Producing Knowledge Through Encounters: An Examination of How Interactions Shape Knowledge in a Migrant Mental Health Intervention
Author
Kelm, Clara Estela Hammond Blay
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-06-17
Pages
72
Abstract
This thesis examines how knowledge shapes and is shaped by interactions within an evidence‑based, group mental health course for migrants in Denmark, and how such encounters produce different forms of knowledge. Guided by the question of how cultural encounters among stakeholders produce, structure, and prioritise knowledge within a migrant mental health intervention, the study draws on qualitative fieldwork—including participant observations and ethnographic interviews—conducted during a five‑session course combining audio‑guided content, practical skills, and facilitated discussions. Using perspectives from cultural encounter studies, intersectionality, affect, and feminist epistemology, the analysis shows that interactions were structured by implicit norms about “appropriate” participation and compliance. These encounters were not neutral but arenas where power, visibility, and recognition were continually negotiated, and where some viewpoints were prioritised over others. Moments of tension illustrated how emotions circulate between individuals, shaping atmospheres, engagement, and meaning‑making. The thesis argues that cultural encounters are affective sites where knowledge is produced through friction, subject positioning, and emotional exchange, and that these relational dynamics influence both what becomes known and how participants experience mental health support. The findings suggest that evidence‑based interventions should attend not only to curriculum and measurable outcomes but also to the social and emotional processes through which knowledge and wellbeing are co‑produced.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan viden former og formes af interaktioner i et evidensbaseret gruppeforløb om mental sundhed for migranter i Danmark, og hvordan sådanne møder samtidig producerer forskellige former for viden. Med udgangspunkt i forskningsspørgsmålet om, hvordan kulturelle møder mellem aktører producerer, strukturerer og prioriterer viden i en migrant mental sundhedsindsats, bygger studiet på kvalitativt feltarbejde—herunder deltagerobservationer og etnografiske interviews—under et femsessioners kursus med lydstyret materiale, praktiske øvelser og faciliterede drøftelser. Med teoretiske perspektiver fra kulturelle møder, intersektionalitet, affekt og feministisk vidensproduktion viser analysen, at interaktionerne var præget af implicitte normer for “korrekt” deltagelse og efterlevelse. Møderne var ikke neutrale, men arenaer hvor magt, synlighed og anerkendelse løbende blev forhandlet, og hvor nogle perspektiver blev prioriteret frem for andre. Spændingsfyldte situationer synliggjorde, hvordan følelser cirkulerer mellem personer og former stemninger, engagement og meningsskabelse. Afhandlingen argumenterer for, at kulturelle møder er affektive steder, hvor viden skabes gennem friktion, subjektspositionering og følelsesmæssige udvekslinger, og at disse relationelle dynamikker påvirker både, hvad der bliver viden, og hvordan deltagere oplever støtte til mental sundhed. Resultaterne peger på, at evidensbaserede indsatser bør fokusere ikke kun på pensum og målbare effekter, men også på de sociale og følelsesmæssige processer, hvormed viden og trivsel samskabes.
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