Julia Katila, Touch and Affect in Health Care -Project
For the fall semester of 2022, I have had the privilege of visiting our project collaborator, Professor Asta Cekaite, in the Child Studies Department of Linköping University. The small but lively town of Linköping has around 105,000 inhabitants and is full of beauty and nature; it also has a comparatively large university, with around 35,900 students and 4,300 employees. Before coming to the university, I did not realize how lively the community of interaction researchers is, involving groups from the Department of Culture and Society, led by Leelo Keevallik; the Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, led by Charlotta Plejert; and the Child Studies Department, led by Asta Cekaite. Linköping University is a genuine hub for researchers who are focused on embodiment and multisensoriality in interaction.
Goats and sheep reside only few hundred meters from the campus
I was welcomed to the university with my own office space and an electric bike to use during my stay. Linköping really is a city for bikers, and it is the way to go around the university and city throughout the year.
While my original goal during my stay—to update my Swedish skills—has unfortunately not gone according to plan, I have had the chance to have many warm exchanges with people and to experience the friendly work atmosphere here. I have been able to discuss the Touch and Affect in Health Care project with different research groups and to present data from Finnish dental clinics. Building on a presentation I gave to the Child Studies Department, entitled “Talk and Touch for Socializing Children About How to Feel During Dental Appointments,” and the helpful comments I received about my work, I have started to develop ideas for an article with the help of Asta, who has done some groundbreaking work on touch for socializing children into appropriate participation in schools and families.
Screenshot from my slides on Child studies Presentation 22.11.2022
While my time here has focused on work, I have still had a chance to explore the beautiful city of Linköping, especially the Gamla Staden, and to go to Innebandy classes at the university Campushallen. The time has moved too fast, but the collaboration will fortunately continue online—and, after all, Linköping is only 45-minute flight and a 2-hour train journey from home.
My home street. Snow is not a common sight in the Linköping winter, but we were fortunate enough to experience some around mid-November.
Gamla Linköping is an open-air museum with hundreds of years old wooden houses, cobblestone alleys, gardens and many museums.