Browsing by discipline "Politisk historia"

Seela Sella and Her Supporters – A Biography of an Actress and Life Span Psychology Seela Sella and Her Supporters is a licentiate thesis in political and social history. It is a biography of a famous Finnish actress and also a case study in the biography genre. Its aim is to make a picture of a person's life by using historical methodology and by applying the concept of life span psychology. Life span psychologists focus on the crises or transitional phases in the human life. In this study the focus is on the structures of life, not the individual choices. Hence, the term and concept of life span, not that of the currently popular life course. The American psychologist Erik H. Erikson has formed a theory of eight crises that everyone faces during their lifetime. This theory is used as a tool for discussing the important transitions and behavior models in the life of Seela Sella. In the biography of Seela Sella, identity is an important element. It is elaborated upon and taken into consideration during important phases and in different themes in her life. In this view this is a modern biography that takes interest in the private sphere along with the public. The biography shows that women strive for their own goals, not only for those of or given by their husbands. Seela Sella is the subject matter and the source herself. For this study she was interviewed several times during 2009–2012 in order to gain understanding of her views and attitudes, not so much for gathering information. The facts have been collected from written materials, documents and article clippings of the Sella family and public archives. Seela Sella never kept a diary but has kept a notebook during her school years. Her mother also wrote autobiographical texts. The biography shows how important the supporters and the background were for the young Seela and how they influenced her in her decision to devote her life to the theatre. Her family retold her stories of her vocation for performing arts, and eventually she took them for granted. Her identity as an actress became extremely strong. This case study in the biography genre shows how splendid a tool a biography can be in describing the human life in the historical context, and what kind of problems and choices a person faces. The genre is still alive and strong – still 2000 years after the Plutarch times of Greek antiquity.