Liisa Rantalaiho Worldcon 75 in Helsinki 2017 (cropped)

Liisa Rantalaiho (born January 25, 1933) is a Finnish sociologist,

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...

activist, and professor emerita in the fields of sociology of health and gender studies. She writes and performs

filk Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. Etymology and defin ...

songs.

Early life and education

Liisa Rantalaiho was born January 25, 1933, in

Kuorevesi Kuorevesi is a former municipality in Finland. It was part of the Pirkanmaa region in western Finland. In the year 2001 it was consolidated into the town of Jämsä in the Central Finland region. The name of the municipality came from the Lake Kuo ...

. She defended her Ph.D. thesis in

social science Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soc ...

in 1968.

Research and career

Rantalaiho served as professor of sociology at the

University of Lapland The University of Lapland is located in the city of Rovaniemi, Finland. It was founded in 1979. While UiT The Arctic University of Norway is the northernmost university in the world, the University of Lapland is the most northern university in t ...

in 1988–1989, and in public health science at the

University of Tampere The University of Tampere (UTA) ( fi, Tampereen yliopisto (Tay), ) was a public university in Tampere, Finland that was merged with Tampere University of Technology to create the new Tampere University on 1 January 2019. The university offered un ...

in 1990–1998. A pioneer of women's studies in Finland, she has mainly focused on women's research, gender equality, and changes in working life. Together with Raija Julkunen, she led a research project on the Finnish welfare society and gender roles, which was funded by the Academy of Finland. Rantalaiho, alone or with others, has published a large number of articles in women's research, work life issues, and occupational psychology. She has also edited the research report ''Hyvinvointivaltion sukupuolijärjestelmä'' (1989) and has served as editor-in-chief of the journal ''Naistutkimus-Kvinnoforskning''. Rantalaiho also serves on the editorial board of the Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research, and was the guest of honor at the 2010

Finncon Finncon is the largest science fiction convention in Finland and, with up to 15,000 participants, one of the largest SF conventions in Europe. Finncon is unique among SF conventions because it has no participation/membership fee, and is funded pr ...

. She was a founding member of the science fiction society, Spektre, has served as a judge of the "Portti" short story competition, and is a book reviewer for ''Portti magazine''. The Finnish Science Fiction Writers Association awarded her with the Cosmos Pen Award in 2006 for her groundbreaking work as an advocate of Finnish science fiction literature.

Awards and honors

* 1999, honorary doctorate, University of Lapland

Selected works

* ''Naisen historiallisuus: yhteiskunta, yksilö, sukupuoli: seminaariraportti'' (University of Tampere, 1981) * ''Toimistoautomaatio ja toimistotyö'' (Tampereen yliopisto, 1984) * ''Miesten tiede, naisten puuhat: yhteiskuntatieteen kritiikkiä naisten työn näkökulmasta'' ( Vastapaino, 1986) * ''Naistutkimuksen tieteidenvälisiä ongelmia: seminaariraportti'' (Tampereen yliopisto, 1987)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rantalaiho, Liisa 1933 births Living people Finnish sociologists Finnish women sociologists 20th-century Finnish writers 20th-century Finnish women writers Finnish editors Finnish women editors Academic journal editors People from Jämsä Fandom Filkers