CV
Education
- Docent (Associate Professor), Uppsala University, 2018
- Docent (Associate Professor), Åbo Akademi University, 2006
- Doctor of Theology (Jewish Studies), Åbo Akademi University, 2018
- Doctor of Philosophy (Comparative religion), Åbo Akademi University, 2004
- Master of Philosophy, Åbo Akademi University, 2000
- Master of Theology, Åbo Akademi University, 2015
Current research
Keynotes and Conferences (2/2021)
My main research interests concern questions pertaining to cultural encounters and interreligious dialogue, ethnographic research methodology with cultural studies as well as contemporary Judaism. I am especially interested in the relationship between the arts (particularly music) and religion. Chronologically, I work predominantly with contemporary religion, combining ethnographic research methods with content analysis and approaches deriving from the philosophy of religion.
Since 2016, I have been, together with Associate Professor Svante Lundgren (Lund University), editor of the scholarly journal Nordisk judaistik / Scandinavian Jewish Studies.
I am also the director of the research project Boundaries of Jewish Identities in Contemporary Finland finansed by the Polin Institute.
Research fields and issues I have worked with include:
- Contemporary Judaism: Ethnographic research on vernacular Judaism in Finland. Also progressive Judaism in today’s Europe with particular focus on the role of music as an instigator of change in contemporary identity processes.
- Interreligious dialogue: Ethnographic research on interreligious dialogue especially in the world of art.
- Religion and the arts: Ethnographic and theoretical research on art and religion, religion in art and art (especially music) as a platform for expressing religious identities.
- Dialogue philosophy: Interpreting Jewish dialogue philosophy and its importance for cultural and interreligious dialogue in practice.
- Religion, diversity and change in Finland: Ethnographic, theoretical and methodological research on religious diversity in contemporary Finland.
- Ethnographic research on religion and methodology: Methodological reflections on hermeneutics and methodology for contemporary ethnographic research on religion.
For information about publications, collaborations and expert assignments, see the Åbo Akademi University Research Portal AboCRIS