Researchers

Valtteri Vähä-Savo

I am a researcher at the Tampere Centre for Knowledge, Science, Technology and Innovation Studies , Tampere University. I received my PhD in sociology from the Tampere University in 2016. I act as the principal investigator in the project Inner Truth Evaluation: Technologies of evaluation and testimonial practices in assessing the “inner truth” of individuals (ITE), funded by the Kone Foundation (2021-2024).

I am a board member of the European Sociological Association RN-15: Global, transnational and cosmopolitan sociology. I have been a member of the Tampere Research Group for Cultural and Political Sociology (TCuPS) for several years and I also belong to the Research Group for Epistemic Matters (REM). My research interests include the relationship between power and knowledge, science and technology studies, transgender studies, sociology of valuation and evaluation, sociology of associations, epistemic governance, global and transnational sociology, and neo-institutionalist sociology. 

Venla Koivuluhta

I am a researcher at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University, working in the project Inner Truth Evaluation: Technologies of evaluation and testimonial practices in assessing the “inner truth” of individuals (ITE), funded by the Kone Foundation (2021-2024).  

I am also a PhD researcher at the University of Exeter, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies. My research is affiliated with The South West Doctoral Training Partnership (SWDTP) and funded by The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). My background is in socio-cultural anthropology and Middle East studies, and my research interests include gender, citizenship, bureaucracy and belonging. I am a member of the Research Group for Epistemic Matters (REM).

Johanna Hiitola

I am the director of gender studies at the University of Oulu where I also work as a university lecturer. I have a PhD in gender studies (2015, University of Tampere, Finland) and I am a docent (associate professor) in social and public policy (University of Eastern Finland) and social work (University of Jyväskylä, Finland). My research includes forced migration, ethnic relations and ‘integration’ studies, citizenship scholarship, intersectional feminism(s), interpersonal violence, family relations and kinship studies, and, most recently, research on family separation of forced migrants.

I have studied ethically sustainable evaluation criteria in various fields of sensitive expert knowledge. I have analysed decision-making practices, expert knowledge and governance in out-of-home placements of children, and child’s best interest evaluations in asylum cases. I am also interested in antiracist pedagogies and different forms of activism. I am a member of the Research Group for Epistemic Matters (REM). Currently, I am part of a NOS-HS funded network studying transnational child protection.