Dr. John Björkman (University of Turku, Finland): „The Black Man of Villavuori sits in that forest, guarding the village border.“ Sacred forest sites of folk belief in Southwest Finnish village landscapes | 22. Januar 2025

Bild: pixabay / 尘 J

22. Januar 2025

6 Uhr (MST/Nordamerika) / 14 Uhr (CET/Deutschland) / 15 Uhr (EET/Finnland)

Titel: „The Black Man of Villavuori sits in that forest, guarding the village border.“ Sacred forest sites of folk belief in Southwest Finnish village landscapes.

Vortragender: Dr. John Björkman (University of Turku, Finland)

Der Vortrag und die Diskussion laufen online und auf Englisch.

Inhalt:

In his doctoral thesis in Nordic Folkloristics, John Björkman studied natural places which were considered sacred, meaning magical, supernaturally dangerous or inhabited by supernatural beings in 19th century folk belief in Southwest Finland. Based on recorded historic folklore, Björkman was able to identify and localize 120 such places in the region of Southwest Finland and studied them as part of their contemporary village landscapes. Currently, he works in a research project exploring the transformation of the Finnish ritual forest relationship from prehistoric to modern times by combining the methods of archaeology, folklore, geoinformatics and art. The aim of the project is to increase understanding of the forest relationship and the importance of the experience of sacredness for the forest relationship.

To join the event, please use the Zoom Link: https://uni-jena-de.zoom-x.de/j/65854920539

Meeting-ID: 658 5492 0539; Kenncode: 008070

Der Vortrag ist Teil der Coffee Talks Human-Forest-Relationships

Coffee Talks Human-Forest-Relationships

Let’s sit, have a coffee and talk in the scientific café! The “Coffee Talks HFR” give room for open and relaxed discussions on current research subjects related to human and society relations to forests. It warmly welcomes all interested in forest-related research to join the online sessions.

Each session lasts 1,5 hours. It starts with a 20-30 minute presentation of a guest speaker. After the presentation, with coffee or tea at hand, participants have plenty of room for an open discussion and exchange.

The “Coffee Talks HFR” take place three to four times per term on Wednesdays at 6 am MST / 2pm CET / 3pm EET.

Guest speakers wanted!

If you are interested in contributing to the “Coffee Talks HFR”, please contact either jana.holz(at)uni-jena.de, jodie.asselin(at)uleth.ca or tuulikki.halla(at)uef.fi with info on your subject (title and short abstract) and a preferred date.

The interdisciplinary and international scientific “Coffee Talks HFR” have a long tradition. In 2021, a cooperation between the Finnish research project Human-Forest Relationships in Societal Change and the German research group Mentalities im Flux (flumen) launched and hosted the “Scientific Coffee Sessions HFR”. Since then, they hosted more than twelve sessions with speakers form interdisciplinary social science background and international participants. In 2024, the network broadened and the event got a new name: “Coffee Talks HFR”.

The “Coffee Talks HFR” are hosted by: