Miika Tervonen

I am a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Social Research, and a docent in Nordic Studies.  My research centres on migration and migration control, ethnic relations and nationalism. I am a historian by background, and combine historical and social science perspectives in my work.

Ongoing research projects

I am currently studying the politics and livelihoods of precarious EU migrants (many of whom are ethnic Roma) in Finland. This research is part of the Academy of Finland funded project 'Insecure lives: Irregular migration and precarious labour in Finland' (INSECURE), led by professor Lena Näre. My empirical case connects to a wider interest in internal bordering in welfare states, and together with Dr. Saara Pellander, I am currently co-editing a special issue on the theme of Everyday Bordering in the Nordic Countries (Nordic Journal of Migration Research 2018).

I am also engaged in two other ongoing research projects. In the project 'Nationalism and democracy in a welfare state' (NADEWE) led by prof.Pauli Kettunen, I am studying a shift from ‘debordering’ to ‘rebordering’ in the Nordic countries. Finally, I am part of a finishing project Vuosaari, led by Reetta Räty and funded by the Kone Foundation, in which we have studied social and ethnic differentiation in one of the most diverse suburbs of Helsinki.

Teaching and supervision

During term 3 in 2017 and 2018, I am teaching the course ‘Migration & History: Nordic and Global Perspectives’ together with Dr. Saara Pellander. I have taught numerous courses, frequently hold visiting lectures and keynote speeches, and supervise MA and PhD thesis.

Other

I have studied history and social sciences at the London School of Economics, and at the universities Edinburgh, Lund and Helsinki. In 2012-2013, I was a visiting Fulbright scholar at Columbia University, Blinken European Institute.

I received my Doctorate degree in 2010 at the European University Institute, with a dissertation dealing with the rise of the so-called "Gypsy question" as part of nation-building in 19th–20th century Finland and Sweden (2010). Since then, I have worked on issues dealing with the histories of Roma minorities from several different perspectives, and was among the main contributors to the Suomen romanien historia ("History of the Finnish Roma"), which received the State Award for Public Information in 2013 and was translated into Swedish in 2015.

I am a member of the board of the Society for the Study of Ethnic Relations and International Migration (ETMU), and an editor of the society’s blog.

Besides academic work, I am engaged in artistic collaborations connected particularly to the theme of nationalism. I am currently cooperating with artists and curators in the projects Truth about Finland (Porin Kulttuurisäätö) and Province (Collective Honkasalo-Niemi-Virtanen).