Funding: Senior Exploratory Research Grant, Estonian Research Council
Role: PI, Senior researcher, grant recipient

This project critically examined contemporary trends in cultural and historical theory. It questioned whether recent dismissals of ‘postmodernism’ and ‘narrativism’ were fully justified, arguing that fundamental theoretical questions from earlier debates remain relevant and unanswered. The research aimed to reframe those core problems from a current perspective. The project was based at the Departments of Philosophy and Cultural Theory at Tallinn University.

Funding: Invitation Fellowship, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
Role: Visiting researcher, grant recipient

Funded by a long-term JSPS Invitation Fellowship, this project engaged with pressing issues in the theory and philosophy of history following the linguistic turn. Building on exchanges with Japanese colleagues, the research explored alternatives to traditional representational approaches by focusing on materiality, presence, and experience. Hosted at Waseda University, the project involved research and seminars there and at Toyo University.

Type: Research Network (Co-founded by Kalle Pihlainen and Marjaana Puurtinen)

This network was established to explore practices of professional historical research and the development of relevant skills from a multidisciplinary perspective, with particular emphasis on history education and the theory and philosophy of history. It brought together 12 members, connecting researchers from the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Turku, the Department of Philosophy at the University of Oulu, and the Department of Philosophy at Åbo Akademi University. Members contributed through academic publications, workshops, and conferences, collaborating to explore the nature and formation of historical expertise.

Funding: Research Fellowship, Academy of Finland
Role: PI, Research Fellow, grant recipient

This project sought to address a perceived deadlock in debates surrounding historical representation; namely, the persistent opposition between narrative construction and the possibility of historical truth. Based at the Department of Philosophy at Åbo Akademi University, the research examined how historical understanding is shaped through embodied experience, ethical responsibility, and the interpretive role of the reader. The goal was to clarify how these dimensions could inform more reflective and responsible approaches to writing history today.

Funding: Post-doctoral Fellowship, Academy of Finland
Role: Grant recipient

This project explored representational challenges in historical writing through a close study of Jean-Paul Sartre’s biographical writing. Drawing on narrative and performance theory, it examined the tension between conveying historical understanding and achieving narrative empathy. The research also considered how Sartre’s experimental style complicates conventional distinctions between historical interpretation and literary form. The research was conducted at the Department of Cultural History, University of Turku.