Viktoriya
Kuzina
Doctoral Researcher, Centre for East Asian Studies
Master of Social Sciences (VTM) in East Asian Studies, University of Turku, Finland; Master of Linguistics in Japanese Language, Oles' Honchar Dnipro National University, Ukraine.
Member of the British Association for Japanese Studies. Member of the Neurodiversity Group in Finland (Suomen Neurodiversiteettiryhmä)
Contact
Areas of expertise
Japanese studies
critical disability studies (crip studies)
neurodiversity
autism
care work
civil society
social movements
social advocacy
ethnography
Teaching
- Pedagogical studies at Oles Honchar Dnipro National University (45 ECTS).
- Pedagogy 1-level courses at the University of Turku (11 ECTS).
- English teacher at M. Glinka's Conservatory in Dnipro, Ukraine (2012).
- English teacher (volunteer) at the RakuRaku School of Foreign Languages in Hirakata, Osaka, Japan.
Research
Ph.D. dissertation: "On the Spectrum of Support: Care Work for Autistic Adults in Contemporary Japan."
PRESENTATIONS:
- Autism and Potential Affordances in Finnish Conversational Environments. Autism Research Day: Language and Communication. Åbo Akademi, 30.10.2026, by Autism Research Network and Åbo Akademi. https://sites.abo.fi/atp2026/
- Construction and evolution of the language of neurodiversity in Japan. Critical Autism Studies Online Workshop, 14.07.2026, by PACR (The Participatory Autism Research Collective). https://participatoryautismresearch.wordpress.com/category/events/
- Autistic communication in high and low cultural contexts of Finland, Ukraine, and Japan. Workshop: Autism, Language and Cultures. University of Helsinki, 23.03.2026, by CoCoLac (Comparing and Contrasting Languages and Cultures Research Group). https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/comparing-and-contrasting-languages-and-cultures/news-events/autism-languages-and-cultures
- Not only unruly white boys: what does Autism look like? Seminar: Current Intersections of Culture, Language and Wellbeing: Neurodivergence. University of Turku, 20.05.2025, by KULTVA (Cultural Interaction Research Network), LaWe (the Centre of Language and Wellbeing), the Research Center for Culture and Health. https://blogit.utu.fi/kultva/events/autism-in-representations-and-social-interaction/
MENTIONS:
- Interview for the article “Pitkät, kipeät naamiaiset” (Long, painful masquerade) by TULVA (feminist magazine), Issue 3/25, pp. 31-33. https://tulva.fi/lue/pitkat-kipeat-naamiaiset/
GRANTS:
* 2026 Granö Researcher Residency Grant, Turku University Foundation
* 2025 Grant Program for the Study of Contemporary Japan in the Nordic Countries, Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa Foundation
* 2024 Granö Researcher Residency Grant, Turku University Foundation
* 2016 Valto Takala's Fund Scholarship, Turku Finnish University Society
* 2015 NIAS SUPRA Nordic Scholarship, Nordic Institute of Asian Studies