Karoliina Sjö

During my residency in Saari, I will focus on writing my doctoral thesis, which explores the writing of diaries and the way Kirsti Teräsvuori composed a story about herself, her life and experiences in the diaries she wrote at the beginning of the 20th century. So far, I have worked intensely, for example, in an archive poring over diaries and now it’s time for the next stage: intensive writing. The residency provides an excellent setting for this – it’s great to have the peace to write. On the other hand, I’m also interested in the relationship between research-based knowledge and artistic, creative work, as well as in the possibility of finding new ethical ways of remembering and narrating. That being so, I also use the methods of art to analyse the material I’m studying, and the Saari Residence is a great, natural environment for this artistic part of my work as well.

Karoliina Sjö is a doctoral student of cultural history at the University of Turku. Her research interests include autobiographical sources (such as diaries), biographical research, connections between life and narration, the cultural history of writing, the history of (mental) illness, gender history and girlhood studies. Sjö is also interested in the relationship between art and research, the opportunities it offers and new ways of producing information. She is working on her doctoral thesis with the help of a grant from Kone Foundation.