How did I end up here? Stories from migrant men

What is the project about?

In recent years, Sweden has received large numbers of migrants and refugees and majority of them are men. This has caused significant public debates, as in the public eyes, the typical migrant is a young, single man and the growing number of male migrants has been one of most vivid concern of the European societies. Therefore, the main aim of the project is to strengthen communication of newest research findings to the public and increase the level of nuanced knowledge on masculinities, gender attitudes and living conditions of all male migrants in Sweden. The project aims to present the findings of the ongoing ethnographic research project on single migrant men in the EU entitled "Transnational single men. An ethnography about singleness among migrated men in the European Union" (VR 2018-01476). This will be done in order to combat stereotypes and misinformation regarding single migrant men living in Sweden. This will be done by following activities: project website maintenance, social media campaign, development of popular science blogposts and podcasts as well as organisation of a storytelling workshop and science theatre. Consequently, target groups are: Swedish general public, single migrant men that live in Sweden and relevant stakeholders.

The project's research questions

1. Project website and connected social media
   The project’s results will be disseminated on a) already existing research project website, where so far only research-related content has been published.
2. Podcasts
   Three podcasts will be produced during the project and their content will be co-created with selected participants from the previous research project, practitioners who work with migrant men, researchers and artist involved in the communication activities.
3. Blogposts
   Five blogpost (1000 words each) written as a form of popular science articles will be published on the project website, other popular science platforms (eg. MonkeyCage, Politico) and shared via social media.
4. Storytelling workshop
   In the second phase of the project a storytelling workshop will be organized, were selected number of participants (previous research participants, other migrant men, researchers, policy makers, practitioners working with migrants) will be invited to share their perspective on migration, integration and masculinities.
5. Science theater
   Science theater will be developed in a form of a performance, that will be inspired by the previous project’s research findings, which will serve as an inspiration for an artist (John Huntington) who will work with the material and transform it into artistic performance. blocks, productions, presentations, lectures, publications, and seminars in Gothenburg and will be accessible for the general public.

Participating institutions/universities

• Professor Ulf Mellström, Center for Gender Studies, Karlstad University. Forskningsintressen – maskulinitet, migration, högre utbildning, teknologi, genus, singelskap
• Docent Katarzyna Wojnicka, Department of Sociology, Gothenburg University, migration, masculinity, fatherhood, methodology, social movements
• Independent artist John Huntington, working in a conceptual tradition, expressed through performative, sculptural, textual and immersive art projects. Educated at Konstfack in Stockholm and at the Art Academy in Umeå. Living and working in Gothenburg.

Links to the websites of the project participants:

John Huntington External link.

Katarzyna Wojnicka External link.

Ulf Mellström External link.