Canadian Friends of Finland (CFF) and

Finnish Studies Program at University of Toronto

invite you to the annual

Varpu Lindström Memorial Lecture

& Finnish Studies Scholarships 2017 Ceremony

In Mourning, Together: The Everyday History of Death in ‘Finnish North America’

Delivered by Dr Samira Saramo

In Defiant Sisters, Varpu Lindström noted early Finnish immigrants’ “preoccupation” with death, caused by dangerous working conditions and lack of community networks. Three decades later, new research on death and mourning delves into the ways that the fear of dying alone, far from family and friends, brought people together and served as an important factor in the emergence of Finnish immigrant community life. Focussing on the period of 1880–1939, this lecture offers a view of the ways death sets people into action, caring for the dying and bereaved, conducting rituals, and coming together as family and community to grieve and commemorate the deceased. Drawing on personal letters and autobiographical writing, we hear Finnish immigrants narrate death and mourning in their own words, enriching our view of Finnish North American history.

Samira Saramo is currently a visiting scholar at the Finnish Studies Program at the

University of Toronto. She is an Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Turku’s John Morton Center for North American Studies (Finland). Saramo’s research focuses on ethnicity, gender, emotion, death, and social movements in both historical and current contexts. Saramo holds a Ph.D. in History from York University, where she was the final student of Varpu Lindström.

Everyone welcome! Reception to follow.

Please RSVP by March 11

phone: 426-926-1300, ext. 3337 or email