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FORSKNINGSPROJEKT

Fortællinger om kvindeliv på tværs af grænser.

Et møde mellem kunst og forskning

Projektbeskrivelse af bogen Mit skib er ladet med Minder, v. Professor

Ann-Dorte Christensen, Institut for Sociologi og Socialt Arbejde

Aalborg Universitet 

Skibet er ladet med minder

Fortællinger om kvindeliv på tværs af grænser

En bog af Ann-Dorte Christensen og Marit Benthe Norheim 

 

Rammen for bogen er de 18 kvinder,  der er portrætteret til
galionsfigurerne på ryggen af  ”Mit skib er ladet med Minder”

Bogen er baseret på 18 livsfortællinger med nulevende kvinder over 70 år, som har rødder i 27 forskellige lande. Hver fortælling er analyseret som en unik beretning om individuelle erfaringer med styrke, smerte og kærlighed. Men fortællingerne er samtidig en kilde til viden om væsentlige begivenheder i samfundet gennem de seneste årtier, hvor flugt, migration og møder mellem forskellige kulturer har været et vilkår for mange mennesker. 

Rammen for bogen er billedkunstner Marit Benthe Norheims kunstprojekt Life-boats, der består af tre sejlende skulpturer, som symboliserer forskellige stadier i kvindelivet: Længsel – den unge på vej ud i livet; Liv – den gravide midt i livet ; Minder – den aldrende. Det er det tredje skib og dets 19 galionsfigurer, denne bog er knyttet til.

På tværs af forskelligheder indeholder ga-lionsfigurernes beretninger et fælles budskab om at huske fortiden og bruge erfaringerne herfra til at fremme åbenhed og tolerance.

Bogen er baseret på et samarbejde mellem professor Ann-Dorte Christensen, Aalborg Universitet og billedkunstner Marit Benthe Norheim. Journalist Marianne Knudsen har bidraget til research og interviews. Bogen er udgivet med støtte fra Spar Nord Fonden.
 

“Med ældre kvinders tilbageblik på levet liv midt i flygtningestrømme og migrationens globale vingesus producerer bogen gennem kunst og videnskab unik viden om individuelle og kollektive erindringer. Bogen er et must for alle, der vil forstå det 21. århundrede.” 
Anita Frank Goth, redaktør og skribent

Læs Anita Frank's tale fra boglanceringen

Flot BOGANMELDELSE af, Skibet er ladet med Minder

Fra Oxford University Press, migration studies, skrevet af Kathy Davis, som er en meget anerkendt kønsforsker og redaktør af Europen Journal of  Women’s Studies, som er det  mest anerkendt kønsforskningstidsskrift i Europa.

Uddrag fra anmeldelsen:

The book shows how traveling across borders can also be enriching as long as connections are maintained with families and cultures. More generally, the stories of the interviewed women indicate how mobility can promote an understanding of differences and help develop tolerance within cultures, more generally.

This book is a good illustration of what contemporary social theory on mobility might gain from a biographical perspective. We clearly need theoretical frameworks that attend to the ways migrants, often with great creativity, manage the apparent contradictions of belonging and not belonging, while finding ways to live viable lives ‘in-between’ cultures. And, finally, the addition of Norheim’s reflections as an artist on the women’s stories provides insight into the emotional dimension of belonging in ways that a straightforward sociological analysis cannot. She used her impressions of the interviewed women to create a figurehead that would capture the essence of their life story

The book is, therefore, an example of how the use of imagination, empathy, and creativity necessary for producing an artwork that can enhance the narrative approach favored by biographical researchers. A Shipload of Women’s Memories. Narratives across Borders is a ‘must-read’ for anyone
interested in migration, mobility and displacement; gender and its intersections of age,class, ethnicity, and national belonging; and life-stories as methodology. It offers a memorable journey into the lives of some extraordinary women. And, last but not least, it will leave readers longing to see the Life-boats for themselves, as they continue on their voyages throughout Europe.

BOGANMELDELSE af, Skibet er ladet med Minder

Bragt i European Journal of Women’s Studies, det mest fremtrædende europæiske tidsskrift for kønsforskning.

Anmeldt af den Serbiske forsker Zorana Antonijevic, University of Novi Sad, Serbia 

Uddrag fra anmeldelsen:

As in all memory work, the interaction between researchers and researched brings challenges in maintaining intimacy, openness and empathy in situations in which many experiences (migration, war and violence) are not usually shared. However, the life stories collected in the book aim to present not only the present situation of some of the women, such as 79-year-old asylum seeker Basma from Syria (pp. 64–66), but also to build understanding and open-mindedness between cultures in order to prevent future conflicts. Therefore, the book can serve as a learning tool for tolerance, inclusion and
diversity in a world torn by violence, exclusion and differences

A Shipload of Women’s Memories: Narratives across Borders is a remarkable and outstanding book, well researched, well written and accessible beyond the narrow circle of academics. I would strongly recommend it not only to students of social sciences or gender studies, feminists and visual artists but to anyone interested in learning about our societies and the ways in which diversity and dialogue can connect us in resisting intolerance,
violence and war.

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