A3 Book section, Chapters in research books
Places of Belonging, Places of Detachment : Belonging and Historical Consciousness in Narratives of Rural Finnish Girls (2022)

Vehkalahti, K., & Ristaniemi, H. (2022). Places of Belonging, Places of Detachment : Belonging and Historical Consciousness in Narratives of Rural Finnish Girls. In D. Farrugia, & S. Ravn (Eds.), Youth Beyond the City : Thinking from the Margins (pp. 195-214). Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.51952/9781529212037.ch010

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Vehkalahti, Kaisa; Ristaniemi, Helena

Parent publication: Youth Beyond the City : Thinking from the Margins

Parent publication editors: Farrugia, David; Ravn, Signe

ISBN: 978-1-5292-1204-4

eISBN: 978-1-5292-1203-7

Publication year: 2022

Publication date: 15/06/2022

Pages range: 195-214

Number of pages in the book: 272

Publisher: Bristol University Press

Place of Publication: Bristol

Publication country: United Kingdom

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51952/9781529212037.ch010

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Partially open access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/82569

Abstract

This chapter contributes to the ongoing discussion about rural belonging by considering the role of historical consciousness (Rüsen, 2004) in the process of belonging in a place. The chapter suggests that young people’s temporal orientation in relation to local culture and history plays a significant role in their commitment to rural communities. The analysis draws on qualitative longitudinal data from Finnish girls, aged 16–19, from two sparsely populated regions (Central Finland and the Northern Finnish Sámi homeland). The chapter shows how multiple strands of commitment tie rural young people to their local surroundings, where the past is present in the landscape and everyday life in a myriad of ways, including long-standing traditions of out-migration. For the girls of this study belonging was an ongoing process of placing themselves in a cross-generational continuum. Most of the girls’ accounts featured both elements of belonging and being pulled away from the rural regions. A feeling of belonging did not necessarily imply willingness to build a future in the region, and vice versa: many of those girls that moved away from rural regions to study wished to stay connected to their history, culture and home communities.

Keywords: countryside; rural communities; sparsely populated areas; home district; local character; young people; youth research; girls; committing oneself; involvement (participation); communality; identity (mental objects); migratory movement (demography); generations; historical consciousness; rural culture; Samis

Free keywords: Finland; rurality; girlhood; historical consciousness; Sámi people; belonging; migration

Contributing organizations

Related projects

Ministry reporting: Yes

Reporting Year: 2022

JUFO rating: 1