Doctor Petra Pakkanen (PhD) has been appointed the new Director of the Finnish Institute at Athens to start 1 January 2021. Pakkanen will succeed Docent Björn Forsén as the Director of the Institute.
Pakkanen’s work experience and interests have close ties with the activities of the Institute: Greek archaeology, history, religion and culture, as well as Modern Greek literature and art. Her particular research interests include ancient Greek religion and philhellenism.
Pakkanen emphasises continuity in the Institute’s traditional areas of expertise and also hopes to foster debate regarding the reception of antiquity, as well as to support art and artists’ work. In her recent scholarly work Pakkanen has focused on the manufacture and use of leather in ancient Greece. She will continue working on this research in Athens.
Pakkanen also plans to foster closer ties and collaboration with Estonian, French and Polish research organisations. Emphasising open access scholarship and publishing strategies will be one major component during Pakkanen’s directorship.
For more information, please contact Docent Renja Suominen-Kokkonen, Chair of the
Foundation’s Board of Directors (renja.suominen-kokkonen (at) helsinki.fi) or Doctor Manna Satama, Secretary General (saatio (at) finninstitute.gr, +358 50 434 5523).