‘State idea’ in the photographs of geography and tourism in Finland in the 1920s

Abstract

This article examines the landscape photographs of Finnish geography school books and tourist guides published during the 1920s. The photographs participated in the everyday reproduction of nationalism by integrating the ‘state idea’ of Finnish academics into the spatial order of Finland. The content of the photographs reflects the core-periphery relationship embedded in the thinking Finnish academics who conceptualised themselves as part of the authoritative ‘state’ that controlled the entire national territory. The study shows that landscape photographs had an integral role in the processes through which the academic elite negotiated its power in Finnish society.

Keywords:

• nation building
• state
• landscape
• photographs
• Finland

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Pauliina Raento, Suvi Talja, Gareth Rice, and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article. We are also grateful to the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Kone Foundation for supporting our research.

Notes on contributors

Salla Jokela and Hannu Linkola are PhD. Candidates in the Department of Geosciences and Geography at the University of Helsinki. This article is part of a research project ‘Landscape, Icons, and Images (1123561) funded by the Academy of Finland.