The doctoral dissertation in the field of Human Geography will be examined at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies at Joensuu Campus and online.
What is the topic of your doctoral research? Why is it important to study the topic?
My dissertation examines perception, sensory experience, and lived border encounters in the context of the Finnish-Russian and US-Mexican borders. The work draws on the concept of (un)familiarity and how it influences cross-border perception and interactions on different levels.
Borders are something we create between people and countries. They can help us to build communities, but they can also build enemies. They can exclude and include. No matter what they are used for, they are human made, thus understanding how we make, remake, and break down borders is important for understand relations between people and countries.
What are the key findings or observations of your doctoral research?
My research gives new knowledge of conceptual knowledge by operationalizing (un)familiarity and linking it to sensory perception. The results highlight that familiarity, through direct interaction, tends to generate more positive perceptions and reduce fear, although it is mediated by ideology. Beyond individual agency, the role of institutional scaffolding in lowering perceived and experienced thresholds cannot be ignored as it acts as framework for the interaction.
How can the results of your doctoral research be utilised in practice?
My research is meant to help people, from the average everyday person to the politicians in charge, to reflect on how we, via our actions, create and uphold borders between 'us and them'. These borders are not necessarily bad, but they are often misused to create enemy pictures that do not correspond with reality.
What are the key research methods and materials used in your doctoral research?
The dissertation consists of three articles. In the first one I have used questionnaires with students visiting Russia. In the second one I have used more of an ethnographic method (research-participant) working with humanitarian organizations along the US-Mexican border to study (perception of) danger in the borderlands. In the final article I have interviewed Finnish NGOs and others engaged in cross-border cooperation with Russian partners.
The doctoral dissertation of Henrik Nielsen, M.Soc.Sc., entitled (Un)familiar neighbors: Perception across the Finnish-Russian and US-Mexican borders will be examined at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies. The opponent will be Assistant Professor Christophe Sohn, University of Luxembourg, and the custos will be Adjunct Professor Paul Fryer, University of Eastern Finland. Language of the public defence is English.
For further information, please contact:
Henrik Nielsen, hnielsen(at)uef.fi, +358 45 138 2041