Research project My Countryside explored changes in attitudes towards the Finnish countryside in the 1990s and 2020s by using oral history and participatory methods. By focusing on experiences, emotions, stories and everyday life in the countryside, the project provided a fresh approach to rural history in Finland.
Particular attention was paid at the presence of history, sensory memories, and place-attachment in the lives of different generations. The project aimed at a multifaceted analysis of the concept of countryside by taking into account the diversity of experiences, as well as transgenerational, gendered and material dimensions of belonging in the countryside.
In addition, the project aimed at enhancing oral history methods. We investigated whether different types of data, such as individual interviews, memory data produced in groups and workshops, photographs and written memories open up different perspectives on the study of experience, and how different types of data can be combined methodologically. The multidisciplinary project combined historical and ethnological research with sociological and neo-materialist perspectives.
The study was conducted in close collaboration with the Finnish Agricultural Museum Sarka. The final outcome of the project was a museum exhibition entitled "My Countryside – An Exhibition of Childhood and Youth Experiences in the Countryside," which is open at the Sarka Museum from October 11, 2024, to January 11, 2026. The exhibition is based on the results of the research project and also presents a wealth of oral history material collected during the project, such as photographs and autobiographical stories.
The key research results of the project are compiled in a collection published in spring 2025, entitled Monikerroksinen maaseutu - Arki, muistot ja mielikuvat (Gaudeamus). In addition, the research results have been published in domestic and international journal articles.
The project was led by Academy Research Fellow Kaisa Vehkalahti, with ethnologist Maria Vanha-Similä (2021–2024) and sociologist Ville Pöysä (2022–2025) serving as researchers.
