The Ingrian Question as a Historical and Political Phenomenon

The project dealt with the political history of the Finnish-speaking minorities of the Russian northwest, mainly in the 20th century. The first part looks at the development of the national movement of the Ingrian Finns and other related ethnic groups (Izhoras, Votes) from the turn of the century to 1920, when Estonia and Finland signed peace treaties with Soviet Russia and the national rights of the Finnish minority in Russia were to some extent guaranteed. In the second section, on the history of the Ingrians during Soviet and post-Soviet times, areas covered include Ingrian national-cultural autonomy in the 1920s, the activities of Ingrian "ingri" organizations in Finland during the inter-war period, social and national repression and the end of autonomy in the 1930s, the dispersal of the Ingrians during the second world war, their first attempts to return home in the immediate post-war period, trends in the development of the social and cultural life of Ingrians during the last 40 years, and the prospects for their existence as an ethnic unity in the future. The research is based on documentary sources from 15 Russian archives, many of which have not previously been used.

Colour Symbolism, Colour Preference in Hungarian Folklore and Folk Architecture"

The Hungarian way of decoration has certain characteristics which are rooted in the deep symbolism of ancient Hungarian mythical thinking. The ancient heritage of the Hungarians' former homeland somewhere in the Urals included eastern elements. During their migrations, the Hungarian tribes met other eastern peoples and their culture of decoration became mixed with elements drawn from these new contacts. These diverse influences mean that the Hungarian way of thinking, building and ornamentation show a certain dualism of Puritanism and rationalism in the creation of space and manufacturing, and rich fantasy in decoration and ornamentation. The Hungarians use coloured ornamentation to emphasise the symbolic importance of details. The colouring system of the built environment shows the same dualism: the main colour of the facades and inner walls is white, while the furniture, textiles, gates and windows, and sometimes the gable and fireplace are richly decorated. In Hungarian symbolism, the house and settlement are a model of the universe, so their different parts also have a transcendent meaning. The traditional meanings of the different colours reflect this transcendence. Each colour has ambivalent meanings: RED - the colour of blood - means violence and love. YELLOW - means sickness, death and ripeness (golden yellow). BLUE - means innocence, eternity (light blue) and old age, death (dark blue). BLACK - can be both ceremonial and mourning. WHILE - can have sacred meaning (bright white), while yellowish white fabric is the most common garb of both men and women in village society. GREEN - the only colour without a dual meaning, symbolises the beginning of life. Until the late 18th and early 19th centuries Hungarian folk art used one or two-coloured decoration (red, black, blue, red-blue or red-black), and from the early 19th century it moved to multi-coloured decoration. Colours are characteristically used in complementary contrast, with bright colours on a plain ground and an avoidance of subtle shadings.

Challenging Folk Icons - Rewriting Woody and Santeri

Woody Guthrie’s song, “The 1913 Massacre,” written around 1940-41, has become something of a folk anthem for progressives, leftists, and labor supporters. It depicts the Italian Hall Disaster of December 24, 1913, in a plainspoken and colorful way, but has been (rightfully) described as “deeply flawed historically.” Much like Guthrie’s English-language folk songs, Finnish immigrant Santeri Mäkelä had a major impact on capturing the working-world around him. Mäkelä’s lyrics for the “Kaivantomiehen Laulu (The Miners’ Song)” were first published in Hancock, 1909, in “Uusi Työväen Laulukirja (The New Workers’ Songbook),” and was probably sung widely by Finnish strikers during the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike. Leading up to, and during this Strike Centennial year, there have been renewed performances of the song, both in Finland and the United States—but only in the original Finnish language. This presentation will delve into the accuracy, history, and lyrics of these two important, but historically problematic labor songs.

Panel Discussion - Local Finns in Illinois

Finnish North American labor contributions and involvement in strikes such as the 1913-14 Michigan Copper Strike are being restored to the historical record and even commemorated; yet some Finnish American communities’ labor history still goes untold. We contend that in the case of DeKalb, Illinois, the Finnish American labor and strike history has been, in part, overshadowed in contemporary remembrance by the city’s promotion of traditional history and commemoration focused on the barbed wire barons. Local Finnish American labor involvement and participation in strikes appears to have been marginalized in favor of a subsequent historical narrative surrounding the capitalist entrepreneurship of elites. However, counter memories of labor struggles may be lost for a variety of reasons. External and internal forces make it difficult for marginalized groups to offer alternatives to the construction of collective memories that exclude them. These forces include, but are not limited to gradual assimilation into dominant culture, internal conflict within social movements, and fear of, or experience with, governmental repression. In our archival research, surveys and interviews with 2nd and 3rd generation Finnish American residents reveal the many forces of “forgetting” that can influence the counter memory of Finnish American labor history in certain communities.

Under the Crimson Flag: Fahle Burman's Two Trips to the Michigan Supreme Court

Erick Fahle Burman. a Swedish-born, Finnish-speaking labor and political activist, twice had cases argued on his behalf before the Michigan Supreme Court. In People vs. Burman, Burman, along with nine other defendants, had his conviction affirmed by the court and all ten were forced to pay a fine of $25 each for disturbing the peace. In People vs. Immonen, Burman and his co-defendant, Unto Immonen, had their convictions overturned because of improper evidence being admitted in their lower court trial. Though the conviction was overturned, the two men had already spent several months as prisoners at hard labor in Marquette State Prison located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Over twenty-five years separate Burman's two trips to Michigan's high court. On the first occasion, his arrest came less than five years after his arrival as an immigrant to the U. S. On the second occasion, his arrest came less than two years after his return to the state after being away for nearly two decades. On both occasions, Burman was arrested for his involvement with red flags. Though separated by decades, these cases, taken together, are important indicators of the state of Finnish-American radicalism in the years surrounding the red flag incidents and provide interesting insights into the delicacies of political suppression. Examination of these cases within the larger career of Fahle Burman points up his overlooked importance in the history of Finnish-American socialism and communism.

Panel Discussion - Finns in the United States

“Book Notes with Four Authors from Finns in the United States: A History of Settlement, Dissent, and Integration” This panel presentation will highlight chapters in the newly released book, Finns in the United States, published by Michigan State University Press. Authors will discuss their contribution to the book, and highlight key aspects of their work. Finns in the United States has been touted as a fresh and up-to-date analysis of Finnish Americans, an insightful volume that lays the groundwork for exploring this unique culture through a historical context, followed by an overview of the overall composition and settlement patterns of these newcomers.

Exhibit: "Michigan-I-O": Alan Lomax and the 1938 Library of Congress Folk-Song Expedition"

In 1938, a young folk music collector named Alan Lomax—destined to become one of the legendary folklorists of the 20th century recorded Michigan’s richly varied folk music traditions for the Archive of American Folk-Song at the Library of Congress. Michigan in the 1930s was experiencing a golden age of folksong collecting, as local folklorists mined the trove of ballads remembered by aging lumbermen and Great Lakes schoonermen. In addition to the ballads of these north woods singers, Lomax recorded a vibrant mix of ethnic music from Detroit to the western Upper Peninsula. The multimedia performance event Folksongs from Michigan-i-o combines live performance with historic images, color movie footage, and recorded sound from the Great Depression. Some of these materials haven’t been heard or seen by the general public for more than seven decades. The traveling exhibition Michigan Folksong Legacy: Grand Discoveries from the Great Depression brings Alan Lomax’s 1938 field trip to life through words, song lyrics, photographs, and sound recordings. Ten interpretive banners explore themes and each panel contains a QR code that links to related sound recordings from the Alan Lomax Collection at the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Exhibit: "Michigan-I-O": Alan Lomax and the 1938 Library of Congress Folk-Song Expedition"

In 1938, a young folk music collector named Alan Lomax—destined to become one of the legendary folklorists of the 20th century recorded Michigan’s richly varied folk music traditions for the Archive of American Folk-Song at the Library of Congress. Michigan in the 1930s was experiencing a golden age of folksong collecting, as local folklorists mined the trove of ballads remembered by aging lumbermen and Great Lakes schoonermen. In addition to the ballads of these north woods singers, Lomax recorded a vibrant mix of ethnic music from Detroit to the western Upper Peninsula. The multimedia performance event Folksongs from Michigan-i-o combines live performance with historic images, color movie footage, and recorded sound from the Great Depression. Some of these materials haven’t been heard or seen by the general public for more than seven decades. The traveling exhibition Michigan Folksong Legacy: Grand Discoveries from the Great Depression brings Alan Lomax’s 1938 field trip to life through words, song lyrics, photographs, and sound recordings. Ten interpretive banners explore themes and each panel contains a QR code that links to related sound recordings from the Alan Lomax Collection at the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

Exhibit: "Michigan-I-O": Alan Lomax and the 1938 Library of Congress Folk-Song Expedition

In 1938, a young folk music collector named Alan Lomax—destined to become one of the legendary folklorists of the 20th century recorded Michigan’s richly varied folk music traditions for the Archive of American Folk-Song at the Library of Congress. Michigan in the 1930s was experiencing a golden age of folksong collecting, as local folklorists mined the trove of ballads remembered by aging lumbermen and Great Lakes schoonermen. In addition to the ballads of these north woods singers, Lomax recorded a vibrant mix of ethnic music from Detroit to the western Upper Peninsula. The multimedia performance event Folksongs from Michigan-i-o combines live performance with historic images, color movie footage, and recorded sound from the Great Depression. Some of these materials haven’t been heard or seen by the general public for more than seven decades. The traveling exhibition Michigan Folksong Legacy: Grand Discoveries from the Great Depression brings Alan Lomax’s 1938 field trip to life through words, song lyrics, photographs, and sound recordings. Ten interpretive banners explore themes and each panel contains a QR code that links to related sound recordings from the Alan Lomax Collection at the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress.

[Opinions of German-Speaking Experts about Strabismus Surgery.]

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of studies about how to proceed surgically in rare strabismus diseases. It was the aim of this study to inteview experienced German-speaking strabismologists about how they perform surgery in rare but also some frequent strabismic conditions. The focus was on the choice of the technique, the timing, and the dosage. METHOD: A validated questionnaire was sent to 11 experienced strabismus surgeons. It contained questions about the following topics: congenital fibrosis syndrome, Jaentsch-Brown syndrome, intermittent exotropia, maximum dosage for rectus muscle surgery, Kestenbaum surgery, sixth nerve palsy, heterophorias, myokymia of the superior oblique muscle, thyroid endocrine orbitopathy, dissociated vertical deviation, adjustable sutures, advancement of previously recessed rectus muscles, retroequatorial myopiexia, and congenital esotropia. RESULTS: Ten experts answered the questionnaire (91 %). There was a large consent for many topics. However, for many procedures there was disagreement about the dosage and the timing. Since some questions addressed rare diseases and many strabismologists use only certain types of surgical procedures, some questions could only be answered by a few surgeons. CONCLUSIONS: German-speaking strabismologist show a large consensus about the type of surgical procedure to use, but often disagree about the dosage and timing of the operation.