Projects per year
Personal profile
Research interests
List of Publications (02/2024)
Keynotes and Conference Presentations (02/2024)
Current position
Director, the Donner Institute for Research in Religion and Culture, Turku, Finland (start: June 2013). Leading the work at the institute, including research and library facilities, own research, arranging of conferences and networks, granting scholarships, academic publishing.
My main research interests concern questions pertaining to Jewish life in the Nordics today, cultural encounters and interreligious dialogue, ethnographic research methodology with cultural studies. I am especially interested in the relationship between the arts (particularly music) and religion. Chronologically, I work predominantly with contemporary religion, combining ethnographic research methods with content analysis and approaches deriving from the philosophy of religion.
Since 2016, I have been, together with Associate Professor Svante Lundgren (Lund University), editor of the scholarly journal Nordisk judaistik / Scandinavian Jewish Studies. At the Donner Institute, I am the editor of the journal Approaching Religion (since 2011)
I was the director of the research project Boundaries of Jewish Identities in Contemporary Finland finansed by the Polin Institute (2018-2022) and currently take part in the EU-funded research project Recovira – Religious Communities in the Virtual Age as part of the Finnish research team at Åbo Akademi University. During the years 2024-27 I also take part in the research project Exploring the Contested Construction of Sense of Safety in Religious Spaces at the University of Helsinki, PI Prof. Anne Birgitta Pessi (funded by the Research Council of Finland).
Since 2018, I am also the Research Director of Åbo Akademi University Foundation, where I am responsible for the strategic co-operation of research funding, primarily with Åbo Akademi University, including the societal relevance and impact of research.
Biography
Education
- Docent (Associate Professor), History of Religions, Uppsala University (29.5 2018).
- Docent (Associate Professor), Study of Religions, Åbo Akademi University (11.8 2006).
- Doctor of Theology, Åbo Akademi University (30.11 2018). Jewish studies
- Doctor of Philosophy, Åbo Akademi University (18.6 2004). Study of Religions
- Master of Theology, Åbo Akademi University (31.5 2015). Jewish studies
- Master of Arts, Åbo Akademi University (12.5 2000). Study of Religions
- Information Studies (60 credits), Åbo Akademi University (qualification for librarian), 2012.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
PhD, Doctor of Theology
Award Date: 30 Nov 2018
PhD, Doctor of Philosophy
Award Date: 18 Jun 2004
External positions
Head of Research, Åbo Akademi Foundation sr
2019 → …
Docent, Uppsala University
2018 → …
Senior Researcher, Donner Institute for Research in Religion and Culture
1 Apr 2010 → 31 Mar 2012
Senior Lecturer in the Study of Religions
1 Aug 2008 → 31 Jul 2009
Research Doktor, Research Council of Finland
1 Mar 2007 → 3 Dec 2010
Docent
2006 → …
Research Fellow, Tampere Peace Research Institute (TAPRI), University of Tampere
1 Aug 2005 → 31 Mar 2010
Postdoctoral Researcher
1 Jun 2005 → 31 Jul 2005
Co-operating Researcher, Research Institute for Project Based Industry (PBI)
2002 → 2004
Doctoral Candidate in the Study of Religions
1 Aug 2000 → 31 Dec 2004
Keywords
- BL Religion
- BM Judaism
- GR Folklore
- M Music
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Minhag Finland: Boundaries of Jewish Identities in Contemporary Finland
Illman, R., Muir, S., Czimbalmos, M. V., Pataricza, D. & Tuori, R.
Waldemar von Frenckell’s Foundation, The Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation, Inez and Julius Polin Institute for Theological Research
01/01/18 → 31/12/22
Project: Foundation
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ReCoVirA: Religious Communities in the Virtual Age
Moberg, M., Illman, R., Annunen, L. & Broo, M.
01/11/22 → 31/10/24
Project: EU
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Aboagora: Aboagora - Between Arts and Sciences
Illman, R., Leskelä-Kärki, M., Erävaara, T., Huopalainen, A., Törnroos-Remes, A., Laine, S., Lehtonen, M. & Kärki, K.
Svenska kulturfonden, Kone Foundation
01/01/11 → …
Project: Other
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Nordic antisemitism and conspiracy thinking: counter-strategies in history and today
Lindqvist, P., Pataricza, D. & Illman, R.
Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters
01/05/22 → 30/04/23
Project: Foundation
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Argumenta: Uskontolukutaito moniarvoisessa yhteiskunnassa
Sakaranaho, T., Illman, R., Konttori, J., Linjakumpu, A., Ubani, M., Rissanen, I. & Tiilikainen, M.
01/01/19 → 31/05/21
Project: Foundation
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Finlandssvensk och judisk: En etnografisk analys av dubbla identifikationer och vardagsreligiositet
Illman, R., 19 Dec 2022, In: Nordisk judaistik. 32, 2, p. 19-37Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile12 Downloads (Pure) -
Arjessa eletty uskonto: Suomen juutalaisten muistitietoa keräämässä
Tuori, R., Muir, S. & Illman, R., Sept 2022, Muistitietotutkimuksen paikka: Teoriat, käytännöt ja muutos. Savolainen, U. & Taavetti, R. (eds.). Helsingfors: Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura, p. 73-87 (Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seuran Toimituksia ; vol. 1478).Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile17 Downloads (Pure) -
Bending, Breaking and Adhering to Rules of Contemporary Jewish Practice in Finland
Illman, R., Czimbalmos, M. & Pataricza, D., 21 Nov 2022, In: Suomen Antropologi. 46, 3, p. 32-51Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)13 Downloads (Pure) -
Knowing, Being, and Doing Religion: Introducing an Analytical Model for Researching Vernacular Religion
Illman, R. & Czimbalmos, M., 22 Dec 2020, In: Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion. 56, 2, p. 171-199Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Open AccessFile13 Citations (Scopus)21 Downloads (Pure) -
The Arts as Arena for—and Approach to—Interreligious Studies: Reflections on Dialogical Methodology
Illman, R., 5 May 2022, The Georgetown Companion to Interreligious Studies. Mosher, L. (ed.). Georgetown university press, p. 137-145Research output: Chapter in Book/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review
Prizes
Activities
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Gaudeamus (Publisher)
Ruth Illman (Reviewer)
31 May 2022Activity: Publication peer-review and editorial work › Editorial work
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Finnish Institute in the Middle East (External organisation)
Ruth Illman (Member)
1 Oct 2020 → 31 Dec 2022Activity: Membership › Membership of board
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RQ20 Assessment of Research Quality, Lund University (Event)
Ruth Illman (Member)
1 Jan 2020 → 31 Dec 2020Activity: Membership › Membership of committee
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University of Oslo (External organisation)
Ruth Illman (Member)
Jun 2020 → Aug 2020Activity: Membership › Membership of committee
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Interviews and Field Work – Inter-Nordic project workshop
Ruth Illman (Speaker)
15 Oct 2020 → 16 Oct 2020Activity: Talk or presentation › Public or invited talk
Press/Media
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Interview about the Donner Institute
Malin Fredriksson & Ruth Illman
24/01/16
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media