Sari Kivistö

Sari Kivistö is a Professor of Comparative Literature at Tampere University (since 2016) and a Docent of Comparative Literature at the University of Helsinki. She has held leadership roles, including Deputy Director (2010–2015) and Director (2015–2016) of the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. She is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters.

Education: She holds a Doctoral Dissertation (2002) titled Creating Anti-Eloquence, examining stylistic vices in Renaissance humanist polemics. Her academic journey includes post-doctoral research at the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies (2004–2009).

Research Interests: Her work spans interdisciplinary literary studies, including the history and theory of satire, Latin and Neo-Latin literature, classical traditions, suffering in literature, and the history of rhetoric and translations. Current projects explore lost literary genres, the intersection of poetry and medicine, and epistemic vices in early modern academia.

Awards and Recognition: Recognized through prestigious memberships in the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, affirming her scholarly contributions to literary and philosophical studies.

Advising and Grants: Her research has been supported by grants such as the Kone Foundation (2023–2026, "Literary Extinction" project), the Academy of Finland (2009–2014, "The Vices of Learning"), and the Helsingin Sanomat Foundation (2016–2018). She collaborates widely, co-authoring works with scholars like S. Pihlström on topics ranging from antitheodicy to critical distance.

Labs/Teams: Leads the Kone Foundation-funded project on lost literary genres, involving international collaborations and producing a weekly blog and publications. Partners include the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel, Germany.