(Please forward suggestions/info. to Anu Salmela <[log in to unmask]>.)
I am a doctoral student at the UNIVERSITY OF TURKU in FINLAND. My main
subject is Cultural studies/Comparative Religion, and my doctoral thesis
deals with Somali immigrant women in Turku area (in South-West Finland).
Ethnic minorities with refugee background have lived in Finland mainly
since the beginning of 1990s. For this reason, research of refugees is
still quite small-scale. In Cultural Studies in Finland, we have, for
the first time, an opportunity to do research work on intergration of
second (or one and a half) generation Somali (or other) immigrants.
In England, however, ethnic minorities are not so new phenomenon: A
great deal of research has been done concerning questions of cultural
and social integration. There are also organizations which are
specialized in practical immigration work and integration planning (and
problems related to that). Accordingly, for me as a researcher, it is
necessary to pay attention to immigrant issues in somewhat larger
perspective. In other words, it is important to get acquainted with
immigrant research and 'everyday life of Somali communities' in England
(as well as, e.g., in Sweden, Canada and Denmark). This will help me to
construct my viewpoints and the theoretical framework of the study.
I AM PLANNING A VISIT TO LONDON AND OXFORD (maybe also to Manchester)
LATER THIS YEAR. I contact You because it would be very helpful for me
to have some kind of BEFOREHAND-INFORMATION: e.g. where to go for a
material seek (libraries, small publishers, web pages), who to contact
(researchers of ethnic minorities, especially Somalis; other persons who
deal with immigrant issues, possibly Somali women themselves), and which
university departments, organizations and research institutions to
visit. If my research themes (see below) are of particular interest to
someone who gets this information, I will be pleased to discuss my
research, and, for example, compare the situation of Somali communities
in Finland and in England.
My research will be somewhat multidisciplinary, because I will use
theoretical views of comparative religion, anthropology, humanist
geography and feminist studies. If You know some researcher IN ANY PART
OF ENGLAND who is interested in same kinds of themes, it would be a
great help for me if You could forward my mail to him/her. (Some further
information about my study, see below.)
Thank You for Your help!
Yours sincerely,
Anu Salmela
SOME FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT MY STUDY
THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: to clarify what kinds of morally and
culturally specific meanings Somali immigrant women of varying ages
attribute to different spaces, what which gender- and body-specific
behavioural and spatial conventions are followed, considered desirable
or rejected, and how the social and spatial segregation of men and women
apparent in Islamic thought is manifested in Finland, where Islam, as
well as Muslim immigrants, is in a minority position.
THE ETHNOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH DATA: will consist of the interviews with
and participant observations of Somali women (approximately 16–47
years of age). All this data (with 20–30 interviews) will be
constructed in Turku.
THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: According to anthropologist Mary Douglas, the
boundaries of the body represent the boundaries of the social structures
of a society. By controlling the individual body boundaries, society
safeguards its own integrity and continuity. (Douglas 1988, 115, 121.)
(Metaphoric) correlation between the boundaries of the body and society
is not considered a static structure, but as an ongoing process; in this
study, special attention will be given to the fact that the Somali
community (communities) lives in the Finnish cultural environment as an
ethnic and religious minority. The space (and place), on the other hand,
is defined according to the humanist-geographical definition emphasizing
social relativity.
Theoretical questions related to gender and body are approached through
feminist gender theories. Both body and gender are considered as
historically, culturally and socially constructed. These factors not
only represent the body in a certain context-specific way. Rather, they
produce the body as a body of a determinate type. (Grosz, Elizabeth
1994, Volatile Bodies.) Thus, it is not possible to distinguish the
‘real’, material, biological body from the culturally
produced version of it.
************************************************************
ANU SALMELA, M.A.
Doctoral student of Comparative Religion
Department of Cultural Studies
Henrikinkatu 3, FIN - 20014 University of Turku
Tel. + 358 2 333 5026 *E-mail: [log in to unmask]
GSM + 358 40 510 5750
http://www.utu.fi/hum/uskontotiede/anu
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