Going against the grain? A longitudinal study of the material-discursive practices of staying among young adults in rural Finland

Abstract

This article explores what staying rural means for Finnish young people who envision, or consider, a future in sparsely populated regions. The article draws on a qualitative longitudinal study of youth from three different regions. They were followed through qualitative participatory research methods since the age of 15 (2015–2022). The article opens new perspectives on the processes of staying rural by drawing on new materialist framework. The article suggests that staying should be viewed as a dynamic process in which different temporalities, materialities, and agencies intra-act, and which is marked by continuous decision-making and movement. The article introduces the concept of material-discursive practices of staying to highlight that staying is not only about individual or even human conditions but an intra-action of matter and meaning. Particular attention is paid to three material-discursive practices of staying by Finnish rural young people: (1) transgenerational practices of staying, (2) educational and career-related practices of staying, and (3) the outspoken tendency of ‘going against the grain’ in relation to urban youth cultures and normative expectations.