About me
I am interested in child politics in its broadest sense. I view early childhood education as a biopolitical, intergenerational, national and global space, childhood as a political form of being, and children as political actors with rights. Researching from these perspectives the institutional practices in early childhood settings allows to view children as both societal actors and biological organisms. The biosocial view applied offers insights into how societal structures, discourses and ecologies condition children's everyday experiences and their becoming as child, and how we can add to social theorizing with children in mind.
I employ comparisons of different places and times to help highlight the taken for granted ways everyday nationhood, Cold War divides, ideologies and knowledge production operates. More recently in an experimental group ‘Microbial Childhoods Collaborative’, we think together with multidisciplinary scholars about children and childhood as part of biospheric communities. I am also passionate about creating kind and caring academic cultures both in our current projects and through TRANSIT Research Centre where I am the Chair of the Steering Group.
Responsibilities
I am the co-leader of the Early Childhood Education Institutions, Policies and Practices (ECEPP) research group.
I lead the Microbial Childhood: Restor(y)ing Daycare Ecologies project funded by Nessling Foundation (202400154) (EUR 99,783)
I was also leading the Microbial Childhood Collaboratory network funded by Nordforsk (2022-2023) (345269) (EUR 43,000)
I co-led the De-colonial and De-Cold War Dialogues on Childhood and Schooling project. It subproject titled Re-Connect / Re-Collect: Crossing the Divides through Memories of Cold War Childhoods received funding from KONE Foundation (201804719) (EUR 319,000)
Project links
Latest publications
(An)Archive: Childhood, Memory, and the Cold War
Millei, Z. (Editor), Silova, I. (Editor), Piattoeva, N. (Editor) & ZIN, M. (Editor), 2024, Open Book Publishers. 430 p.Research output: Book/Report › Anthology › Scientific › peer-review
A genealogical study of the emergence of kindergartens in Iran: an intersectional approach
Sadat Sajjadieh, N. & Millei, Z., 2024, In: PAEDAGOGICA HISTORICA. 60, 3, p. 529-546Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Introduction. The Anarchive of Memories: Restor(y)ing Cold-War Childhoods
Millei, Z., Silova, I., Piattoeva, N. & ZIN, M., 2024, (An)Archive: Childhood, Memory, and the Cold War. ZIN, M. (ed.). Open Book Publishers, p. 5-26Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review
Mysterious Cotton Pieces: Childhood Memories of Menstruation
Gawlicz, K. & Millei, Z., 2024, (An)Archive : Childhood, Memory, and the Cold War. ZIN, M. (ed.). Open Book Publishers, p. 213–234Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review
Nordic early childhood education policies and virulent nationalist trends
Millei, Z., Harju, A., Hvid Thingstrup, S. & Åkerblom, A., 14 Jun 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Teaching nature and nation in the Swedish mobile preschool
Ekman Ladru, D., Millei, Z., Andersen, C. E., Gawlicz, K., Gustafson, K. & Lappalainen, S., 2024, In: Childhood. 31, 1, p. 13-29Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
The Secrets: Connections Across Divides
Kašparová, I., Scutaru, B., Millei, Z., Raasch, J. & Gawlicz, K., 2024, (An)Archive : Childhood, Memory, and the Cold War. ZIN, M. (ed.). Open Book Publishers, p. 193–211Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review
Thinking through memories of children in (post)socialist spaces: Ordinary lives in extraordinary times
Millei, Z., Silova, I. & Gannon, S., 2024, Society and Social Changes through the Prism of Childhood . Warming, H. (ed.). Routledge, p. 324-337Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Scientific › peer-review
Childhoods and Time: A Collective Exploration
da Rosa Ribeiro, C., Millei, Z., Hohti, R., Kohan, W., Pereira Leite, C. D., Rudolph, N., Sørenssen, I., Szymborska , K., Tammi, T. & Tesar, M., 26 Jan 2023, In: Journal of Childhood Studies. 48, 1, p. 133-147 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review
Editorial
Millei, Z. & da Rosa Ribeiro, C., 26 Jan 2023, In: Journal of Childhood Studies. 48, 1, p. 1-7 7 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › Scientific