Lakes, presidents and shopping on mental maps: children’s perceptions of the Finnish–Russian border and the borderland
The Finnish–Russian borderland has transformed in the last three decades from two isolated national territories into a transition zone, where the ‘other’ culture and society is ever more present. This paper analyses what kinds of perceptions Finnish and Russian children have of the border and the bo...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Geographical Society of Finland
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Fennia: International Journal of Geography |
| Online Access: | https://fennia.journal.fi/article/view/73208 |
| _version_ | 1831593024486899712 |
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| author | Virpi Kaisto Olga Brednikova |
| author_facet | Virpi Kaisto Olga Brednikova |
| author_sort | Virpi Kaisto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Finnish–Russian borderland has transformed in the last three decades from two isolated national territories into a transition zone, where the ‘other’ culture and society is ever more present. This paper analyses what kinds of perceptions Finnish and Russian children have of the border and the borderland today. It also examines children’s territorial identifications in the borderland. The research is based on 263 mental maps collected from 9–15-year-old children in the cities of Lappeenranta (Finland) and Vyborg (Russia) and the village of Pervomayskoe (Russia) between 2013 and 2017. The analysis of the maps illustrates that the children participating in the study perceive the Finnish–Russian border mainly as a place for border crossings, although they continue to use the border as a tool for constructing socio-spatial distinctions. In this way, the children actively participate in processes of bordering and play an important part in the social life of the borderland. The participants’ perceptions of the borderland are connected to the national and local contexts that they live in but vary widely between individuals. The paper argues that the local border-related phenomena and children’s border-crossing experiences are increasingly relevant for their national and local identification processes. Besides providing novel information regarding Finnish and Russian children’s perceptions and identifications in the Finnish–Russian borderland, the paper adjusts the mental mapping method to a borderland context and enhances our understanding of the complexity of the bordering processes taking place in borderlands.
Popular article based on the paper, with commentaries, is published in Versus Research Dabate. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-18T05:01:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d936729be385450eaaccbcad60c37986 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1798-5617 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-18T05:01:25Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | Geographical Society of Finland |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fennia: International Journal of Geography |
| spelling | doaj.art-d936729be385450eaaccbcad60c379862022-12-21T21:20:07ZengGeographical Society of FinlandFennia: International Journal of Geography1798-56172019-04-01197110.11143/fennia.73208Lakes, presidents and shopping on mental maps: children’s perceptions of the Finnish–Russian border and the borderlandVirpi Kaisto0Olga Brednikova1University of Eastern FinlandCentre for Independent Social ResearchThe Finnish–Russian borderland has transformed in the last three decades from two isolated national territories into a transition zone, where the ‘other’ culture and society is ever more present. This paper analyses what kinds of perceptions Finnish and Russian children have of the border and the borderland today. It also examines children’s territorial identifications in the borderland. The research is based on 263 mental maps collected from 9–15-year-old children in the cities of Lappeenranta (Finland) and Vyborg (Russia) and the village of Pervomayskoe (Russia) between 2013 and 2017. The analysis of the maps illustrates that the children participating in the study perceive the Finnish–Russian border mainly as a place for border crossings, although they continue to use the border as a tool for constructing socio-spatial distinctions. In this way, the children actively participate in processes of bordering and play an important part in the social life of the borderland. The participants’ perceptions of the borderland are connected to the national and local contexts that they live in but vary widely between individuals. The paper argues that the local border-related phenomena and children’s border-crossing experiences are increasingly relevant for their national and local identification processes. Besides providing novel information regarding Finnish and Russian children’s perceptions and identifications in the Finnish–Russian borderland, the paper adjusts the mental mapping method to a borderland context and enhances our understanding of the complexity of the bordering processes taking place in borderlands. Popular article based on the paper, with commentaries, is published in Versus Research Dabate.https://fennia.journal.fi/article/view/73208 |
| spellingShingle | Virpi Kaisto Olga Brednikova Lakes, presidents and shopping on mental maps: children’s perceptions of the Finnish–Russian border and the borderland Fennia: International Journal of Geography |
| title | Lakes, presidents and shopping on mental maps: children’s perceptions of the Finnish–Russian border and the borderland |
| title_full | Lakes, presidents and shopping on mental maps: children’s perceptions of the Finnish–Russian border and the borderland |
| title_fullStr | Lakes, presidents and shopping on mental maps: children’s perceptions of the Finnish–Russian border and the borderland |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lakes, presidents and shopping on mental maps: children’s perceptions of the Finnish–Russian border and the borderland |
| title_short | Lakes, presidents and shopping on mental maps: children’s perceptions of the Finnish–Russian border and the borderland |
| title_sort | lakes presidents and shopping on mental maps children s perceptions of the finnish russian border and the borderland |
| url | https://fennia.journal.fi/article/view/73208 |
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