معرفی
Maria Persdotter serves as a Senior Lecturer at Linköping University with a shared appointment between the Centre for Municipal Strategic Studies (CKS) and the Department of Social Work (SOCARB) within the Department of Culture and Society (IKOS).
Education:
- Double PhD in Urban Studies from Malmö University and Roskilde University (2019)
- Thesis: "Free to Move Along" - qualitative study of local authorities' handling of homeless Roma "EU migrants" during 2014-2016
- Trained cultural geographer
Maria Persdotter's research critically examines the intersection of migration policy and social welfare systems. She brings feminist and race-critical theoretical frameworks to her analysis of urban issues, with particular focus on inclusion/exclusion dynamics in the Swedish welfare state. Her scholarly work centers on what she terms the "geography of justice and rights," investigating how municipalities navigate their responsibilities toward people living within their borders without formal residency rights in Sweden.
Her recent publications (2021-2025) reveal consistent scholarly engagement with the boundaries of welfare provision, particularly regarding irregular migrants and Roma populations. Key thematic patterns include social assistance rights, housing displacement, bordering practices, and the spatial dimensions of welfare exclusion. Her research frequently employs legal geography as an analytical framework to examine how urban law and municipal policies shape access to rights for vulnerable populations.
Current Research Projects:
- Research on social rights of irregular migrants, specifically examining financial assistance as the ultimate safety net in the Swedish welfare state
- Project on "social dumping" between Swedish municipalities with Ulrika Wernesjö, exploring the experiences and perspectives of both sending and receiving municipalities
Maria Persdotter teaches social work education at the Department of Social Work, primarily on courses related to social theory, migration, and socio-economic vulnerability. She supervises bachelor's and master's students and has collaborated with REMESO (the Division for Migration, Ethnicity and Society). Her dual appointment between CKS and SOCARB enables rich interdisciplinary collaboration across municipal strategic studies and social work disciplines, positioning her at a critical nexus of academic research and practical policy development.
