Vuokko Hirvonen

Vuokko Hirvonen (b. 1955) is an author and professor emeritus of Sámi literature and school research at Sámi University of Applied Sciences.[1] She has written extensively about Sámi women's literature and Sámi teacher education.

Vuokko Hirvonen
Born1955
Ohcejohka, Finland
OccupationProfessor
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Oulu
Academic work
DisciplineSámi Literature
InstitutionsSámi University

Early life and education

Hirvonen is a Finnish citizen and grew up in Ohcejohka, Finland. Her mother was Sámi and her father Finnish, and Finnish was the language used in her home and much of her education.[2] She earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Tampere in 1979 and worked with local youth in Utsjoki/Ohcejohka before returning to school to study Sámi language and literature at the University of Oulu and the University of Tromsø, earning her master’s degree from University of Oulu in 1991. She started working at Sámi University in 1990 and was made an associated professor there in 1993.[3]

In 1999, she defended her doctoral dissertation on Sámi women’s literature at the University of Oulu. Sámeeatnama jienat: Sápmelaš nissona bálggis girječállin / Saamenmaan ääniä: Saamelaisen naisen tie kirjailijaksi (Voices from Sápmi: Sámi Women's Path to Authorship) was published in both Northern Sámi and Finnish and is notable for being the first dissertation written in a Sámi language in Finland.[4]

Academic work

In 2007, Hirvonen returned to Sámi University as a professor of Sámi literature. She also focused her research on ethics and education.[5] In 2019, the University of Umeå awarded Hirvonen an honorary doctorate for her significant contributions toward international cooperation in educational research and for bringing the Sámi perspective to indigenous studies, gender studies and post-colonial studies.[6]

Hirvonen also served as a project manager for the Research Council of Norway’s effort to evaluate the Reform 97 comprehensive school reform initiative implemented in July 1997.[3] Hirvonen credited the effort for developing a curricula for Sámi-language instruction; however, she was also critical of the resources provided to ensure true bilingual education in Norwegian and Sámi languages.[7][8]

In 2017, Hirvonen worked with Kaija Anttonen to translate and publish Sámi-language texts from Finland's first Sámi writer, Pedar Jalvi, into Finnish along with a biography of Jalvi.[9]

References
  1. Hirvonen, Vuokko (2008), Hornberger, Nancy H. (ed.), "'Out on the fells, I feel like a Sámi': Is There Linguistic and Cultural Equality in the Sámi School?", Can Schools Save Indigenous Languages? Policy and Practice on Four Continents, Palgrave Studies in Minority Languages and Communities, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 15–41, doi:10.1057/9780230582491_2, ISBN 978-0-230-58249-1, retrieved 2020-12-23
  2. Dana, Kathleen Osgood (2003). Áillohaš the Shaman-Poet and His Govadas-Image Drum: A Literary Ecology of Nils-Aslak Valkeapää (PhD). Oulu, Finland: University of Oulu. p. 45.
  3. "Participants: Gender in Finno-Urgistics — First International Symposium". Vienna, Austria: University of Vienna. October 2002. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  4. Kulonen, Ulla-Maija; Seurujärvi-Kari, Irja; Pulkkinen, Risto (2005). The Saami: A Cultural Encyclopaedia. Helsinki, Finland: Finnish Literature Society. pp. 140, 359. ISBN 978-951-746-506-9.
  5. Aslaksen, Eilif Andreas (13 June 2007). "Ny professor ved Samisk høgskole" [New professor at Sámi University] (in Norwegian). NRK Sápmi. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  6. Lappalainen, Seija (28 October 2019). "Vuokko Hirvosesta Uumajan yliopiston kunniatohtori" [Vuokko Hirvonen is an honorary doctor of the University of Umeå]. Lapin Kansa (in Finnish).
  7. Hornberger, Nancy H., ed. (2008). Can Schools Save Indigenous Languages?: Policy and Practice on Four Continents. London, England: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-58249-1.
  8. Banks, James A., ed. (2012). Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education. Los Angeles, California: SAGE Reference. p. 1173. ISBN 978-1-4129-8152-1.
  9. Torikka, Ritva; Torikka, Xia (2 November 2017). "Pedar Jalvin tekstit julkaistaan suomeksi" [Pedar Jalvi's texts are published in Finnish]. Uutiset (in Finnish). Yle. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
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