FINLAND & PALESTINE Proceedings of a Joint Workshop

Palest:Jne Research ofHillTliJ Granqvist
present; in other words, what its position is in the field of study
fragmented by criticism of Orientalism.
Concluding remarks
Demands made by nationalistic 4 ideologies on science and research
are as common and as dangerous globally in 2008 as
they were in Finland in the 1930's. Moreover, inside and outside
historical Palestine (the Gaza Strip, West Bank and the
State of Israel), research on Palestine has not lost its potential
for being politically charged since the days of Hilma Granqvist.
An analysis of her case, i.e. features of conflicts around Granqvist's
academic posts, makes visible some dynamics of scientific
and professional discrimination where nationalistic ideology,
language, gender, and, as Edward Said taught us, scientific
structures of interpretation playa part. Identification of such
dynamics may help us to prevent passing such discriminative
practices down the generations.
Obviously, Hilma Granqvist's research entails interpretations
and analytical shortcomings that can and should be criticised
on scholarly grounds (see, for example, Bourdieu 1977, Isotalo
2005). However, a classic is something that each generation
finds new layers in, thus making diverse interpretations possible.
On such grounds Hilma Granqvist's scholarship (esp. Marriage
Conditions Vol. I and 11) can be regarded as a classic,
which is still waiting for a translation in Arabic.
4 Also religious ideologies that are often intertwined with nationalism make
their demands on science and research. Suffice to say that, like in the case of
Granqvist, most nationalistic and religious ideologies' views on gender roles
are not based on equity or equality.
34