The purpose of this essay is to investigate why a group of young adults, living in the village of Järvsö in Hälsingland, choose to live their lives according to the ideals attributed to the peasantry in the early 19th century. The essay examines what gives them inspiration for their way of living and the driving forces behind their choices. The theoretical starting points of the study are production of cultural heritage, nostalgia and performance studies. The study is based on interviews with young adults, and the older generation that inspires them, living in Järvsö, as well as participant observations and media coverage. The examination of how the cultural heritage has been produced in 2018 gives an insight into the everyday life of those who choose to live by these ideals today in Järvsö and how it has shaped and affected how Järvsö is presented to the outside world. The study concludes that the ideals that the young adults strive for are to live as environmentally friendly as possible. The inspiration comes from stories about people who lived during the 19th century and the aesthetics attributed to the folk culture. They use folk culture that includes stories, folk music, folk dance, folk costumes, crafts and games and reshape these expressions and adapt them to a contemporary life in the 21st century. Because the decorated farmhouses of Hälsingland have been declared world heritage, there is also an authenticity guarantee which gives the interviewees legitimacy for their life choices and confirmation of the importance of passing these folk traditions on to future generations.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-392432 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Meurling, Birgitta |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Etnologiska avdelningen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Birgitta Meurling |
Page generated in 0.0024 seconds