CECTSpatiality, memory and visualisation of Culture/nature relationships: theoretical aspects. 21-24 October 2009.

ENVIRONMENTAL NARRATIVES AS INDICATORS OF A CULTURALRELATIONSHIP TO NATURE

Dr Kirsi LaurénFolklore studiesUniversity of JoensuuFinland

Research interests:

• Human/cultural relationship to nature (especially to forests and peatlands)→ cultural meanings

• Experiences

• Narratives

• Written, unpublished texts

Finland is the most forested country in Europe. 86 % of the land area is covered by forests (including peatlands).

Finland has more mires and peatlands regarding its land area than any country in the world; one third of its total land area is covered with them.

In Finnish: suo; in Estonian: soo

WRITING COMPETITIONS

Peatland story [Suotarina]

Organised by the Finnish Peatland Society (FPS) and The Union for Rural Education and Culture, 1998

I found myself from the woods [Löysin itseni metsästä]

Organised by the Metsäkustannus Oy, 2004

Aim of the writing competitions

To get• new stories of peatlands and forests• information about experiencing these

nature areas • literary good stories

→ anthology of the literary best stories:

Suon syvä syli (1999) Sydänpuuta (2004)

Requests:

Peatland story:

• What is your peatland experience like?

• The story could be an experience of your own or a heard story

I found myself from the forest:

• Write your personal experiences of forests

• What kinds of experiences you have e.g. about the forestry in your own forest?

The results of the writing competitions

Almost 1000 texts (1-10 pages / each)

Writers:

• women and men of varying ages

• two-thirds of the writers were women, others were men

• represent various social backgrounds

• were from all over the country

Typical for the narration:

- forest and peatland life stories

- narrative structure

→ the distinction between past and present, usually between childhood and adulthood.

Advantages of writing competition materials:

- diverse and qualitatively rich research material

- a large amount of texts (→ quantitative validity)

- writers are free to tell what they want → the influence of the researcher is low

Difficulties:

- heterogeneous texts

- writing styles: literary, personal, heard stories, ethnographical, poetic, fictional…

Thank you for Your

attention!