Satu Heikkinen

Satu Heikkinen is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Karlstad University, specializing in critical studies of age and aging. Her research explores intersections of aging, culture, leisure, and sustainability through qualitative methodologies, including discourse analysis and participatory research. She founded the interdisciplinary research group Cri-Ageing in 2022 to address age and sustainability, and co-organizes the Nordic EMER network on everyday resistance in welfare states.

• Research Focus: Ageism, social dancing among older adults, bodily mobility, emotional energies, and welfare technology.
• Teaching: Courses in sociology and social psychology; program coordinator for the Master's Programme in Critical Social Analysis since 2011.
• Collaboration: Engages with stakeholders at local, national, and EU levels across sociology, gerontology, and transportation policy.

Her publications examine aging through life course perspectives, Foucauldian-inspired discourses, and interdisciplinary frameworks. Current projects include post-COVID dance experiences and welfare technology in elderly care. Contact: satu.heikkinen@kau.se.