This book presents the results of the latest phase of a 50-year longitudinal study of two villages in eastern Finland: Sivakka and Rasimäki. The current study is based on new materialist approaches in social sciences and cultural studies. New materialism emphasizes the influence of non-human factors – such as nature, objects, and technology – on people’s everyday lives and activities. It challenges human-centered thinking by exploring how the material environment shapes social phenomena. The authors apply new materialist ideas and concepts from the perspective of their own disciplines. They explore topics such as water and winter as forces shaping daily life, changes in human-animal relationships, villages as assemblages, the role of information technology in community life, the significance of music in identity formation and cultural heritage, emotional representations of villages in research and fiction, and villagers’ own narratives about their communities. The epilogue reflects on the significance of new materialism in this study.

This book is included in DOAB.