Academy of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences! www.dejongeakademie.nl/en/news/2974...