Markku Henriksson
Humanist of the day

Markku Henriksson

Emeritus Professor Markku Henriksson, a long-term scholar of North America, has received wide recognition across the Atlantic. Until 2014, he was the Faculty of Arts’ first holder of an externally funded professorship, the McDonnel Douglas Chair for American Studies. Henriksson has a background in the social sciences, but he has spent the majority of his career at the Renvall Institute, under the auspices of the Faculty of Arts. Henriksson has always encouraged his students to engage in field work. A researcher should know the conditions in the area to be researched.

Markku Henriksson

Markku Ilmari Henriksson
Born September 4, 1949, Helsinki

Bachelor of Social Sciences, Master of Social Sciences (political history) 1973, Licentiate 1985, PhD 1988, University of Helsinki

Professor of American studies, University of Helsinki, Renvall Institute (now the Department of World Cultures), acting professor 1996–99 and professor 1999–2004
History lecturer 1990–99, Department of History, University of Tampere
Deputy director 1990–92, Revall Institute, University of Helsinki
Research assistant of non-European history (for several separate periods) 1975–90, Institute for Historical Research and Documentation (later the Renvall Institute)

Publication activities

Awards and honours
D.Litt. (hon), York University, Toronto, 1995
First Class Knight of the White Rose of Finland 2004
Honorary member of the Western History Association (the first outside the US)
American Indian History Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 (the first and to date the only outside North America)
University of Helsinki Badge of Honour for long service 2013
University of Helsinki medal 2014
The International Council for Canadian Studies Certificate of Merit, 2014

Written by Olli Siitonen
Translated by Matthew Billington

Social Scientist in Humanities robes

Markku Henriksson earned his PhD at the Faculty of Social Sciences and has spent half his career at the Renvall Institute, which operated under the Faculty of Arts. At the beginning of his studies he already wanted to achieve an understanding of the world that was as comprehensive as possible.

…

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The Renvall Institute

In the mid-1970s, Markku Henriksson became a research assistant of non-European history at the Institute of Historical Research and Documentation at the University of Helsinki, which was known as the Renvall Institute from the 1980s to 2010. The Institute, often referred to as ‘Dokula,’ was meant to focus on areas…

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Scholar of North America

Markku Henriksson was already interested in North America as a small boy. His father worked the seas and one of the places from which he sent young Markku post cards was the United States. Flags of countries also played a role in his life from early on, as his grandmother…

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Aviation Professorship

The professorship of American Studies that Markku Henriksson held at the Renvall Institute, Faculty of Arts was named after the McDonnell Douglas aerospace company. The story behind the professorship is connected to the conditions of the sale of Hornet jets to Finland in the 1990s. The United States was required…

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Route 66

The most recent book by Markku Henriksson deals with the legendary Route 66, also known as the Mother Road. Perhaps the most famous road in the world, it traverses the country for about 2500 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles. The book, titled Route 66. A Road to America’s Landscape,…

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On Policymakers and the Future

When it comes to the politics of the day, professor Markku Henriksson criticises the government for forgetting the University and at the same time reflects on the future of the country and his own role in the events.

“It is utter folly for the government to make cuts to education…

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