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The Power of Peat, Media Representations of Finnish Mires through Critical Discourse Analysis

Piironen, Ilona LU (2025) HEKM51 20251
Department of Human Geography
Human Ecology
Abstract
This study aims to expand the research on Finnish mires by bringing humanistic perspectives to the field that has traditionally been dominated by natural sciences. The thesis examines cultural and societal aspects of human-mire relationships. This is done by conducting a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of news media articles published between 2020 and 2025 in three different news media: Helsingin Sanomat, Yle, and Maaseudun Tulevaisuus. Through CDA and theories of political ecology and ecofeminism, it is examined how power relations affect the way discourses are constructed, prioritized, and marginalized in the news media, as well as how these discourses affect our relationship with the natural world. The findings show that the news... (More)
This study aims to expand the research on Finnish mires by bringing humanistic perspectives to the field that has traditionally been dominated by natural sciences. The thesis examines cultural and societal aspects of human-mire relationships. This is done by conducting a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of news media articles published between 2020 and 2025 in three different news media: Helsingin Sanomat, Yle, and Maaseudun Tulevaisuus. Through CDA and theories of political ecology and ecofeminism, it is examined how power relations affect the way discourses are constructed, prioritized, and marginalized in the news media, as well as how these discourses affect our relationship with the natural world. The findings show that the news media mainly frames mires around economic, scientific, and masculine perspectives. A less frequent, but notable number of articles promote the cultural and historical importance of these spaces and frame the human-mire relationship as one of coexistence and respect. While the study doesn’t claim to universally describe all Finns’ relationship with mires, it still highlights how the discourses in the news media both reflect and shape the way the public relates to mires. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Piironen, Ilona LU
supervisor
organization
course
HEKM51 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
language
English
id
9188537
date added to LUP
2025-07-31 13:31:24
date last changed
2025-07-31 13:31:24
@misc{9188537,
  abstract     = {{This study aims to expand the research on Finnish mires by bringing humanistic perspectives to the field that has traditionally been dominated by natural sciences. The thesis examines cultural and societal aspects of human-mire relationships. This is done by conducting a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of news media articles published between 2020 and 2025 in three different news media: Helsingin Sanomat, Yle, and Maaseudun Tulevaisuus. Through CDA and theories of political ecology and ecofeminism, it is examined how power relations affect the way discourses are constructed, prioritized, and marginalized in the news media, as well as how these discourses affect our relationship with the natural world. The findings show that the news media mainly frames mires around economic, scientific, and masculine perspectives. A less frequent, but notable number of articles promote the cultural and historical importance of these spaces and frame the human-mire relationship as one of coexistence and respect. While the study doesn’t claim to universally describe all Finns’ relationship with mires, it still highlights how the discourses in the news media both reflect and shape the way the public relates to mires.}},
  author       = {{Piironen, Ilona}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{The Power of Peat, Media Representations of Finnish Mires through Critical Discourse Analysis}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}