Browsing by Subject "identity"

Recent years have witnessed a polarisation of public discussions on migration and refugee policies in Europe, and the position of immigrants and multiple ethnicities in European nation-states. While most research conducted on the issue takes a majority perspective, this thesis aims to examine the minority voice in public debates. The objective of this thesis is to gain an understanding on how three politicians in Finland with an immigrant background – Abdirahim Hussein, Nasima Razmyar and Ozan Yanar – account for minority and majority relations and immigrant belonging and participation in their blog posts, and what identity positions they construct for themselves, for other immigrants and for majority members. The theoretical framework for this thesis draws from social constructionism and three branches of discursive research: discursive psychology, positioning theory and rhetorical psychology. The data, collected from online blog posts between April 2014 and December 2016, consists of 68 blog posts. The blogs selected deal with immigration and intergroup relations. A thorough analysis revealed five different interpretative repertoires that the poli-ticians use to account for minority-majority relations: the hierarchy, the humanistic, the antagonistic, the collectivistic and the individualistic repertoires. The identity positions the repertoires offered for the politicians were, respectively, those of the success story, the mo-ral human being, the good citizen and the contributor. The positions constructed for other immigrants were those of second-class citizens, the ordinary people, the victims and the diverse community members. The individualistic repertoire casts both groups in the posi-tion of independent choice-makers. Moreover, the analysis pointed out the positions that were constructed for the majority public (the positions of dominant group, the ordinary people, the victims of false politics, the diverse community) and for political opponents (the position of dissidents). The closer examination of these repertoires and the subject positions they made available suggested that they functioned to legitimise immigrant belonging and participation by evoking universal human principles of morality and collectivity, by constructing a more inclusive Finnishness, and by undermining the credibility of those critical of immigration. Moreover, the analysis indicates that politicians of immigrant background have to manage at least three interdependent group relations – the relationship with their own and other ethnic minority groups, with the public consisting mainly of majority members, and with the mainstream or extreme political opponents. The most central references for this thesis were, among others, Verkuyten’s (2005) Ethnic Identity, Billig’s (1995) Banal Nationalism, Billig’s (1987) Arguing and Thinking, Potter and Wetherell’s (1987) Discourse and Social Psychology, Suoninen’s (1992) Perheen kuvakulmat, and Varjonen’s (2013) Osallistuja vai ulkopuolinen?.

This research explores how Russian national identity is constructed through political discourses pertaining to the Arctic. Theoretically this thesis addresses how national identity is constructed through these discourses and subsequently how this identity is used to justify Russia’s Arctic policy to a domestic as well as an international audience. In order to achieve this a hybrid methodology combining critical discourse analysis and political discourse analysis was applied to two forms of political discourses; speeches by politicians and policy papers. This research has identified five discourses through which a Russian national identity is constructed and policy legitimised. These are international cooperation, security, governance, Russia as Arctic, and environment.

This thesis is about the sociocultural phenomenon of start-up entrepreneurship. Contemporary society is home to a growing obsession towards entrepreneurship, with entrepreneurial action regarded as a possible solution to a wide spectrum of social problems. Entrepreneurial action and the acquiring of an entrepreneurial way of thinking and operating is widely considered to contribute to the common good, in reality having potential for a positive impact on society. Hence entrepreneurship is promoted in social policy and education in an effort to educate citizens towards entrepreneurial agency. All in all, an interesting shift is happening with entrepreneurs positioning themselves as producers of the common good ”making the world a better place one pizza at a time”, while farmers traditionally identifying as ”producers” are becoming more ”entrepreneurial”. Entrepreneurial agency as a new form of agency suitable for any individual in almost any field of action originates from the neoliberal discourse and the emphasis on individual freedom and entrepreneurialism. Like Margaret Thatcher famously stated, ”there is no society, there are individual men and women”. This highly individualistic approach to the reorganisation of society and the reinforcement or restoration of the class dominance of a small global elite was voiced as an alleged antidote to the perils of socialism, and culturally connected to the positive ideals of the entrepreneur as a free, self-reliable, innovative and efficient individual. This was the neoliberal re-invention of the entrepreneur that transformed the idea of the entrepreneur as primarily a business operator to that of the morally worthy individual simply doing the right thing. The fruits of the labour would then trickle-down as collectively beneficiary. This thesis is an ethnographic study on start-up entrepreneurs in the Greater Helsinki start-up ecosystem working to promote their companies. Through interviews and observational data, this thesis studies the start-up entrepreneur as the epitome of this contemporary entrepreneurial agency. Start-up entrepreneurship sometimes referred to as ”entrepreneurialism on steroids”, is a form of often tech-related entrepreneurialism aimed at fast growth with the help of investments - a sort of ”rags to riches” narrative. But the work is demanding with statistically most start-up companies destined to fail, with a very small percentage becoming successful in finding markets, growing and returning the investments while providing lucrative ”exits” for the founders. Utilising positioning theory this thesis focuses on three themes related to start-up entrepreneurs: their identifications and boundary work in separating them as a specific social group, the outspoken motivations behind their actions and the troubles that arise from their endeavours. Through dress code, speech norms and the acceptance of the Weberian idea of the entrepreneur as ”a special actor” and capable problem-solver, the identity of the start-up entrepreneur is constructed and ritualistically verified in events like SLUSH. The origins of the neoliberal discourse are interestingly present in these motivations, with a majority of the interviewees emphasizing the altruistic side of their social entrepreneurialism and the importance of freedom in life. They are free to achieve. But on the other hand, the possibility of unimaginable financial gain brings certain ambiguity to the situation. In the words of one interviewee: ”Anyone who says they don´t dream of getting rich in a start-up company is lying.” Finally, among all the positive hype that surrounds successful start-up companies and entrepreneurship partly due to the way they are portrayed in the media, there are problems ahead for many. Stress and financial troubles combined with the shame and possible debt resulting from going bankrupt manifest themselves as severe physical symptoms, mental health problems, insomnia and burnout. This can in turn have a dramatic impact in dictating the lives of the start-up entrepreneurs. Following the ideas of critical entrepreneurship studies and contributing to the lack of research on the topic, this thesis suggests that due to the influence of the neoliberal discourse on the way entrepreneurship is framed and celebrated as well as the severity of the resulting problems for many, there should be a more critical and analytical approach to the seemingly value-free promotion of entrepreneurship. It is necessary to ask whose interests are actually getting promoted through increased entrepreneurial agency, and whether the alleged promotion of common good is in fact contributing to any issues other than the convenience of the every-day lives of the middle-class.

The study aims to depict how black metal scene members see black metal, the scene and their own identities in the changing, global mediascapes of today and how they (re-) negotiate these elements in these circumstances. In the last two decades, the new ICT have changed the world and equally so musical scenes. The question to be answered then is how a global subculture like black metal that highly values obscurity and has a strong ideology reacts to these changes as these developments result in concepts such as scene, space, identity and authenticity being challenged in today’s globalized world. Despite the little academic attention that black metal has received, it is not only interesting musically with black metal being one of the newest and most extreme metal subgenres but the black metal scene and its practices are noteworthy because of their unique connection of music and ideology as well as the global network that has existed since black metal’s inception. A qualitative multi-method research design is used to achieve an understanding of both experiences and thoughts of individual scene members as well as to try to discover a wider scenic development, negotiation behaviour and to draw a picture of scenic media use. The data was gathered by starting a thread in an online discussion forum and conducting six semi-structured interviews both face-to-face as well as online through email and written Skype chats. Scenic material such as magazines and documentaries were collected and used to support the other two data sets and add more nuances. All these materials were analysed thematically from an insider researcher perspective. In conclusion, it can be said that while there clearly was a phase of conflict in the scene to adapt to the developments it seems they have enforcedly been accepted and are seen as part of an inevitable evolution. The Internet has become the dominant media used in the black metal scene. It is acknowledged that the Internet makes access easier and faster, it shrinks the world. This is seen both as positive and negative. Scene members see it as beneficial personally as the Internet allows inexpensive and fast access to information and communication tools. For the scene however, it is seen as a threat since it renders black metal more visible and provides easier accessibility for everyone. While black metal in its core has not changed and its ideology has remained the same, the scene has developed, grown up and become more diverse and fragmented as well as lost some of its restrictiveness.

The focus of this thesis is on the recent changes in ethnic and class relations that have taken place in Bolivia since the beginning of the 21st century with the expansion of the economic middle class and the rise of the indigenous movements, Evo Morales and his socialist party to political power. This is approached through the medium of coca leaf, a key symbol of the Central Andean indigenous peoples, and its chewing that has recently been appropriated by all social layers of Bolivia. The recent popularity of coca challenges the race-based class structure of Bolivia, where prejudices on indigenous peoples have been epitomised in coca. The realities of social change are investigated by looking into the contemporary perceptions that Bolivians have towards coca, and how its increasing use reflects the changing identities and relations between different social layers. The city of Tarija was chosen as the primary field site as coca is commonly chewed there publicly. As previous anthropological research on coca has mainly been conducted in rural surroundings, this thesis illuminates how the leaf is used by the urban population of Bolivia. The principle research questions are: How is the chewing of coca leaf perceived and practiced by the different layers, of the contemporary society of Tarija, and how does this contribute to the production of separate ethnic and class identities, but also national and departmental unity? This thesis is mostly based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Bolivia between 3 December 2018 and 23 February 2019, of which two months were spent in the city of Tarija and it surroundings, while one month of supplementary research was conducted in other parts of Bolivia. In addition to participant observation, the material collected included 14 recorded interviews as well as 63 informal interviews. Besides ethnographic data, this thesis also analyses the history of coca leaf at the epicentre of racial and social relations of Bolivian society, which also includes its place as one of the main ingredients of the global drug trade. As the perceptions surrounding coca are linked to its possible narcotic qualities and medical applicability, an analysis of the medicinal value of the coca leaf is included to provide a background for the claims made by the interviewees. To approach the multiple meanings of the coca leaf, this thesis employs a locally engaged theory. Anthropological concepts and theories of multiple origins are employed and applied throughout the ethnographical analysis to build a multi-sited and encompassing understanding of coca chewing. The identities are approached from an intersectional perspective to show the complexity of identity building, where gender, age, race and class are in interaction with each other. The reasons that members of different groups give for coca chewing and how these reasons work to create differences between the chewers are analysed to demonstrate how the traditional upper and middle classes of Tarija do not partake in the key symbolism that coca has for the Central Andean indigenous peoples. Instead, they perceive coca as an ancient medicine, a national emblem that works to create unity between all Bolivians by connecting them to their shared indigenous roots, while the chewing of the leaf for work-related reasons, as a stimulant, is perceived to be practiced mainly by the rural population and the working class. By further differentiating the zones of coca production to traditional producers and narcotraffickers, and as also demonstrated with an analysis on the public chewing of coca, this thesis argues that through coca chewing, the traditional upper and middle classes are able to overpass the racism previously employed in demonstrations against Evo Morales and his socialist party. Their new rhetoric highlights national unity regardless of class or ethnicity in the name of democracy. The ambiguous relation that the people of Tarija have towards coca reflects the ambiguous relations that exist between the different social layers of the city. The increasing popularity of coca reflects the social change that has diluted the colonial race-based boundaries between social classes, but also the limits of this change, as many of the prejudices and stereotypes previously attached to race and coca, instead of disappearing, have been reassigned to low income levels and political affiliation.

Tämä pro gradu -tutkielma käsittelee seksuaalivähemmistöihin kuuluvien naisten identiteetin rakentumista kielen näkökulmasta. Tutkielma perustuu neljän yksilön haastatteluihin, joissa keskeisenä teemana ovat oma identiteetti, coming out -tarinat ja LGBTQ-yhteisön sisäinen terminologian käyttö. Tämän lisäksi tutkitaan englannin kielen asemaa globaalin LGBTQ-yhteisön yhteisenä kielenä; englannin kielen keskeisyys näkyy myös haastateltavien kielenkäytössä. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu kahdesta Zoom-alustalla toteutetusta videohaastattelusta, joista kumpaankin osallistui kaksi toisilleen tuttua haastateltavaa. Keväällä 2020 puhjenneesta koronapandemiasta johtuen haastattelut suoritettiin etäyhteyden välityksellä. Haastattelut tallennettiin haastateltavien luvalla suoraan Zoomin kautta. Tutkimuksessa käytettiin äänitallenteita ja niiden pohjalta tehtyjä muistiinpanoja. Haastatteluaineiston analyysi tässä tutkielmassa yhdistelee sosiolingvistiikan ja queer-teorian tutkimushistoriaa, ja tärkeimmät teoreettiset käsitteet ovat Judith Butlerin performatiivisuuden teoria sekä Eckertin sosiolingvistiikan alalle tuoma käytäntöyhteisö (community of practice). Näiden lisäksi sosiolingvistiikan konseptit indeksikaalisuus ja asenne (stance) toimivat analyysin perustana. Coming out -tarinoita peilataan myös aiempiin samaa aihetta käsitteleviin tutkimuksiin. Tutkimusnäkökulma on deskriptiivinen ja kvalitatiivinen. Tutkielman tulokset on jaoteltu haastattelukysymysten mukaan: ensin käsitellään haastateltavien omaa identiteettiä, minkä jälkeen keskustelu laajenee käsittelemään yhteisön sisäistä terminologiaa ja kielivalintojen merkityksiä. Tuloksissa käsitellään eri termien eksklusiivisuutta ja inklusiivisuutta, konnotaatioita ja termien välisiä hierarkioita ja linkkejä. Tämän lisäksi käsitellään termien historiaa ja niihin liittyvien asenteiden muutoksia, esimerkiksi aiemmin halventavina käytettyjen termien (slur) takaisinottoa ja käyttöä nykypäivän arkikielessä. Haastateltavien näkemyksiä nykypäivän kielenkäytöstä peilataan aiempaan tutkimukseen terminologian muutoksista. Haastateltavat tuovat myös esille englannin kielen keskeisen aseman seksuaalivähemmistöjen terminologiassa, joka ulottuu myös muita kieliä äidinkielenään puhuvien kielenkäyttöön. Tutkielman keskeisimmät tulokset ovat, että termien konnotaatiot sekä yksilön identiteetin että yhteisön tasolla ovat vahvasti aika-, paikka- ja kontekstisidonnaisia. Yksittäisellä identiteettikategorialla, kuten nimikkeellä queer, ei siis ole yhtä sidottua merkitystä ja konnotaatiota, vaan esimerkiksi historiallinen tausta ja termin käyttöyhteys vaikuttavat sen merkitykseen ja puhujien asenteisiin. Lisäksi omaa identiteettiä kuvailevia termejä voidaan käyttää eri tavoin eri sosiaalisissa tilanteissa, koska konnotaatiot ovat sekä puhujasta että kuulijasta riippuvaisia. Näin ollen identiteetin performatiivisuus korostuu tutkielman tulosten analyysissä – kuten aiempi tutkimus on osoittanut, identiteetti on kielessä ja sosiaalisessa kontekstissa rakentuva ilmiö. Haastatteluaineistosta ilmenee myös, että LGBTQ-yhteisön kielenkäyttö on jatkuvassa muutoksessa uusien termien syntymisen myötä. Seksuaalivähemmistöjen kielenkäytön tutkiminen onkin jatkuvasti relevanttia, etenkin globaalin käytäntöyhteisön näkökulmasta.

This thesis deals with how meaningful landscapes are created through experiences in everyday life. As European governments seek to implement the European Landscape Convention into policy, landscapes and their relationships with its inhabitants must be understood on a more fundamental level. In addition to understanding how meaningful landscapes are created, this thesis also sheds light on the relationships between landscapes and social and societal change. Landscape here is then more than a simple scenery or representation; it is temporal and dynamic and the context of our dwelling. Two related but different landscapes in the Southwest Finland archipelago are studied through the application of the phenomenological approach. The first centres around the former ironworks town of Dalsbruk, including the surrounding region of Dragsfjärd. The second centres around Hitis village in the Hitis archipelago. Special attention is also given to the Purunpää nature conservation area in Dragsfjärd as it relates to changing attitudes regarding the landscape. Material collected during two months of fieldwork includes interviews with 11 people, informal discussions, first-person observations, and archival materials in the form of historical photographs and factory magazines from Dalsbruk provided by the town’s ironworks museum. By combining the dwelling perspective at the core of the phenomenological approach to landscapes with a historical, political and environmental context in the form of an environmental history of the region, the process of the landscape’s becoming is revealed and the various meanings that it holds for people are illuminated. Not only has the landscape had an enormous effect on where settlements have been founded, it has also shaped the livelihoods of its inhabitants. At the same time generation after another has left their mark on the landscape, shaping the way people today relate to it. This study covers how the physical landscape embodies the social hierarchies of previous generations as a materialisation of their dwelling. It deals with how stories and place names make landscapes and places meaningful for the local population by evoking a shared history and identity of a place. Additionally, subjective memories and experiences affect how people perceive the landscape and how different people find it to be meaningful. This has an impact on how both the past and future of a place or landscape is imagined, leading to the conclusion that they are always contested. Landscapes in the Archipelago Sea region are revealed to be filled with values and meanings far beyond the aesthetic.

Fashion blogs are invention of the new millennia. Starting with something as simple as commenting on the outfit or a fashion event using this online medium, modern bloggers transformed it now into a successful business venture and a massive network for sharing ideas, tips and personal struggles with their followers. Thus, nowadays, a successful fashion blogger can be anything from a minor celebrity in the blogosphere, to a major international influencer in the fashion industry. Being personally fascinated by the way modern fashion bloggers run their blogs and manage to create a personal brand, I have decided to focus my research on creation of an online identity fashion bloggers go through whilst managing their personal blogs. Intentionally, or unintentionally personal fashion bloggers develop a certain type of writing and content creation that allows them to connect to many people. Fashion bloggers try to produce an idea that will guarantee them professional success. However, their personal background partially already set them up to be more connected to a certain group of people rather than the other. It is visible in their looks, ethnicity, lifestyle, personal interests and in opinions what type of people would be the majority of their followers. As a results, the network of followers that will be build by the blogger will determine what type of content she will be producing to attract even more readers. This is what will be discussed in this thesis: how fashion bloggers behave and what they primarily focus on in their blogs to keep up the online persona they are constructing.

This thesis examines the Europeanisation of public spheres. According to the deliberative democratic theory, political decisions need to be based on public consideration. Similarly to the decision-making processes in the nation states, in order for democracy to function also in the European Union, there is a need for a joint European public sphere where the peoples of Europe can discuss common issues of relevance and thereby contribute to the EU decision-making. Research conducted on the gradual Europeanisation of public spheres examines how politicisation of EU issues on the national levels contributes to cross-border communication, creation of joint communities of communication and a strengthening of collective European identity. Drawing on previous research in this field, this study highlights communication flows and discursive frames in the selected national media outlets and examines to what extent these discussions point to the emergence of a collective European identity strong enough to sustain mutualisation of debt and fiscal transfers, justifying ”solidarity among strangers” within the community. Through analysis of media coverage on the EU Recovery Fund – the political and politicised face of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic response on the EU level – this thesis examines to what extent the public spheres in Germany, France and Finland are Europeanised in these debates and whether it is possible to identify a joint community of communication pointing to a collective European identity. The theoretical framework of this study draws largely on Jürgen Habermas’s public sphere theory and its later developments (and criticisms) as well as on the growing body of literature on the gradual Europeanisation of national public spheres in the EU Member States. Contrary to the early studies on the European public sphere, later research points towards increasing politicisation of EU affairs in the national public spheres and the related strengthening of Europeanisation. No consensus, however, exists yet among researchers on whether these developments will lead to enhanced European identity and further integration or renationalisation and further rise of Euroscepticism. This thesis contributes to that discussion through a case study on the Europeanisation of national public spheres in relation to the discussion on the EU Recovery Fund in 2020.

The counterintuitive relationship between Finland/Finnishness and coloniality – traces of colonialism in contemporary society and culture – is an expanding area of academic research. This thesis contributes to the field by reflecting on this relationship with a focus particularly on manifestations of issues of coloniality in public debates on social media. On these platforms, contrasting political groups engage in discursive struggles over the construction of memory and identity narratives. The context of the research is the international wave of protests that started in the summer of 2020, which attracted vast popular attention to racism and inequality, and the colonial power structures lying behind them. The social movements began in North America and expanded to Western Europe, where the history of imperialism and colonization is apparent – but the debate also reached Finland, a country that has, until recently, rarely been associated with questions of colonialism and coloniality. This thesis aims to shed light on Finland’s relationship to coloniality as a periphery-of-the-center space, which retains a share of colonial complicity, but also distinct differences vis-à-vis traditional colonial centers. The approach of the study is interdisciplinary, synthesizing features of postcolonial/decolonial theory, discourse theory and memory studies. The research identifies three of the dimensions in which coloniality is involved in discursive struggles in Finland: acknowledgement, reconciliation, and cosmetic decoloniality. In the research, these dimensions are represented, respectively, by three case studies: the Afrikan tähti boardgame, the public apology by MP Pirkka-Pekka Petelius to the indigenous Sámi people, and the rebranding of traditional consumer products exhibiting stereotypical orientalist names and imagery. Each case study includes an analysis of a social media discussion thread related to it. A central analytical framework is provided by Laclau’s discourse theory applied to populist movements, which emphasizes the convergence of attitudes and values within a group following equivalential logic, and the construction of antagonistic frontiers between different groups. By means of qualitative analysis, the thesis reflects on these processes particularly as they pertain to discursive struggles related to coloniality in Finland on social media, where such polarizing features can be identified. Finland is, in its own way, embedded in coloniality, and issues related to coloniality are an increasingly contentious topic in Finnish public debate. Negotiations and struggles over narrative and identity construction can be seen to follow ideological lines to some extent, but there is plenty of nuance in the re-negotiation of Finnish identity in the comparatively novel context of coloniality. Further, more detailed and broader study of discursive struggles related to coloniality and decoloniality is in order, as these issues become ever more prevalent in Finland.