Mikko Toivanen

Two doctoral researcher positions are available at the Department of Geographical and Historical Studies at the University of Eastern Finland, based on the Joensuu Campus. The successful candidates will join a Research Council of Finland-funded project on the history of forestry knowledge and its international movement in the interwar period. The project investigates how local forestry practices were transformed into global science between 1917 and 1939, and how Nordic forestry became entangled with imperial politics and environmental management across different parts of the world. The research is strongly archival and transnational, drawing on sources from multiple countries and allowing room for candidates to develop their own independent projects within the project’s broader framework. The positions are embedded in a collaborative research environment within the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. Doctoral researchers will work on themes such as international encounters at Finnish and Nordic forestry stations, the movement of forestry expertise and personnel into colonial settings, and the development of international forestry organisations and the political aims of Nordic participation in them. Candidates may propose original topics relevant to these themes, including Nordic forestry collaboration, the migration of Finnish foresters abroad, or the politics of the early World Forestry Congresses. The project also offers opportunities for international research stays and archival work, with collaboration links to institutions in Stavanger and Leipzig. The positions are full-time and fixed term for three years. At the start of employment, the job title will be Project Researcher and will change after admission to the faculty’s doctoral programme.