Lauri Moilanen’s dissertation awarded the Eudaimonia Prize
Lauri Moilanen’s research examines suicidal murders committed in the region of Finland during the early modern era and compares them with similar crimes elsewhere in Europe. He analyzes the crime events, the backgrounds of the perpetrators, and their thinking through the lenses of historical criminology and social and cultural history.
The prize recipient was selected by Professor Petri Ylikoski, Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the University of Helsinki. According to the justification, Moilanen provides an exceptionally broad and comprehensive picture of suicide‑murders committed in 18th‑century Finland, filling a significant research gap.
Ylikoski describes the dissertation as methodologically strong, with convincing results. A key contribution of the work is its ability to critically reassess earlier international research on suicidal murders.
Moilanen combines deep knowledge of traditional historical sources and source criticism with criminological concepts in a way that reshapes our understanding of the phenomenon. Both the findings and the methodology are internationally pioneering and attract interest beyond academic circles.
The recipient of the Eudaimonia Dissertation Prize was selected from dissertations in the humanities completed in 2024–2025. Lauri Moilanen defended his dissertation on 7 June 2025.
Suicidal murder as a criminal, social, and cultural phenomenon in early modern Finland