Pirkko Koski

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The University of Tartu has conferred the degree of Honorary Doctor on Professor Pirkko Koski for her outstanding achievements in the field of theatre research and integrating the University of Tartu theatre researchers into the international community.

Pirkko Koski was born on 22 December 1941 in Jyväskylä, Finland. She completed master’s programmes in social sciences in 1965 and in literary and drama studies in 1980 at the University of Tampere. In 1989, she received a licentiate in comparative literature, specialising in drama, from the University of Turku. In 1992, Koski obtained a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Helsinki with a thesis titled Teatterinjohtaja ja aika (Theatre director and time).

From 1981 to 1991, Koski was Director of the Finnish Theatre Museum, from 1989 to 2007, the Head of the Chair of Theatre Research at the University of Helsinki, from 1998 to 2007, Professor of Theatre Research, and from 1995 to 2005, Director of the International Centre for Advanced Theatre Studies. In addition to her academic work, Koski has held a number of administrative posts. For example, she was Vice President of the International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR) from 1999 to 2003 and a member of the Executive Committee in 1994–1998 and 2003–2007.

Koski is a very prolific researcher – over the past 20 years, she has published almost 100 publications, including several monographs and textbooks. Her main research interests are the history and aesthetics of the Finnish theatre. Particularly noteworthy is her research on the institutional histories of theatres and biographies of playwrights and actors, which included extensive work in archives. Koski’s research has often been connected in some way with Estonia. For example, she has written a monograph on the Estonian-born Finnish playwright Hella Wuolijoki and also some of her other research subjects, such as director Eino Salmelainen and writer Sofi Oksanen, have had a connection with Estonia.

When the specialisation of theatre research was opened at the University of Tartu in 1992, the University of Helsinki’s curriculum and teaching arrangements, which Koski kindly introduced, were used as a model. Several Estonian students have studied theatre research at the University of Helsinki under Koski’s supervision. Just as important as providing an example and support for the institutional development of the discipline has been Koski’s contribution to integrating Estonian theatre researchers into the international community.

Due to Koski’s initiative, close communication between Estonian and Finnish theatre scholars has continued for 30 years. Between 2018 and 2023, researchers from the University of Helsinki and the University of Tartu carried out a research project on Finnish-Estonian theatre and cultural relations with the support of the Kone Foundation. Koski was actively involved in this project. The results of the extensive project were published in 2024 in the book Vieraita näyttämöllä – Suomen ja Viron teatteri- ja tanssisuhteet (Guests on stage – Finnish and Estonian theatre and dance relations).