University of Helsinki
Principal Investigator:
Suvi Keskinen is Academy of Finland Research Fellow and Professor in Ethnic Relations and Nationalism at the Swedish School of Social Science, University of Helsinki. Her research interests include post/decolonial feminism, critical race and whiteness studies, politics of belonging, nationalism, political activism and violence. She is currently leading (1) the KNOWACT-project, and (2) the project Border Crises in Two Languages. Mediatized Politics and Solidarity Activism in the Wake of the 2015 Asylum Migration. Keskinen has published several books and edited Special Issues, as well as journal articles in for example Social Politics, Ethnicities, Nordic Journal of Migration Research, Critical Social Policy, Social Identities and Journal of Intercultural Studies.
Keskinen’s homepage https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/suvi-keskinen
Researchers:
Aminkeng A Alemanji researches on issues of race, racism, antiracism and antiracism education. His research focusses on developing different strategies of antiracism intervention in and out of schools using different methodologies. His dissertation, “Is there such a thing? A study of Antiracism in Finland (2016) is a study on the state of antiracism education in Finland. Since then he has participated in research on Ethnic Profiling in Finland as well as Hate Crimes in Finland. He is also currently working as University Teacher for the Master’s programme of Social Exclusion at Åbo Akademi University.
Alemanji’s homepage https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/alemanji-aminkeng-atabong
Nelli Ruotsalainen graduated with BA in Women’s Studies from the University of Rhode Island, USA, in 2011. She completed her MA in Gender Studies at the University of Helsinki in 2014. Prior to beginning her PhD Studies, Ruotsalainen worked as a gender equality expert in several EU funded projects across municipalities in Finland. She is also one of the founders of the Feminist Party, a vice member to Helsinki City Council, and serves on the City of Helsinki Gender Equality Commission. Currently Ruotsalainen is a PhD Candidate at the University of Helsinki SKY Doctoral Program. Her PhD is one of the sub-projects on the KNOWACT project located at the Centre for the study of Ethnic Relationships and Nationalism in the Swedish School of Social Science.
Ruotsalainen’s homepage https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/nelli-elisa-ruotsalainen
Amiirah Salleh-Hoddin is a first-year Ph.D. student at the Centre for Research on Ethnic Relations and Nationalism (CEREN) at the University of Helsinki, as a member of the KNOWACT-project team. She has a Research Masters degree in Social Sciences, with a major in social psychology, from the University of Helsinki, and a Bachelor of Psychology with Honours from Murdoch University in Australia. Her research interests include critical race and whiteness studies, politics of belonging, and equality data. In addition to her doctoral studies, Amiirah is the co-founder and chairperson of the Anti-Racist Forum in Finland and delivers trainings as a peace educator across Europe. For her work, she was awarded the title of Global Educator of the Year 2018 by the Teachers Without Borders network in Finland.
Salleh-Hoddin’s homepage https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/amiirah-salleh-hoddin
Minna Seikkula is finalizing her PhD research on distinct forms of antiracist activism and organizing. In addition to her interest in Critical Race and Whiteness Studies, her research interests relate to Critical Migration Studies, Postcolonial and Decolonial critique and Feminist theorization on Intersectionality. She has previously published on antiracism, racialization, whiteness, and citizenship. In the KNOWACT project, she is interested in developing participatory action research and militant research methodologies in relation to migration solidarity activism.
Seikkula’s homepage https://researchportal.helsinki.fi/en/persons/minna-kristiina-seikkula
Irene Omwami is research assistant in the KNOWACT-project 1.11.2019-30.6.2020.
Advisory Board
Professor Umut Erel, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (Sociology), The Open University, UK
Dr. Steve Garner, Research Fellow, School of Social Science, Cardiff University, UK
Professor Encarnacion Gutierrez-Rodriguez, Institute for Sociology, Justus Liebig University, Germany
Professor Diana Mulinari, Department of Gender Studies, Lund University, Sweden
Professor Ann Phoenix, Institute of Education, University College London, UK
Professor Vicki Squire, Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick, UK