Remembering war through images: Visual narratives of the Finnish Civil War in history textbooks from the 1920s to the 2010s

Abstract

The present study focuses on memory work in school textbook illustrations of the Finnish Civil War (1918). A thematic narrative analysis shows how the content and meanings conveyed through visual narratives have developed in the past century. Besides changes in specific narrative, the interpretation of the functions of themes shows a gradual change in the schematic narrative template: the hegemonic, victor’s narrative has been gradually replaced with alternative accounts since the 1950s. The defeated side has been represented in school textbooks since the 1950s, and since the 1990s, the narrative has evolved from pointing out the similarities between the two sides to arousing emotions of sympathy for the victims of the War. Since the 2000s, visual images have been used to highlight multi-perspectivity in history. This study shows how the cultural trauma and reconciliation process has been conveyed in educational material and how the narrative templates may dynamically change.

Developed but close to nature: the image of Finland in the National Geographic Magazine from the 1900s to the 2010s

“…This notion of subtle change corresponds with Bauer and Gaskell's (1999) idea of social representations as temporal constructions which are not replaced suddenly with a new representation but are gradually complemented by new elements resulting in due course in a shift in the meaning of representation. Hakoköngäs et al (2020) argue that these changes in the representation can be traced back to the change in the social context from which the social representations emerge.…”

“…Furthermore, social representations theory includes the idea that social conceptions are always historical: they do not emerge from scratch but are based on previous images (Bauer and Gaskell 1999). Thus, the approach is suitable for tracing the roots of certain representations and analysing the evolution of those conceptions (Hakoköngäs et al 2020).…”

Ecology Projects and Participatory Budgeting: Enhancing Citizens’ Support

“…The information is processed and remembered easily when images are used. Citizens could be influenced by the presence of images and videos when deciding what project to support [53,54]. The information presented alongside images becomes more persuasive and suggestive for the public and as a result individuals' willingness to vote a project that contains images/videos could increase [54].…”

Katsaus valkoisten ja vapaussodan perintöön

“…Eemeli Hakoköngäs on muiden tutkijoiden kanssa tutkinut sisällissodan kuvien käyttöä kouluopetuksessa tuoreessa artikkelissaan (2020) 58 . Valkoisten vapaussodan edustajaksi nousi 1920-luvulla Mannerheim, jonka valokuvat kirjoissa symboloivat koko sotaa pitkälti aina 1950-luvulle.…”