Päivi Setälä
Humanist of the day

Päivi Setälä

With her involvement in academia and society in the 1980s and 1990s, Päivi Setälä, teacher and researcher of history, provided a role model for women. She was a pioneer of women’s studies and the first professor of Women’s Studies. Through various positions of trust, Setälä helped shape Finnish scientific and cultural life.

Päivi Setälä

Päivi Eeva Marjatta Setälä (née Priha)
Born January 20, 1943, Kuopio. Died March 3, 2014, Helsinki.

Master of Arts, 1968 and Doctor of Philosophy (General History), 1977, University of Helsinki
Honorary Doctor, University of Kuopio, 2005

Docent, General History, University of Helsinki and University of Tampere, 1978-2004
Professor of Women’s Studies, University of Helsinki, 1991-94
Board Member, Federation of Finnish Learned Societies, 1981-86
Research Council for Culture and Society, Academy of Finland, 1982-87
Director, Kristiina Institute, 1991-94
Project Leader, Academy of Finland, 1992-2001
Director, Finnish Institute in Rome, 1994-97
Chair, Finnish Institute in Rome Foundation, 1999-2005

Awards
State Award for Public Information, 1991
Warelius Prize, 1998
Finnish Church’s Cultural Award, 2003
J.V. Snellman Award, 2006
Commander of the Order of the White Rose of Finland, 2008
Knight of the Order of the Lion of Finland, first class, 2008

Photo: Eero Roine, HY.
Written by Lauri Lönnström
Translated by John Calton

A Pioneer in Women’s Studies

Päivi Setälä began her studies at the University of Helsinki in 1961. She studied history, and from the very beginning participated in the activities of the Kronos student organisation and Hämäläis-Osakunta, one of the student nations at the University. Setälä had no particular academic aspirations at the time, but her…

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Patron and Champion of Culture

Päivi Setälä’s father, Erkki Priha, was the founder of a hugely successful resin glue factory in Hamina which brought wealth to the family. The factory was later sold and, upon the death of her father, Setälä received a share of the proceeds. This allowed her to establish the Päivi…

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Interdisciplinary Co-operation and Strong Networks

Eeva Raevaara and Tuija Pulkkinen discussed the significance of Päivi Setälä’s career in a news story published on the University of Helsinki website in September 2014, on the eve of her memorial seminar.

“Setälä was a key figure in the development of Finnish Women’s Studies from the early 1980s on,”…

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