Research and publications

The MigraFam-research project (funded by the Academy of Finland 2017–2023) draws on a collective ethnographic approach to examine institutional power and migrant citizenization in the Helsinki capital region and tackle the politicized social category of the ‘migrant family’.
Project rationale

The study advances the theorization of both power asymmetry work and citizenization, and investigate the social and moral ordering of the ‘migrant family’ during prevailing welfare and national migration regime restructuring. The data is be based on participatory observations of four street-level social work sites in the capital region of Finland, individual and focus group interviews, and social work study curricula and literature. 

We employ and develop a collective approach with cross-readings of data, joint analysis and writing, and emphasise collaboration with research participants by discussing initial results in focus group discussions with the research participants. Inspired by institutional ethnography with a strong commitment to analyses of power, we adhere to the discursive level in institutional settings and beyond.

The project had organised academic seminars on methodological topics, such as ethically sensitive issues and situations present in ethnographic research, as well as on conceptual and thematic topics, such as precarious citizenship and state boundary-making, and affective and biological citizenship. 

Publications