Meri-Tuuli Hirvonen
Doctoral Researcher
PhD Researcher, social and public policy
Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies
I am a social psychologist, writer, and PhD researcher in social and public policy at UEF. With a life-long interest in social norms, normativity and disrupting the everyday with “what if?” -utopian scenarios, I am now researching the possibilities of utopia as a method for expanding the domain of social possibilities for adult autistic neurodiversity activists. The research design reflects the idea that engaging with ‘autistic utopia’ can offer an alternative paradigm that enhances safety and civic engagement, by refocusing autism studies away from a problem-based orientation to neurodiversity paradigm.
The main aim of the study is to deepen the understanding of the practices, situations, and environments, which enable autists not only to express themselves within the field of civic activism, but resist, negotiate, escape or rewrite the social and structural pressures that currently control many aspects of their lives. The key question it will pose is: What features of the social, political and physical environment influence the experienced sense of safety among autistic neurodiversity activists?
