Narrations of homogeneity, waning welfare states, and the politics of solidarity

Keskinen, Suvi; Skaptadóttir, Unnur Dís; Toivanen, Mari

doi:10.4324/9781315122328-1

Cited by 19 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Related to meaning making behavior, a significant shift has been observed in several European and North American countries (Roof, 1993(Roof, , 1999. In Finland, where the prevailing narrative has been of cultural and ethnic homogeneity (Keskinen et al, 2019), the choice contexts for meaning making have been relatively limited. Thus, for many older Finns, especially those belonging to generations preceding the baby boomer generation, the search for meaning in life has taken place in a religious framework (e.g., Niemelä, 2011).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meaning Making in a Retirement Migrant Community: Religion, Spirituality, and Social Practices of Daily Lives

Spännäri

Laceulle

2021

Front. Psychol.

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Meaning in life has also been seen as crucial to well-being, and especially, in later life. This study focused on the social complexity of meaning making processes and the role of religion and spirituality in them, by finding out the following: (1) How are meaning-making practices connected with religion and spirituality for Finnish retirement migrants of the boomer generation? (2) What does the role of religion and spirituality in meaning-making practices teach us about the relationship between individual and social aspects of meaning making? This was done by examining a particular group of older persons: Finnish retirement migrants aged 60 or over in Costa del Sol, Spain. The material for this study consists of 58 texts (written correspondence, dataset 1, year 2009), 10 semi-structured interviews (dataset 2, year 2011), and 30 completed online surveys with open-ended questions (dataset 3, year 2019). Key findings include that religion and spirituality are present in the lives of our informants in a variety of ways, playing a significant role in their meaning making, and that they appear as intertwined and not so easy to separate. A variety of religious and non-religious forms of spirituality exist in this population, and all of these forms can be relevant factors in meaning making. Also, the engagement in meaning making, contrary to what has been suggested in some of the literature about meaning in later life, not only occurs in response to confrontations with health issues, death, or other major life events. Instead, we found that meaning making occurs as a process that is often inherent to daily activities which may seem “trivial,” but in fact turn out to be important sources of purpose, values, and connectedness. Contrary to the dominant modern ideal of the authentic, self-sufficient human agent, which is based on a problematically atomistic and individualistic anthropology, for our respondents, their authentic subject position is embedded in the social practices of their daily lives, which nourish their individual spirituality and are vital to making meaning.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meaning Making in a Retirement Migrant Community: Religion, Spirituality, and Social Practices of Daily Lives

Spännäri

Laceulle

2021

Front. Psychol.

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“…Whiteness has implicitly been part of the Icelandic national identity and the assumption of homogeneity (Keskinen et al. , 2019) has perpetuated the myth of racial innocence (Loftsdóttir, 2020).…”

Section: Societal Context Of Icelandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Whether you like my skin or not, I am here”: skilled racial minority migrant women's experiences of navigating career challenges in the White Icelandic labor market

Christiansen

Kristjánsdóttir²

2022

JGM

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PurposeThis study aims to explore the lived experiences of skilled racial minority migrant (SRMM) women who hold management positions in the White Icelandic labor market and to understand how gender, race, ethnicity and migrant status intersect to shape experiences of privilege and disadvantage.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper phenomenological methodology was applied to analyze in-depth interviews with twelve SRMM women. Iceland provides rich context of high gender and social equality, but limited recognition of ethnic and racial differences.FindingsSRMM women's self-efficacy and agency allowed them to source strength from their background and experiences of challenges. Through reframing they adopted a mindset of resilience and determination, proactively redefined the context, turned negatively stereotyped identities into positive assets and engaged strategically with barriers based on gender, language or migrant status. In contrast, the subtle and covert nature of racial prejudice in the context of the invisible norm of Whiteness felt impossible to address.Originality/valueThe study provides insight into the experiences of SRMM women who have attained upper- and middle-management positions. The findings illuminate the overt and covert barriers that the women experience on their career journey in the context of a White labor market that emphasizes egalitarianism and gender equality but does not engage with ethnic or racial prejudice. They highlight the role of self-efficacy and agency in deploying strategies to negotiate intersecting barriers and how that agency is disadvantaged by the invisible norm of Whiteness.

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“…None of the Nordic countries (Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland) have a well-established colonial history, compared to other European empires: English, French, or Dutch, for example. However, these nations did benefit economically, politically, and culturally, from their colonialist neighbours (Keskinen, Skaptadóttir, & Toivanen, 2019 ). Early migration (prior to the seventeenth century) was mainly of an explorer/discoverer nature, evidenced by the Danes settlement of Greenland and the Norwegian settlement of Iceland, for example.…”

Section: Analyses Of How Other Nordic Nations Have Responded To the Rmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration to Finland and the Nordic Nations

Croucher

Galy‐Badenas

Condon

et al. 2021

Migration and Media in Finland

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This chapter provides a brief review of historical migration to Finland, discusses the legal aspects of migrating to Finland and the rights of immigrants and refugees, current trends in migration to and from Finland, and analyses how other Nordic nations (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden specifically) have responded to the refugee crisis. Through this discussion, similarities and differences in how Nordic nations have historically and currently respond to migration are explained.

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Narrations of homogeneity, waning welfare states, and the politics of solidarity

Cited by 19 publications

References 19 publications

Meaning Making in a Retirement Migrant Community: Religion, Spirituality, and Social Practices of Daily Lives

Meaning Making in a Retirement Migrant Community: Religion, Spirituality, and Social Practices of Daily Lives

“Whether you like my skin or not, I am here”: skilled racial minority migrant women's experiences of navigating career challenges in the White Icelandic labor market

Migration to Finland and the Nordic Nations

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