Finnish Francophilia: Meeting with Kristina Ranki

The French Institute of Finland invites you to a meeting with historian Kristina Ranki who will discuss her research concerning Finnish Francophilia.

The transformed image of France in Finland was very visible between the years 1880 and 1914: this could be seen in the many trips made, the translations of French writers and the orientation of magazines and newspapers. Between Nordic modernism, German references and Russian tradition, a taste for foreign cultures led Finns to travel to Paris from the 1880s onwards. The idea of a dual homeland was the result of the Francophilia prevalent among all intellectuals and artists up until the Great War, but also of the construction of national identity through the French mirror.

In this lecture, Kristina Ranki will draw up a collective biography of these Finnish Francophiles, their backgrounds and their motives. The historian Louis Clerc will talk to Kristina Ranki in a commentary, which will open a discussion with the audience.

Kristina Ranki holds a doctorate in literature and is a historian and producer specialising in the history of mentalities, heritages and cultural orientations in her homeland, Finland. A polyglot and Knight of the White Rose of Finland, she has been a mediator in Franco-Finnish relations for several decades.

Her work has been published in two volumes, recently translated into French by L’Harmattan: Les deux Amours and La Patrie et la France.

French Institute in Finland

15.2.2024

17.00-19.00

Free entry, the event will be held in French