Researching racial landscapes through the experiences of women of color living in Bordeaux, Rotterdam and Helsinki

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Researching racial landscapes through the experiences of women of color living in Bordeaux, Rotterdam and Helsinki

Project duration

1.9.2022 - 31.8.2027

Core fields of research

Languages, culture and society

Research areas

Discourses, identities and mobilities

Department

Department of Language and Communication Studies

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Funding

Research Council of Finland

Funding decision number 347698

Project description

This project focuses on the perceptions of individuals identifying as racialized women and who are living in three cities: Helsinki (Finland), Rotterdam (the Netherlands) and Bordeaux (France). The projects sets out to understand how racialization processes materialize in European urban environments with the aim of making cities more inclusive.

In European post-racial (discursive) spaces (Goldberg, 2015), the notion of "race" is often taboo or dismissed and terms such as "culture", "ethnicity", or "religion" are used instead. Examining cities provides concrete insights into the way "race", racism and whiteness are reproduced and contested in everyday life.

This project is built around the perceptions of individuals identifying as racialized women as a means of giving them a platform to make their experiences visible and use it to understanding how "race", racism and whiteness materialize in Europe.

The multilayered research design that includes photographs taken by the participants, datawalks and follow-up interviews opens up the scope of methods that can be used to research "race", racism and whiteness, thereby filling an important methodological gap.

Photographs. Looking at the city anew

The participants take photographs of what they perceive as instances of "race" and racism when walking the streets of Helsinki, Rotterdam and Bordeaux.

Datawalks. Immersing ourselves in the city.

The participants take the researcher through local places that are relevant to their experiences of "race" and racism in the city.

Interviews. Sitting down and going further.

The participants and researcher sit down together to talk about experiences of "race" and racism in the city and in society at large.

Publications

Publication

2024

Journal of Race, Ethnicity and the City

Sommier, Mélodine

Project team

Project leaders

Mélodine Sommier

Academy Research Fellow

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