A3 Book section, Chapters in research books
Can you imagine? : An imaginary of Finland's higher education as anti-oppressive, intersectional practice (2023)

Ennser-Kananen, J., & Saarinen, T. (2023). Can you imagine? : An imaginary of Finland's higher education as anti-oppressive, intersectional practice. In M. Sommier, A. Roiha, & M. Lahti (Eds.), Interculturality in Higher Education : Putting Critical Approaches into Practice (pp. 11-26). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003322702-2

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Ennser-Kananen, Johanna; Saarinen, Taina

Parent publication: Interculturality in Higher Education : Putting Critical Approaches into Practice

Parent publication editors: Sommier, Melodine; Roiha, Anssi; Lahti, Malgorzata

ISBN: 978-1-032-34539-0

eISBN: 978-1-003-32270-2

Publication year: 2023

Publication date: 26/10/2022

Pages range: 11-26

Number of pages in the book: 153

Publisher: Routledge

Place of Publication: Abingdon

Publication country: United Kingdom

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003322702-2

Publication open access: Not open

Publication channel open access: 

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/85651

Abstract

This chapter presents an imagined future scenario following a tweet by Minister of Interior Maria Ohisalo in June 2020 on Finland’s Government Action Plan for Gender Equality. In our counterfactual imaginary, the government resigns and new elections result in a victory of the Left and Green parties, which were leading the polls at the time. We examine how Finnish higher education (HE) could develop in response to calls for intersectional and anti-oppressive practice on the basis of existing research, the Government Action Plan for Gender Equality, and the Higher Education Accessibility plan. Our counterfactual framework critically examines historical processes and possible futures emerging from them. This approach calls for an unlearning of oppressive histories and thus challenges historical determinism, offers plausible alternate readings of historical and political events, and evaluates taken-for-granted assumptions by making historical and political contingencies visible. We identify fruitful directions for Intercultural Education (IE) in Finland that emerge as a result of our counterfactual imaginary and close with recommendations for those overseeing, working, and studying at Finnish universities, for a concerted effort to move IE and Finnish HE in general towards intersectional anti-oppressive practice.

Keywords: system of higher education; higher education policy; higher education (teaching); power structures; structural discrimination; oppression; future; alternatives; intersectionality; equality (values)

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2023

JUFO rating: 3