Charlotte is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Faculty of Music. Her research project is funded by the Leverhulme Trust, and its topic is identity negotiations by metal music artists from Finnish and Russian Karelia through the use of folklore, language, culture and history in their music.
Charlotte finished her PhD at University College London (UCL) in 2022. Her thesis analysed the adaptation of Baltic-Finnish folk poetry and the epic, the Kalevala, in metal music from Finland and connections to national identity in the lyrics. At UCL, she also worked as a postgraduate teaching assistant teaching various modules in sociology, history, and Finnish culture. She completed her master’s studies in Finnish language and culture at the University of Helsinki (2016) and her undergraduate studies in Finno-Ugric languages and cultures at the University of Groningen (2014).
She has co-organised conferences on multilingualism in metal music and the cultural, literary, and historic significance of cats. The latter conference was in conjunction with an exhibition organised by librarians of Senate House Library, London.
Peer-reviewed articles:
- ‘The Appeal of Seventeenth-Century Famines for Contemporary Metal Bands: A Comparison Between Hiidenhauta’s 1695 (2018) and Insomnium’s Anno 1696 (2023). In Journal of Finnish Studies 27(1), 2024 (accepted for publication, in press)
- ‘Have You Heard of Kalevauva.fi Yet’ – Modern Folklore, Humour and Gender in the Lyrics of Finnish Folk Troubadour Duo Kalevauva.fi. (together with R.-L. Valijärvi) In Electronic Journal of Folklore 87, 2023
- Of Heroes, Maidens, and Squirrels – Reimagining Traditional Finnish Folk Poetry in Metal Lyrics. In Metal Music Studies 7(2), pp. 317-333, 2021
Edited volumes:
- The Cat’s Pyjamas: Cats in Culture and Society eds. R. Valijärvi, C. Doesburg. Freeland, Oxfordshire: Inter/Connexions, 2025 (forthcoming)
- Multilingual Metal, Sociocultural, Linguistic and Literary Perspectives on Heavy Metal Lyrics. eds. R. Valijärvi, C. Doesburg, A. Digioia.: West Yorkshire: Emerald, 2020
Conference proceedings:
- Singing, music, and magic in the Finnish epic the Kalevala and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Silmarillion. In Lembas Extra: Tolkien Among Scholars. Proceedings of the Seventh Unquendor Lustrum Den Haag: Unquendor, pp. 151-160, 2016
Public engagement
- Podcast interview about PhD research for Midlands Music Musings, Midlands Music Research Network, January 2023
- Podcast interview about Multilingual Metal for Talking Europe, UCL European Institute, April 2021
popular music, popular culture, subcultures, folklore, Finno-Ugric languages and cultures, identity negotiations, adaptation, cats
