Academic Position : Associate Professor, Docent in Social Work

Name: Maren Bak

Degree: Ph.D sociology

Academic position: Associate professor, docent in social work

Tel: +46 31 7861885

My academic background is in sociology. I have worked in Aalborg University in Denmark and in Vienna, Austria, before joining Gothenborg University in 1996. My main research areas are women’s life, family changes, parenting and childhood in late modern societies as well as in developing societies. More recently I focus on migration, childhood and parenting in ethnic minority families, and formation of transnational networks and diasporic communities.

Teaching: In the social work programme and master programme I teach courses on migration and ethnic relations, ethnic minority families, and on qualitative research methods and violence to women. I supervise master students and Ph.D students in social work writing about migration- and family related topics in a Swedish or international context.

Current and recently completed research projects:

Currently I do research interrogating childhood and parenting in ethnic minority families in Sweden.

I have evaluated the regional (Gothenborg region) programme of sheltered housing for women risking honour related violence (2008), the focus area of Language Ability and School Results in the Swedish national programme to support exposed urban neighbourhoods (2005), the Family Centres (2000) and several other social work projects and programmes.

I have been project leader (2001-05) for a co-operative research project with Stellenbosch University, South Africa, “Community study focusing on the everyday life of women and children in a township of black people in South Africa”. The project involved a number of South African and Swedish bachelor and master students in social work who wrote their thesis based on field research in the township.

I have conducted research on single mother families and their children, stepfamilies and their children and other changing family forms.

Networks: Since 2004 my foremost networking has focused on networks dealing with research on International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER). As vice chair in the Swedish IMER association I have contributed in organising conferences and ph.d courses and workshops. A Nordic IMER association was established in November 2007 on the initiative of Swedish IMER and I am vice chair in this association. Several new networks and workshops are in preparation such as a Nordic network on research in Childhood and Ethnicity.

Representative Publications:

Bak, Maren (2008): Women’s Caring Keeps the Township Together. Journal of Southern African Studies vol 34, nr 2 june 2008: 255-268

Bak, Maren (2007): Utvärdering av Grynings skyddade boende för personer som riskerar att utsättas för hedersrelaterat våld. Västra Götalands Län

Kabasinskaite, Dale & Bak, Maren. (2006): Lithuanian children’s policy in the period of transition. International Journal of Social Welfare vol 15: 247-256

Bak, Maren & von Brömssen Kerstin (2006): Interrrogating Childhood and Diasopora. Paper presented at the 14th Congress of the European anthropological Association

Bak, Maren & Lars Gunnarsson (2006): Bokflod ger Läslust? Språk-och bokprojekt i skolan i Axelsson, M & Bunar, N. (red): Storstadssatsningen – skola och språk. Stockholm: Atlas.

Bak, Maren, Lars Gunnarsson, Göran Lassbo, Bibi Ljungvall (2005): Samtal pågår. Språkutveckling och Skolresultat. Utvärdering av Storstadssatsningen Göteborg. Göteborgs stadskansli

Bak, Maren (2004): Can developmental social welfare change an unfair world? The South African experience, International Social Work 47(1): 81-94

Bak, Maren (2003): Ensammor familjen i Bäck-Wiklund, M. & Johansson, T. (red): Nätverksfamiljen. Stockholm: Natur och Kultur

Bak, Maren & Margareta Bäck-Wiklund (2003): Den gode stedfar-om stedfädre og omsorg i Hjort, K. & Baagøe, S (red): Mænd og omsorg. Köbenhavn: Socialpædagogisk bibliotek Hans Reitzel