One of the most pressing concerns for historians of contemporary art is how to assess the impact of globalization on the production, distribution, and interpretation of artworks. My dissertation topic explores this problem using Finnish contemporary art as a case study. For the purposes of my research, I will consider globalization primarily as a hegemonic way of articulating the relationships between time, place, and identity in the contemporary moment. Considering globalization in these terms, the question of how art has been affected by globalization might be reframed as a question of how contemporary artworks mediate-and contest-changing conceptions of time, place, and identity. Specifically, I will address how nostalgia, as an aesthetic mechanism, mediates the relationships between time, space, and identity that are central to discourses of both nationalism and globalization. I will be researching the work of several prominent contemporary Finnish artists whose work engages with these issues. In order to carry out my dissertation research, I will need to spend several months in Finland gathering primary and secondary source material, viewing artworks, and interviewing artists and critics across the country. I will be based in Helsinki at the Academy of Fine Art but will also work with scholars and participate in seminars and symposia at the University of Helsinki, University of Art and Design Helsinki, Kiasma Museum, and the Finnish Museum of Photography.