Suchergebnisse

Discursive study of religion (DSR) has become an increasingly recognised and applied approach to the study of religion. It asks: What passes for 'religion' in society? How do different constructions of 'religion' affect other social spheres such as politics, law, and everyday life, and vice versa? In this collection, Finnish scholars—many of them internationally recognized authorities on the subject—discuss DSR's theoretical underpinnings, map the variety of discursive approaches, and apply the approach to case studies of politics, spirituality, and history. The book can be used as a textbook for religion and method courses in various disciplines.

Engl. Zsfassung u.d.T.: Changes in training in the construction industry

"Drawing on the debate on mediatization of politics this study identifies cultural meanings, institutional practices and styles of argumentation as three theoretical dimensions that illuminate both the construction of journalistic publicity and its potential uses in political action. Based on the theoretical model, environmental politics is identified as a specific context for mediatization. In environmental politics, the interplay of cultural meanings, institutional practices and styles of argumentation define the construction and use of journalistic publicity in a way that differs from other fields of politics.

The empirical part of this study analyzes the newspaper coverage of three Finnish environmental conflicts from 1971, 1994 and 2012. The theoretical model is transformed into an analytical framework that focuses on discursive construction of the conflicts (cultural meanings), journalistic frames, narration and opinion-giving in the coverage of the conflicts and the publicity practices adopted by actors during the conflicts (institutional practices) and legitimation of arguments (styles of argumentation).

According to this study, the relation between media and politics in the field of environmental politics is defined by the increasing cultural significance of environmental protection from the 1970s to the present. In the newspaper coverage of the three environmental conflicts studied, changes on the frames, narration and opinion-giving of journalism resonated with this cultural change. However, the significance of environmental protection in the framing, narration and opinion-giving of journalism was greater in the national newspaper studied compared to the local newspapers selected based on their proximity to the conflict sites. Styles of argumentation appeared to be more case dependent. The increasing cultural significance of environmental protection did not have a clear effect on how arguments were legitimated. "

The book approaches the history of Finnish development cooperation through the experiences of development aid workers. At its core is a small group of Finns (experts and officials from different fields) who have worked with international development aid in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Their memories and experiences, together with diverse archival material offer an interesting window into the world of development (cooperation), or "Aidland", from the 1960s to the turn of the millennium.
The research focuses on the personal motives and experiences of Finnish aid workers from the 1960s to the 2000s. The book offers perspectives on the historical construction of Aidland since the 1940s and on the gradual integration of Finland and the Finns into its structures. It describes the mindset of the first two generations of aid workers and the factors that made them interested in developing countries. The book follows their education, their first contacts with Aidland, adaptation to work and conditions, returning home and the challenges that come with it. The study gives the reader a view of the power positions, hierarchies and contradictions in Aidland and development cooperation, which at times led Finns to reassess their motives and justify to themselves the meaningfulness of the entire undertaking. Through their experiences, the book also deals with the less-known side of development cooperation, such as corruption, prejudices, and opposition to development projects, as well as their occasionally unwanted consequences in partner/recipient countries. It also sheds light on the effects of the Aidland experience on an individual's worldview and identity.
The book is an academic study suitable for a wide audience, from university students to ordinary readers interested in development cooperation. The book helps to understand both the history of development and the construction of multi-level connections of Finnish society with the countries of the Global South. It is therefore also ideally suited for readers interested in the development of Finland's internationalization in the late twentieth century. For its part, the book contributes to wider public debates on development cooperation.