Department of Slavic and Baltic Studies, Finnish, Dutch and German
Guest lecture: Anu Muhonen (University of Helsinki)
Seminar
Date:Thursday 2 October 2025
Time:13.00 – 14.30
Location:E509 and Zoom
Guest lecture by Anu Muhonen, University of Helsinki, with the title "New materialist analysis of intra-action of students, seniors and artefacts in a community-engaged service-learning collaboration".
PhD, Associate Professor Anu Muhonen (University of Helsinki) presents recent research in the Higher seminar in Finnish.
Abstract
New materialist analysis of intra-action of students, seniors and artefacts in a community-engaged service-learning collaboration
Muhonen's talk explores Finnish language learning , particularly so-called community engaged service learning - in Toronto through posthumanist and new materialist perspectives, examining migration trajectories and transnational belonging among Finnish Canadians. She demonstrates how Canadian students of Finnish language and culture regularly visit a Finnish seniors' center (Suomi-Koti), participating in activities with Finnish-speaking older adults. This service-learning collaboration benefits language learning, particularly when students have heterogeneous skills and limited classroom exposure to the language. Using posthumanist and new materialist frameworks, she analyzes the assemblage of seniors, students, and one artifact (a map), offering a close examination of the intra-action and entanglement of human and non-human participants in this collaborative learning environment.
The seminar will be in English. The seminar is streamed via Zoom. The Zoom-link will appear on this page shortly before the event.
