JOURNAL OF FINNISH STUDIES Volume 16 Number 1 August 2012 Journal of Finnish Studies JOURNAL OF FINNISH STUDIES EDITORIAL AND BUSINESS OFFICE Journal of Finnish Studies, Department of English, 1901 University Avenue, Evans 458 (P.O. Box 2146), Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TEXAS 77341-2146, USA Tel. 1.936.294.1402; Fax 1.936.294.1408 SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADVERTISING, AND INQUIRIES Contact Business Office (see above & below). EDITORIAL STAFF Helena Halmari, Editor-in-Chief, Sam Houston State University; [email protected] Hanna Snellman, Co-Editor, University of Helsinki; [email protected] Scott Kaukonen, Associate Editor, Sam Houston State University; [email protected] Hilary Joy Virtanen, Assistant Editor, University of Wisconsin; [email protected] Sheila Embleton, Book Review Editor, York University; [email protected] EDITORIAL BOARD Varpu Lindström, University Professor, York University, Toronto, Chair Börje Vähämäki, Founding Editor, JoFS, Professor Emeritus, University of Toronto Raimo Anttila, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Los Angeles Michael Branch, Professor Emeritus, University of London Thomas DuBois, Professor, University of Wisconsin Sheila Embleton, Distinguished Research Professor, York University, Toronto Aili Flint, Emerita Senior Lecturer, Associate Research Scholar, Columbia University, New York Anselm Hollo, Professor, Naropa Institute, Boulder, Colorado Richard Impola, Professor Emeritus, New Paltz, New York Daniel Karvonen, Senior Lecturer, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Andrew Nestingen, Associate Professor, University of Washington, Seattle Jyrki Nummi, Professor, Department of Finnish Literature, University of Helsinki Juha Pentikäinen, Professor, Institute for Northern Culture, University of Lapland Oiva Saarinen, Professor Emeritus, Laurentian University, Sudbury George Schoolfield, Professor Emeritus, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut Beth L. Virtanen, Professor, South University Online Keijo Virtanen, Professor, University of Turku Marianne Wargelin, Independent Scholar, Minneapolis SUBSCRIPTION RATES 2012-13 (2 ISSUES PER YEAR) Individuals: US $40 Institutions: US $50 Europe €40 Europe €50 ADVERTISEMENTS (BLACK & WHITE ONLY) Half page $50/€50 Full page $100/€100 Inside back cover $200/€200 Outside back cover $250/€250 MORE INFORMATION Contact Business Office, or http://www.shsu.edu/~eng_www/finnishstudies/ ©2012 Journal of Finnish Studies Cover: The old coat of arms (in use until 1956) of the town Hämeenlinna. Accessed at http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiedosto:H%C3%A4meenlinnan_ vanha_vaakuna.jpg Cover design: Scott Kaukonen Journal of Finnish Studies TABLE OF CONTENTS In Memoriam: Varpu Lindström 1 Hanna Snellman and Helena Halmari: Editorial 3 Anna Kuismin: Building the Nation, Lighting the Torch: Excursions into the Writings of the Common People in Nineteenth-Century Finland 5 Sinikka Aapola-Kari: Finnish Girlhood in the Twentieth Century: Public Representations and Private Stories 25 Sirpa Salenius: Frances Willard’s Peep at Finland 59 Outi Fingerroos: Karelianism in Present-Day Finland 79 Annikki Kaivola-Bregenhøj: Traditional Dream Narration and Interpretation 94 Kirsi Hänninen: Encounters with the Unknown: Finnish Supernatural Narratives in the Early Twenty-First Century 108 Book Reviews 126 Bowman, James Cloyd, and Margery Bianco, from a translation by Aili Kolehmainen Johnson. 2009. Tales from a Finnish Tupa. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 273 pp., illustrations by Laura Bannon, appen- dix of “Finnish Names and Words.” Reviewed by James P. Leary, University of Wisconsin. Hännikäinen, Outi-Kristiina. 2010. Identiteettien maisemat Saskatchewanin Uudessa Suomessa: Uudisasustuksesta uusidentifikaatioon [The landscapes of identities in New Finland of Saskatchewan: From settlement to ethic re-identification]. Siirtolaisuustutkimuksia A32. Turku: Siirtolaisuusinstituutti, 245 pp., illustra- tions, appendices, notes, bibliography. Reviewed by Peter V. Krats, Western University. Kääpä, Pietari. 2011. The Cinema of Mika Kaurismäki: Transvergent Cinescapes, Emergent Identities. Bristol, UK: Intellect Ltd., 208 pp. Reviewed by Virginia Houk, Dalhousie University. Lockwood, Yvonne R. 2010. Finnish American Rag Rugs: Art, Tradition & Ethnic Continuity. East Lansing: Michigan State UP, xvi + 249 pp., color photo- graphs, appendices, notes, glossary, references, and index. Reviewed by Hilary Joy Virtanen, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Michael Nordskog, and Aaron W. Hautala. 2010. The Opposite of Cold: The Northwoods Finnish Sauna Tradition. Foreword by David Salmela, Introduction by Arnold R. Alanen. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press. xvi, 189 pp., illustrations, notes, index. Review 1 by Yvonne R. Lockwood, Michigan State University; review 2 by Peter V. Krats, Western University. Contributors 141 IN MEMORIAM Varpu Lindström 1948–2012 This issue is dedicated to the life and memory of Professor Varpu Lindström, the chair of the editorial board of the Journal of Finnish Studies since its founding in 1997. She passed away peacefully among family members at her home in Beaverton, Canada, on June 21, 2012. She was born on September 13, 1948, in Helsinki, and at the age of fourteen she migrated to Canada with her parents. Varpu Lindström is a well-known figure in the field of migration studies, not least through her contribution to the Journal of Finnish Studies. Together with her husband Börje Vähämäki, she created the journal. She was the Chair of the Editorial Board up until the time of her death. Producing a journal involves a lot of work, including numerous practical tasks. Varpu looked after these with her heart: sub- scriptions, subscription lists, billing, and other logistics. As an expert in migration studies and history, she was referenced in numerous articles. She also wrote articles for the journal herself, for example, an article about Sointula and articles on sensi- tive topics of Finnish-Canadian immigrant research. For some volumes, she served as a co-editor. She proofread nearly every issue. All this she did with such dedication and commitment that without her contribution the Journal of Finnish Studies would not be the same. She had a special talent for seeing synergies in the most unlikely places, thus enabling us to perform to our full potential. 1 Journal of Finnish Studies She founded the Canadian Friends of Finland friendship society in 1982 and fostered cultural relations between Canada and Finland in a variety of ways. In her academic life, Varpu Lindström studied the humble immigrant. In her own life, she was able to transform that humble experience into a career worthy of international recognition. During her distinguished career as a professor and scholar at York University, Canada, she specialized in North American social history, migra- tion studies, and women studies. Her first book, now a classic on the experience of Finnish immigrants to Canada, was based on her PhD thesis: Defiant Sisters: A Social History of Finnish Immigrant Women in Canada, 1890–1930. She also published From Heroes to Enemies: Finns in Canada, 1937–1947. Inspired by Defiant Sisters, filmmaker Kelly Saxberg invited Lindström to be researcher and historical consultant for her 2004 National Film Board documentary, Letters from Karelia. Throughout her career, Varpu Lindström conducted hundreds of interviews among Finnish Canadians and collected letters, diaries, and other kinds of writ- ten materials for her research. This legacy is now housed at York University’s Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections; it is an invaluable resource for future immi- grant studies researchers. Shortly before she died, she was presented with a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal as a tribute for her lifetime of scholarship and her pioneering work documenting the history of Finnish Canadians. It is hard to imagine anyone who would better deserve the title “defiant sister.” She gained respect, gratitude, and love, both in her academic community and the immigrant community. 2 EDITORIAL Two years ago, in August 2010, the Publication Forum Project (Julkaisufoorumi- hanke) was launched, initiated by Finnish universities. The purpose of the project was to evaluate and rank scientific publication venues (journals and book publish- ers) in all fields of research. Hosted by the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (Tieteellisten seurain valtuuskunta), the project is funded by Finland’s Ministry of Education and Culture. The evaluation covered nearly 20,000 national and interna- tional scientific journals and series. Twenty-three panels, each consisting of six to thirteen members, chosen according to their fields of expertise, were charged with the task of evaluating and ranking hundreds of scientific titles, defined as such because they subject their submissions to peer review to guarantee the quality of published articles. The publication venue also must have an editorial board. The evaluated titles included print and digital journals, conference series, and book and anthology series. The titles were ranked in two categories: scientific (level 1) and leading sci- entific (level 2) publication channels. Level 1 publication venues meet the scientific publication criteria (editorial board of experts and peer-review process); level 2 titles publish articles that represent their international authors’ best research. Only 20 percent of the titles evaluated by each panel were ranked at level 2. The Journal of Finnish Studies belongs to this elite group. Few