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Paper short abstract:

How our relationship to non-human fellow creatures in the mire landscapes has transformed? How new recreational uses of mires have affected to conception of animal agency there? My study is based on material of written and recorded memory narratives explored by methods of environmental humanities.

Paper long abstract:

The mire landscapes are lively habitats for many species. Humans encounters them often during recreational activities on the mires. Traditionally, in Finland mires have been places for hard work in the name of agriculture, forestry or peat production, but nowadays uses of mires have changed. The most popular reasons to go to mires nowadays belongs to voluntary outdoor activities. Alongside this change, the relationship to non-human entities of mires has transformed profoundly. For example, former fear of encountering with a bear because it could threat livestock, has dissolved to wishes to see that wild creature as part of spectacular nature experience. The conception of animal agency has transformed and needs to be reconsidered.

My study is based on research material gathered by the inquiry and interviews from people who have personal experiences of mires including affective encounters to non-human living entities. It is part of Mire trend research project, in which our group explores new and unconventional uses of nature that are changing the cultural heritage of mires. There underlies the question of reforming human-nature -relationship from the past to the future. I’ll ask here: what resent highly affective and bodily connections to mires have done to our relationship of non-human fellow creatures in it? It is necessary to include also ethical rethinking of our animal conception as such here. With ethnographic close reading, I apply to my analysis of the written and recorded memory narratives some points of views from environmental humanities as human-animal studies, ecocriticism and environmental aesthetics.