Download the Call for Papers in English here:
CFP Nautica Fennica 2027_EN_.pdf
Call for papers – Nautica Fennica 2027
Travellers of the Sea
Propose your article to Nautica Fennica!
The desire or need to travel by sea, to reach beyond the horizon, to distant lands, or simply to cross to the opposite shore has always been important to people. All kinds of people have travelled the seas for various reasons ̶ explorers, merchants, settlers, and leisure travellers. Along with cargo and passengers of merchant ships, information and cultural influences have also travelled between countries and continents. Countless animals, plants, fungi, and microbes have also travelled by sea.
Various catastrophes and conflicts have forced people to flee by sea, and in the future, climate change-induced displacement may further increase the importance of maritime crossings. The sea may separate, but on the other hand, coastal areas and shipping routes create a network that connects regions and people to one another. At the same time, human activity affects the maritime environment as we travel. The increasing mobility of people and goods has raised questions about the sustainability of maritime traffic.
Many of the world’s busiest sea routes have remained active for centuries. For example, the year 2027 will mark the 190th anniversary of the opening of the first regular cruise route between Tallinn and Helsinki. Inspired by such anniversaries and the themes outlined above, the theme of the Nautica Fennica 2027 will be “Travellers of the Sea”. We recognize the broad diversity of those who travel the seas and encourage a multidisciplinary as well as more-than-human perspective. We welcome proposals for scientific articles, including but not limited to, the following themes, with no temporal or geographical restrictions:
- History of passenger traffic: travellers and crew members on board, services and their providers
- History of seafarers: emotions, experiences, circumstances and motivations for travel
- History of non-human travellers of the sea
- Sea travel as a means of exchanging information, ideas and cultural influences
- Information on the travellers of the sea derived from archaeological heritage
- The risks of sea travel, shipwrecks, accidents and ecological burden
Nautica Fennica is the flagship journal of research in Finnish maritime history, maritime archaeology, and maritime ethnology, edited by the Finnish Association for Maritime History; it is open access (with one year embargo) and peer-reviewed. The publication is trilingual (Finnish, Swedish, English). The editors of the forthcoming issue are Professor Tuomas Räsänen, PhD Emilia Syväsalmi, MA, Doctoral Researcher Heidi Pitkänen and MA, Doctoral Researcher Sakari Salokannel. Publication decisions will be made by the editorial board, chaired by Professor Emeritus Yrjö Kaukiainen. Other members of the board include Doctor of Philosophy Sari Mäenpää, Doctor of Military Science Ove Enqvist, Doctor of Philosophy Minna Koivikko, Doctor of Philosophy Anne Ala-Pöllänen, Docent Pirita Frigren, Doctor of Philosophy Kirsi Keravuori and Docent Laura Seesmeri.
Please submit an abstract of approximately 300 words and a short bio by 31.8.2026 to sakari.j.salokannel[at]utu.fi. Decisions will be announced by 14.9.2026. Finished articles should be submitted by 10.1.2027. After peer-review and editorial work Nautica Fennica will be published at the end of the year 2027.
You may ask for additional information from the editors:
Sakari Salokannel (sakari.j.salokannel[at]utu.fi)
Heidi Pitkänen (heidi.m.pitkanen[at]utu.fi)
Tuomas Räsänen (tuomas.rasanen[at]uef.fi)
Emilia Syväsalmi (emilia.syvasalmi[at]gmail.com).