معرفی
Raisa Maria Toivo serves as a Professor at the University of Tampere's Faculty of Social Sciences within the Department of History, Philosophy and Literary Studies. She leads the Lived Faith theme at the Academy of Finland's Centre of Excellence for Research in the History of Experience (HEX) and directs the Academy-funded project How Witchcraft Persecutions Were Avoided in 17th-Century Finland.
Her research bridges early modern religion and gender dynamics through court records, material culture, and narrative analysis. As Doctoral Program Director and New Era Research Group Head, she supervises graduate seminars on Early Modern History and History of Emotions.
Recent publications in Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies and Scandinavian Journal of History examine communion practices as social cohesion tools, narratological approaches to witchcraft trials, and gender performance in religious contexts. These works highlight her focus on experience as relational process.
- Academy Fellowship (20145-2020)
- Major grants from Academy of Finland, Jalmari Finne Foundation, and Kone Foundation
She co-edits special journal issues on Experience Histories and Lived Religion, demonstrating her leadership in interdisciplinary methodologies combining history, narratology, and gender studies.
