Norrköping

Monday 19 January was not a usual Monday.

Caroline, Lucas and me were driving the car to Norrköping, because I was going to take a course there. We also had my mum in the car, who had visited us for some days and who would now take the coach from Norrköping to Skavsta Airport that same day. The weather Gods were not with us, as we had heavy snow. Road 51 between Örebro and Norrköping is not exactly a highway and most of the time wewere stuck behind a truck. Due to the bad weather and road conditions we weren't driving faster than 40 km/h instead of the allowed 90. Very frustrating, since I didn't want to start the course by missing the first lecture, and my mum didn't want to end her visit by missing the coach to the airport.

However, after 2 hours we arrived in Norrköping, about 110 km from Örebro. I was lucky to find the campus quite soon and I only missed some minutes of the inaugural lecture. My mum notified me some minutes later that se made it to the bus. Everything alright, and Caroline and Lucas could take it easy on their way back to Örebro. I think they even took a rest in Katrineholm.

The campus in Norrköping is wonderful! In the middle of this town, situated in some old buildings that once were the blooming centre of the textile industry, are now some faculties of Linköping University's Campus Norrköping. One of the buildings at the entrance is now the Louis de Geer theatre, marking the importance of this Dutch entrepreneur that initiated some of the industries in Norrköping in the 18th Century. For entering the campus you have to walk through a small tower, or campanille, which reminded me of Trinity College Dublin. The Motala Ström meanders through the area and waterfalls cascade beside bridges and pathways. Pleasant surroundings!

The course is called Theories and Politics of International Migration. It is part of the Graduate School in REMESO (Institute for on Research Migration, Ethnicity and Society) and lasted from Monday to Friday. Accomodation was taken care of by the course administrator. We were about 20 students from all over Europe, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Greece, Poland, Turkey, Scotland, Lithuania and Spain. Some of us had a more difficult story, such as the girl from Spain who actually was from Mexico, a guy from Bosnia that had been living in Sweden for many years, the girsl from Scotland who's parents are Czech but who lived most of their life in Denmark, and me, a Dutch guy from Sweden (or the other way around). It was like an Erasmus Exchange and we never had a dull moment. Either we were in class, some days 11 hours of lectures and seminars, or we hung out in one of the town's bars and restaurants. We also met in the hotel/youthhostel where we stayed. You can imagine that I was completely exhausted when I sat in the coach back home on Friday afternoon!

What was the course about? Yeah, well, there were 5 themes. The first day, Professor Russell King (University of Sussex) lectured about the state of the art in International Migration Research. Very interesting lectures, especially from a Human Geography point of view. He told about the somewhat artificial divide between internal and international migration and about a new map of migration in Europe. Here is where my study fits best; lifestyle migration. The second day, Political scientist Peo Hanssen - one of the initiators of the course - told us about the European Integration of Migration. Also an interesting subject, especially since I am interest in the EU and it's "internal migration". Day three started with an extra lecture by Russell King on his newest work about Albania. Very inspiring for my forthcoming article! Later that day, Branka Likić spoke about Irregular Migration, Changing Labour Markets and Perspectives on Global Governance. Interesting, but not directly related to my research interests. Migrant Experiences of Integration and Discrimination was the subject of the next-last day. Stefan Jonsson, a critic writing about social and cultural phenomena for the Swedish Newspaper DN, showed us the movie "La raison du plus fort". Together, we took the role of philosophers and talked bout different experiences of migrating to a completely different society. Most focus was put on the politics of the veil in France and difficulties between Muslim and other ethnic groups in Europe. The course was concluded by a panel discussion on Friday. Theme for the discussion was Migration and Development and here guest lecturer Charles Woolfsson from Glasgow University but living in Lithuania painted a picture about Lithuanian membership in the EU and the role of migration and development for this Baltic state. You can imagine it took me some days to sort all the information I got, it was a very intensive week!

But now, I should start writing the paper for the course, if I want to receive my 7.5 ECTS credits! Cheerio!

Happy 2009!

Almost one week of 2009 has passed and Sweden is getting ready for a new year of work and relaxation. Hopefully, you had some good Christmas Holidays. We spent it in the North of Sweden, enjoying the winterweather and lacking internet access.

For now, I started slowly with some hours of work yesterday evening. Today, an official holiday in Sweden (Three Kings, 13 days after Christmas, aka Epiphany), I worked some hours. Many things have to be done again, starting with the essay I have to write for the course in GeoClassics. I aim at investigating the concepts of livsform (introduced by Höjrup in 1983), and linking it to Livestyle migration. Also, I am thinking of exploring some classics in Migration research; Ravenstein, Zipf, Hägerstrand and the like. In doing so, I should get a better understanding of the eras in Human Geography, from the 1880s to the end opf the 20th Century, with the Humanist era getting most attention.

This essay will probably also serve as a good starter for an intensive week in Norrköping, starting 19 January. At the Institute for Research on Migration, Ethnicity and Society (REMESO), I will attend a course called Theories and Politics of International Migration. A lot of reading needs to be done, but fortunately, most of this is sent to us in pdf format by e-mail. It seems to be a well-organised course, as accomodation is booked for us, and we can receive a student grant to cover the travel costs.

After this course, for which a paper is compulsory, I will have to focus on 2 scientific articles, a congress in Örebro in March (Sustainable Cities and Regions) and of course lecturing. Besides this, I will attend courses about Interview Methods and Cultural Heritage in the Bergslagen Area.

A lot of work, but from Midsommar onwards, I will be on paternity leave to spend half a year at home with my son!

have a happy 2009,
/Meimer (see also my Dutch blog @ volkskrantreizen)

Decemberstress

December is always a busy month, but this year seems to beat all other years! First of all, our little son is growing and exploring his new world endlessly, which naturally takes much energy from us, the parents. It is lovely though!

Second of all, at works the creativity just expands and expands, and at the moment I am planning my text for the course GeoClassics, as well as the chapter about the Dutch Impressions of Bergslagen for the reader Bilder av Bergslagen.

Moreover, I am planning to attend a course called Politics and Theories of International Migration in Norrköping in the middle of January, for which an article will have to be written as an assignment. this article can be combined with the article that I wanted to write anyway, by the working title "Mapping The Orange Wave" - more news to come. Also, I would like to finish a 1st version of my 2nd article before the summer holidays.

And last but not least, a working group (including myself) at the university has been busy attempting to start a Section for PhD Students at Örebro Student Union see the Result at DokSek.

Also, have a look at t he menu on the left of this page, scroll down a bitt and take a look at Swedish tv item 3, or at the websites under the header other blogs & sites. With the new report by the Swedish National Agency for Rural Development, a lot is happening, not least in Bergslagen!

Umeå

Last week, I was in Umeå to meet my second supervisor Dieter Müller, a Human Geographer who has written much about Germans owning Second Homes in Sweden. We had an interesting conversation and he made me aware of the book Tourism and Migration by C. Michael Hall. We chatted about where migration starts and where tourism ends - no one really knows!

On 18 November 2008, I took part in a Meeting of the Population Geographers Network, also at Umeå University. This was a very interesting day and it gave my some new insights and knowledge about present and upcoming studies about Hallstahammar and Åland for example.

On the way back to Örebro, I visited Region Dalarna in Falun and had an interview there. I received a brochure about the work by Region Dalarna and found their thoughts about Place Branding very interesting, especially the pages by Simon Anholt, about Regional Competition.

This, together with earlier remarks about my plans during the conference in Bredsjö, and during a course in Interview Methods, makes that I have enough plans for my study for the comings months! And I still haven't transcribed all my interviews! Upcoming; another interview with a Dutch couple living close by Örebro.

More news later!
/Meimer

Fieldwork - Interviews

In the first week of October, I did some fieldwork in my research area; Bergslagen. Hällefors, Ljusnarsberg, Nora, Ludvika and Smedjebacken have seen my face. I interviewed Dutch migrants there, as well as people from organisations such as Region Dalarna and Placement. It were fruitful days and I now will try to transcribe the 7 interviews, as a valuable empirical part of my coming articles.
Keep an eye on this site and some Academic Magazines such as Population, Place and Space and you might see my name there :) Also, I started a new blog in Dutch @ meimer.volkskrantreizen.nl. More detailed info can be found there!

More info will follow, from our yearly Conference for PhD Students for example.

Autumn Reflections

Last weekend Caroline, Lucas and me went for a walk at Karlslund's Herrgård. The crispy air and the sunny weather had invited us on this tour. A day like this makes me reflect of the time to come, as far as work is concerned. There are so much possibilities and my problem is that I want to participate in everything!


However, after a talk with my supervisor and this Autumn walk, the planning looks like this: first, we'll travel to Holland with Lucas. I will also read some texts for our course "Geography Classics". Moreover, I will attend a Emigration Fair in Zenderen and will talk with families thinking of migrating to Sweden.


I will also make sure that my name is on the list for a course on Interview Methods, which will be held at Örebro University this Autumn. More reading needs to be done in order to prepare for lecturing in a course called Economic Geography. For this, the book by Knox and Marston is a must. Besides this, Peter and me are invited to come and lecture at a course in Social Work. We have to explain the use of Human Geographic terms such as place and space in front of 170 students. . . .


...Last but not least, I will participate in some conferences. Sustainable Cities and Regions in Örebro in March 2009; A network day for PhD Students in Gothenburg in May 2009 and a Nordic Geographers Meet in Åbo/Turku (Fi) in June 2009. Pfffff...

Welcome Lucas!

On 30 July 2008, our son Lucas John is borne. A wonderful boy, and we're very happy with him! The holidays have been smooth, mainly staying close or in Örebro waiting for our baby to be borne. We visited small places nearby (Englas skafferi, Askersund, Nora etc.) and watched large sports events (Wimbledon, Euro2008, Roland Garros, and - after Lucas' birth - the Olympics). We have had a lot of friends and family visiting the three of us - the last in the row (oma and mama - or "the oma's") leaving tomorrow.

This is my second week of work after the holidays, and I must admit that I haven't done so much during the 5 summerweeks, nore in my first week at the office. It's all so bombastic - the miracle of a new life!

But in the meantime, CUReS have had a kick-off in Ånnaboda, I have had a meeting with Mats about the coming round of interviews and journeys and I have started studying for the course of Economic Geography in which I will be responsible for a lecture and a seminar in October. For those of you interested, try to find a book called Human Geography, by Paul Knox and Sallie Marston.

More news to come!