Lena Näre (dos. DPhil, VTT) is the director of the project. Lena is Assistant Professor in Sociology at the University of Helsinki, Department of Social Research.
Lena’s research analyses migration and ethnicity, work and gender. She is an expert on the politics of migration and care. Lena is also leading the research project Insecure Lives – Irregular Migration and Precarious Work in Finland (2015–2018) funded by the Academy of Finland. Lena is the Vice President of the European Sociological Association (2017-2019) and editor-in-chief of Nordic Journal of Migration Research together with Synnøve Bendixen.
Contact: lena.nare(a)helsinki.fi
You can find Lena’s publications in the Tuhat database
Paula Merikoski (M.Soc.Sc.) works as a PhD student in the project, at the Department of Sociology at the University of Helsinki.
Paula is currently studying hosting asylum seekers in local people’s homes. As sociologist, Paula is interested in migration, gender, citizenship, inequality, work and intersectionality. Paula is also a member of a Nordic research project NORDHOST, which studies new forms of hospitalities that have emerged in the Nordic welfare states as a result of the asylum ‘crisis’.
Contact: paula.merikoski(a)helsinki.fi
You can find Paula’s publications in the Tuhat database.
Olivia Maury (M.Soc.Sc.) works as a PhD student in the project, at the Department of Sociology at the University of Helsinki.
Olivia’s PhD research studies borders, the incoherence of migration categories and the production of labour (force). Olivia analyses the differing work and study experiences of individuals living with a student visa in Finland, and demonstrates how the image of international students as a homogeneous group of future experts is scattered. She connects the analysis to asylum by arguing that the student visa can emerge as a refuge and a route to safety as the criteria become increasingly strict. Thus, she places the agency of migrants at the centre of the analysis.
Contact: olivia.maury(a)helsinki.fi
You can find Olivia’s publications in the Tuhat database.
Anna-Maria Tapaninen (PhD, docent in social and cultural anthropology) works as a researcher at the University of Helsinki.
Anna-Maria has studied family reunification in the Finnish migration politics, with an analytical focus on the role of DNA analysis in the decision making process, and forensic age estimation that is used to define the age of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum. The research began in the IMMIGENE project funded by the Finnish Academy and in the project Kehon todisteet – asiakirjojen, kertomusten ja bioteknologioiden keskinäisvaikutukset maahanmuuton valvonnassa funded by Kone foundation. In Neighbourhood solidarities project Anna-Maria studies the tensions between care and suspicion both on a juridical and administrative level as well as in civil society networks, especially through the support families of the unaccompanied minor refugees. Questions concerning the becoming of and challenging of childhood, home and kinship lie at the centre of the analysis.
Contact: anna-maria.tapaninen(a)helsinki.fi
You can find Anna-Marias publications in the Tuhat database.
Elina Paju (PhD) works as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Sociology at the University of Helsinki.
Elina’s doctoral thesis ”Lasten arjen ainekset: Etnografinen tutkimus materiaalisuudesta, ruumiillisuudesta ja toimijuudesta päiväkodissa” examines the impact of materiality unfolding in the everyday routine of kindergartens. Elina has since conducted ethnographic research in activation workshops for young people, focusing on questions on citizenship, corporality and temporality. She has studied materiality, consumption culture and how children under school-age use technology in their home environments.
Contact: elina.paju(a)helsinki.fi
You can find Elina’s publications in the Tuhat database.
Anna Knappe (MFA) and Amir Jan work as artists in the project. They have created art together since 2010, including cinematic work, media installations and photography on global migration, both from the perspectives of humans as well as from the perspectives of other living beings. Knappe and Jan often work in collaboration with Afghan diaspora members in Finland and in other parts of Europe, striving to encourage members of migrant minority groups to tell and seize their own communal narratives. Their work analyses how words and language form identity, the Mohajer identity of Afghan migrants, never-ending migrancy, life in camps, and stories of home by people without a home country.
Contact:
annaknappe.com
annaknappe(a)gmail.com
amiirjaan(a)yahoo.com