Cecilia af Forselles

Maria Cecilia af Forselles
Born June 30, 1954, Helsinki

Master of Arts 1982, PhD 2001 (history), University of Helsinki

Library Director 2005-, Finnish Literature Society

Researcher at the University of Helsinki and various posts at the National Library of Finland 1986–2004
Board member 2014- and vice-chairman 2015, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies
Chairman 2013-, The Finnish Society for the History of Science and Learning
Board member 2014-, National Library of Finland
Programme committee member for the Science Forum 2017

Research themes
Oral tradition and literary culture, the cultural history of translations of the Kalevala, literary memory and currents of thought, the history of European ideas, science and learning

Recent research has dealt with literary culture and currents of thought, the cultural history of translations of the Kalevala, reading culture, changes in the academic community, and the rise of oral culture as a topic of academic research in the 18th century.

Selection of publications
“Intryck, inspiration och idéer. Beskrivningar av Kina i Europa, Sverige och Finland.” In Kleion pauloissa (2014)
“Englanninkieliset käännökset. Kalevalan muuttuvat ylikansalliset tehtävät.” In Kalevala maailmalla. Kalevalan käännösten kulttuurihistoria ( 2012)
The Emergence of Finnish Book and Reading Culture in the 1700s (Ed. 2011)
Kirjakulttuuri kaupungissa 1700-luvulla (Ed. 2008)
The A. E. Nordenskiöld Collection. Annotated Catalogue of Maps made up to 1800. Vol. 5:1. & 5:2 (1995)

Awards and honours
Knight, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland 2014
Silver medal of honour, the Finnish Literature Society 2012
Cultural award of the Swedish-Finnish Cultural Foundation 1997

Written by Cecilia af Forselles (Riitta-Ilona Hurmerinta, ed.)
Translated by Matthew Billington

Influential in academic circles

Cecilia af Forselles represents the Finnish Society for the History of Science and Learning on the board of the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. In 2015 the Federation board named her vice-chair, the first woman to hold such a position in the organisation. At present, Cecilia af Forselles is the chairman of the Finnish Society for the History of Science and Learning. The Society operates as a multidisciplinary discussion forum for the promotion of research on the history of science and learning in various academic disciplines broadly covering the history of academic disciplines, ideas and learning, academic institutions and the philosophy of science. The Society arranges lectures, seminars and conferences, among which was The 26th Baltic Conference in History of Science, with the theme of Science as a Profession. Forselles works on numerous boards and committees, including, from 2015, the board of the Foundation for the Finnish Institute in Germany, from 2014 the board of the National Library, from 2014 a second term as member of the Council for the Special Libraries, from 2004 member of the Finnish Literature Society’s advisory boards on national poetry and literature and from 2003 member of the historical committee of the Society of Swedish Literature in Finland (SLS). Forselles has also worked on the governing bodies of various foundations, working groups and boards, such as the board of the Seurasaari Foundation. Forselles has been a member of the organisation and programme committees of many international conferences, such as:

The national preparatory committee of the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2012. The theme of this global conference, held in August 11–17, 2012, Helsinki, was Libraries Now! - Inspiring, Surprising, Empowering
The planning and programme committee (2008–10) of The 18th Annual SHARP (Society of History, Authorship, Reading and Publishing) Conference, Book Culture from Below , Helsinki August 17–21, 2010.

Cecilia af Forselles is also a programme committee member of The Science Forum 2017