Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
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hcas.bsky.social
Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies
@hcas.bsky.social
An independent institute for advanced study within the University of Helsinki. We focus on blue-skies research in the humanities and social sciences and promote innovative multidisciplinary interaction.
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!
November 7, 2025 at 10:50 AM
“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-...
November 6, 2025 at 8:33 AM
“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-...
November 6, 2025 at 8:33 AM
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-...
October 29, 2025 at 11:59 AM
“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-...
October 7, 2025 at 12:54 PM
“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-...
October 7, 2025 at 12:54 PM
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.
September 29, 2025 at 10:43 AM
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!
September 22, 2025 at 10:53 AM
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...
September 18, 2025 at 6:24 AM
“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-...
September 9, 2025 at 11:54 AM
”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-...
September 9, 2025 at 11:53 AM
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!
September 5, 2025 at 10:39 AM
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.
September 4, 2025 at 11:06 AM
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.
September 3, 2025 at 7:51 AM
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.
September 1, 2025 at 11:30 AM
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-...
August 18, 2025 at 10:14 AM
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...
August 4, 2025 at 9:40 AM
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...
June 11, 2025 at 10:22 AM
"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-...
June 10, 2025 at 7:11 AM
"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-...
June 10, 2025 at 7:10 AM
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.
June 6, 2025 at 2:08 PM
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!
May 16, 2025 at 12:14 PM
"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-...
May 16, 2025 at 5:59 AM
"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-...
May 16, 2025 at 5:57 AM
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...
May 14, 2025 at 7:13 AM