Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • More
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Change Password
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Other Publications
    • UWP

User menu

  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Scandinavian Studies
  • Other Publications
    • UWP
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Scandinavian Studies

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Content
    • Current
    • Archive
  • Info for
    • Authors
    • Subscribers
    • Institutions
    • Advertisers
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
  • More
    • Feedback
    • Help
    • Change Password
  • Alerts
  • Free Issue
  • Follow scandstudy on Twitter
  • Visit scandstudy on Facebook
  • Visit scandstudy on Instagram
  • Visit scandstudy on LinkedIn
Research ArticleArticles

Peace and Quiet (Olla Rauhassa) at the Finnish Summer Cottage

A Cultural Discourse Analysis of Voluntary Solitude

Saila Poutiainen
Scandinavian Studies, January 2025, 97 (1) 96-119; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/sca.97.1.96
Saila Poutiainen
Saila Poutiainen is a University Lecturer at the Faculty of Arts, University of Helsinki. Her research focuses on ethnography of communication, interpersonal relationships, and Finnish communication culture.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: saila.poutiainen{at}helsinki.fi
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF
Loading

Works Cited

  1. ↵
    1. Alasuutari, Pertti, and
    2. Maarit Alasuutari
    . 2010. Mökkihulluus. Vapaa-ajan asumisen taika ja taito. Rovaniemi: LUP Lapin yliopistokustannus.
  2. ↵
    1. Ampuja, Outi
    . 2014. “Luonnon rauha—mitä se on ja mistä sitä löytyy?” In Huutoja hiljaisuuteen. Ihminen ääniympäristössä, edited by Outi Ampuja and Miikka Peltomaa, 259–273. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.
  3. ↵
    1. Averill, James R., and
    2. Louise Sundararajan
    . 2014. “Experiences of Solitude.” In The Handbook of Solitude: Psychological Perspectives on Social Isolation, Social Withdrawal, and Being Alone, edited by Robert J. Coplan and Julie C. Bowker, 90–108. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118427378.
    1. Berker, Thomas,
    2. Helen Jøsok Gansmo, and
    3. Finn Arne Jørgensen
    . 2011. “Hyttedrømmen mellom hjem, fritid og natur.” In Norske hytter i endring. Om Bærekraft og behag, edited by Helen Jøsok Gansmo, Thomas Berker, and Finn Arne Jørgensen, 9–23. Trondheim: Tapir Akademisk.
  4. ↵
    1. Bloch, Linde-Renée
    . 2003. “Who’s Afraid of Being a Freier: The Analysis of Communication through a Key Cultural Frame.” Communication Theory 13 (2): 125–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2885.2003.tb00285.x.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  5. ↵
    1. Broch, Tuva B.
    2020. “Introduksjon: Hjem (met) i og etter Gullestad.” Norsk antropologisk tidsskrift 31 (1–2): 5–19. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1504-2898-2020-01-02-02.
    OpenUrl
  6. ↵
    1. Carbaugh, Donal
    . 1988. “Comments on ‘Culture’ in Communication Inquiry.” Communication Reports 1 (1): 38–41. https://doi.org/10.1080/08934218809367460.
    OpenUrl
  7. ↵
    1. Carbaugh, Donal
    . 1996. “Naturalizing Communication and Culture.” In The Symbolic Earth: Discourse and Our Creation of the Environment, edited by James G. Cantrill and Christine L. Oravec, 38–57. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.
  8. ↵
    1. Carbaugh, Donal
    . 2007a. “Ethnography of Communication.” In The Blackwell International Encyclopedia of Communication, edited by Wolfgang Donsbach. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell.
  9. ↵
    1. Carbaugh, Donal
    . 2007b. “Cultural Discourse Analysis: Communication Practices and Intercultural Encounters.” Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 36 (3): 167–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475750701737090.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  10. ↵
    1. Carbaugh, Donal
    . 2017. “Terms for Talk, Take 2: Theorizing Communication through its Cultural Terms and Practices.” In The Handbook of Communication in Cross-Cultural Perspective, edited by Donal Carbaugh, 15–28. New York: Routledge.
  11. ↵
    1. Carbaugh, Donal,
    2. Michael Berry, and
    3. Marjatta Nurmikari-Berry
    . 2006. “Coding Personhood through Cultural Terms and Practices: Silence and Quietude as a Finnish ‘Natural Way of Being.’” Journal of Language and Social Psychology 25 (3): 203–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X06289422.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Carbaugh, Donal, and
    2. Tovar Cerulli
    . 2013. “Cultural Discourses of Dwelling: Investigating Environmental Communication as a Place-Based Practice.” Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture 7 (1): 4–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2012.749296.
    OpenUrl
  12. ↵
    1. Carbaugh, Donal, and
    2. Eean Grimshaw
    . 2021. “Blackfeet Discourses about Dwelling-in-Place: Our Homeland, a National Park.” In Bridging Cultural Concepts of Nature, edited by Rani-Henrik Andersson, Boyd Cothran, and Saara Kekki, 203–227. Helsinki: Helsinki University Press. https://doi.org/10.33134/AHEAD-1-7.
  13. ↵
    1. Chaplin, Davina
    . 1999. “Consuming Work/Productive Leisure: The Consumption Patterns of Second Home Environments.” Leisure Studies 18 (1): 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/026143699375041.
    OpenUrl
  14. ↵
    1. Cole, David N., and
    2. Troy E. Hall
    . 2010. “Privacy Functions and Wilderness Recreation: Use Density and Length of Stay Effects on Experience.” Ecopsychology 2 (2): 67–75. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2010.0003.
    OpenUrl
    1. Coplan, Robert J.,
    2. Julie C. Bowker, and
    3. Larry J. Nelson
    . 2021. “Alone Again: Revisiting Psychological Perspectives on Solitude.” In The Handbook of Solitude: Psychological Perspectives on Social Isolation, Social Withdrawal, and Being Alone, 2nd ed., edited by Robert J. Coplan, Julie C. Bowker, and Larry J. Nelson, 3–15. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119576457.ch1.
  15. ↵
    1. Danaher, David S.
    2010. “Translating Havel: Three Key Words (Domov, Sve˘domí, and Klid).” Slovo a slovesnost 71 (4): 250–259.
    OpenUrl
    1. Gansmo, Helen Jøsok,
    2. Thomas Berker, and
    3. Finn Arne Jørgense
    . 2011. Norske hytter i endring. Om Bærekraft og behag. Trondheim: Tapir Akademisk.
  16. ↵
    1. Gullestad, Marianne
    . 1992. The Art of Social Relations. Essays on Culture, Thought and Social Action in Modern Norway. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. Scandinavian Library.
  17. ↵
    1. Hall, C. Michael, and
    2. Dieter K. Müller
    . 2004. Tourism, Mobility and Second Homes. Bristol: Channel View Publications. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781873150825.
  18. ↵
    1. Halseth, Greg, and
    2. Mark W. Rosenberg
    . 1995. “Cottagers in an Urban Field.” Professional Geographer 47 (2): 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0033-0124.1995.00148.x.
    OpenUrl
  19. ↵
    1. Hidle, Knut, and
    2. Winfried Ellingsen
    . 2011. “Hyttemobilitet som kulturfenomen.” In Norske hytter i endring. Om Bærekraft og behag, edited by Helen Jøsok Gansmo, Thomas Berker, and Finn Arne Jørgensen, 91–106. Trondheim: Tapir Akademisk.
  20. ↵
    1. Hirvonen, Jukka, and
    2. Sari Puustinen
    . 2008. Vapaa-ajan asumisen uudet tuulet. Suomalaisten näkemyksiä vapaa-ajan asumisesta. Yhdyskuntasuunnittelun tutkimusja koulutuskeskuksen julkaisuja B94. Espoo: Teknillinen korkeakoulu.
  21. ↵
    1. Hymes, Dell
    . 1972. “Models of the Interaction of Language and Social Life.” In Directions in Sociolinguistics, edited by John Gumperz and Dell Hymes, 35–71. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
  22. ↵
    1. Jokinen, Ari
    . 2002. “Free-Time Habitation and Layers of Ecological History at a Southern Finnish Lake.” Landscape and Urban Planning 61 (2–4): 99–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2046(02)00105-6.
    OpenUrl
  23. ↵
    1. Julkunen, Eero, and
    2. Altti Kuusamo
    . 1991. “Life in Finnish Forests: Semiotics of a Summer House.” Semiotica 87 (3/4): 217–224.
    OpenUrl
  24. ↵
    1. Juntto, Anneli
    . 1999. “Suomalaiset ja vapaa-ajan asunnot.” Hyvinvointikatsaus 2: 57–59.
    OpenUrl
  25. ↵
    1. Karisto, Antti
    . 2006. “Kesämökki ja arjen ympäristöpolitiikka.” In Arkielämän ympäristöpolitiikka, edited by Ilmo Massa and Sanna Ahonen, 122–137. Helsinki: Gaudeamus.
  26. ↵
    1. Koch, Philip
    . 1994. Solitude. A Philosophical Encounter. Chicago, IL: Open Court.
  27. ↵
    1. Kolbe, Laura
    . 2003. “Unelma kahdesta kodista.” In Suomen kulttuurihistoria 4. Koti, kylä, kaupunki, edited by Kiri Saarikangas, Pasi Mäenpää, and Minna Sarantola-Weiss, 62–64. Helsinki: Tammi.
  28. ↵
    1. Kolehmainen, Milla
    . 2017. “ ‘Isikin tykkää luonnosta, se on jotenkin rennompi siellä.’ Lasten ja nuorten tärkeät luontopaikkakokemukset ja sosiaaliset suhteet.” Master’s thesis, University of Tampere.
  29. ↵
    1. Lankots, Epp
    . 2021. “Floor Area: Customizing the Socialist Standard of Good Life in a Soviet Summer Cottage.” sITA—studii de Istoria şi Teoria Arhitecturii 9: 71–86.
    OpenUrl
  30. ↵
    1. Laurén, Kirsi
    . 2001. “Minä suossa. Suokertomukset yksilön ympäristösuhdetta kuvaamassa.” In Minä? Missä? Milloin? Kolmetoista tulkintaa identiteetistä, edited by Tarja Kupiainen, Katja Laitinen, and Sinikka Vakimo, 108–127. Helsinki: Suomalaisen kirjallisuuden seura.
  31. ↵
    1. Lehtonen, Tuomas M. S.
    , ed. 1999. Suomi—Outo pohjoinen maa. Näkökulmia Euroopan äären historiaan ja kulttuuriin. Jyväskylä: PS-kustannus.
    1. Lehtonen, Mikko,
    2. Olli Löytty, and
    3. Petri Ruuska
    . 2004. Suomi toisin sanoen. Tampere: Vastapaino.
  32. ↵
    1. Littman-Ovadia, Hadassah
    . 2019. “Doing-Being and Relationship-Solitude: A Proposed Model for Balanced Life.” Journal of Happiness Studies 20: 1953–1971. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-018-0018-8.
    OpenUrl
  33. ↵
    1. Long, Christopher R., and
    2. James R. Averill
    . 2003. “Solitude: An Exploration of Benefits of Being Alone.” Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 33 (1): 21–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5914.00204.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
  34. ↵
    1. Long, Christopher R.,
    2. Mary Seburn,
    3. James R. Averill, and
    4. Thomas A. More
    . 2003. “Solitude Experiences: Varieties, Settings, and Individual Differences.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 29 (5): 578–583. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203029005003.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMedWeb of Science
  35. ↵
    1. Maes, Marlies,
    2. Jennifer M. Wang,
    3. Wim Van den Noortgate, and
    4. Luc Goossens
    . 2016. “Loneliness and Attitudes toward Being Alone in Belgian and Chinese Adolescents: Examining Measurement Invariance.” Journal of Child and Family Studies 25 (5): 1408–1415. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-354-5.
    OpenUrl
  36. ↵
    1. Manusov, Valerie
    . 2020. “In Praise of Voluntary Solitude: The ‘Fertile Void’ and Its Role in Communication and Relationships.” Atlantic Journal of Communication 28 (1): 68–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2020.1684158.
    OpenUrl
  37. ↵
    1. Melasniemi-Uutela, Heidi
    . 2004. “Suomalaisen mökkikulttuurin suunta.” In Ihanne ja todellisuus: Näkökulmia kulutuksen muutokseen, edited by Kirsti Ahlqvist and Anu Raijas, 145–163. Helsinki: Tilastokeskus.
  38. ↵
    1. Milstein, Tema,
    2. Claudia Anguiano,
    3. Jennifer Sandoval,
    4. Yea-Wen Chen, and
    5. Elizabeth Dickinson
    . 2011. “Communicating a ‘New’ Environmental Vernacular: A Sense of Relations-in-Place.” Communication Monographs 78 (4): 486–510. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2011.618139.
    OpenUrl
  39. ↵
    1. Morgan, Eric L.
    2003. “Discourses of Water: A Framework for the Study of Environmental Communication.” Applied Environmental Education and Communication 2 (3): 153–159. https://doi.org/10.1080/15330150390218261.
    OpenUrl
    1. Nyström, Jan
    . 1989. “From the city to the city’s countryside.” Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography 71 (3): 183–200.
    OpenUrl
  40. ↵
    1. Periäinen, Karoliina
    . 1999. “Suomalainen mökki. The Finnish Summer Cottage.” Arkkitehti 4: 18–23.
  41. ↵
    1. Periäinen, Karoliina
    . 2004. “Summer Cottages in Finland. The Cultural Construction of Life, Space, and National Identity.” Nordisk Arkitekturforskning 17 (4): 43–53.
    OpenUrl
  42. ↵
    1. Philipsen, Gerry, and
    2. Lisa M. Coutu
    . 2005. “The Ethnography of Speaking.” In Handbook of Language and Social Interaction, edited by Kristine Fitch and Robert E. Sanders, 355–380. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
  43. ↵
    1. Pitkänen, Kati, and
    2. Ruut Kokki
    . 2005. Mennäänkö mökille? Näkökulmia pääkaupunkiseutulaisten mökkeilyyn Järvi-Suomessa. Savonlinnan koulutusja kehittämiskeskuksen julkaisuja 11. Savonlinna: Joensuun yliopisto.
  44. ↵
    1. Poutiainen, Saila
    . 2007. Finnish Cultural Discourses on Mobile Phone Communication. PhD diss., University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
    1. Rolfsdotter Eliasson, Susanna
    . 2019. “Strategies for Achieving the Good Life: A New Generation Becomes Summer Cottage Owners in Sweden.” In The Vulnerable Middle Class?: Strategies of Housing in Prospering Cities, edited by Johannes Moser and Simone Egger, 89–102. Munich: Utzverlag.
  45. ↵
    1. Rouhiainen, Vesa
    . 2000. “Suomalaisia mielikuvia maaseudusta.” Maaseudun uusi aika 3: 32–37.
    OpenUrl
  46. ↵
    1. Scollo, Michelle
    . 2004. “Nonverbal Ways of Communicating with Nature: A Cross-Case Study.” In The Environmental Communication Yearbook, vol. 1, edited by Susan L. Senecah, 227–249. New York: Routledge.
  47. ↵
    1. Taimela, Sari
    . 2005. “Miten kirjoittaisin yksinäisyyteni?” In Yksinäisten sanat. Kirjoituksia omasta tilasta, erillisyydestä ja yksinolosta, edited by Kimmo Jokinen, 188–226. Nykykulttuurin tutkimuskeskuksen julkaisuja 84, Jyväskylän yliopisto. Jyväskylä: Gummerus.
  48. ↵
    1. Vazquez Harkivi, Mily
    . 2015. “Environmental Professionals’ Cultural Discourse about the Environment.” Master’s thesis, University of Helsinki.
  49. ↵
    1. Venäläinen, Eija
    . 1989. Onnelaan, kulisseihin, luontoon. Näytöksiä suomalaisesta kesämökkielämästä. Yhteiskuntapolitiikan laitoksen työpapereita 57, Jyväskylän yliopisto.
  50. ↵
    1. Vepsäläinen, Mia, and
    2. Kati Pitkänen
    . 2010. “Second Home Countryside: Representations of the Rural in Finnish Popular Discourses.” Journal of Rural Studies 26 (2): 194–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2009.07.002.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  51. ↵
    1. Vittersø, Gunnar
    . 2007. “Norwegian Cabin Life in Transition.” Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism 7 (3): 266–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250701300223.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
  52. ↵
    1. Voutilainen, Olli,
    2. Kirsi Korhonen,
    3. Ulla Ovaska, and
    4. Hilkka Vihinen
    . 2021. Mökkibarometri 2021. Luonnonvaraja biotalouden tutkimus 47/2021. Helsinki: Luonnonvarakeskus.
  53. ↵
    1. Wang, Yao
    . 2006. “Culture and Solitude: Meaning and Significance of Being Alone.” Master’s thesis, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
  54. ↵
    1. Williams, Daniel R., and
    2. Bjørn P. Kaltenborn
    . 1999. “Leisure Places and Modernity: The Use and Meaning of Recreational Cottages in Norway and the USA.” In Leisure/ Tourism Geographies: Leisure Practices and Geographic Knowledge, edited by David Crouch, 214–230. New York: Routledge.
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Scandinavian Studies: 97 (1)
Scandinavian Studies
Vol. 97, Issue 1
1 Jan 2025
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Back Matter (PDF)
  • Front Matter (PDF)
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Scandinavian Studies.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Peace and Quiet (Olla Rauhassa) at the Finnish Summer Cottage
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Scandinavian Studies
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Scandinavian Studies web site.
Citation Tools
Peace and Quiet (Olla Rauhassa) at the Finnish Summer Cottage
Saila Poutiainen
Scandinavian Studies Jan 2025, 97 (1) 96-119; DOI: 10.3368/sca.97.1.96

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Share
Peace and Quiet (Olla Rauhassa) at the Finnish Summer Cottage
Saila Poutiainen
Scandinavian Studies Jan 2025, 97 (1) 96-119; DOI: 10.3368/sca.97.1.96
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
Bookmark this article

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Introduction
    • The Context: Finnish Summer Cottages
    • Research Design and Materials
    • Cultural Discourse Analysis: Radiants of Meaning for Olla Rauhassa
    • Meanings of Action
    • Meanings of Being (Identity)
    • Meanings of Dwelling
    • Meanings of Social Relations
    • Meanings of Feeling
    • Discussion: Cultural Manifestation of Voluntary Solitude
    • Appendix Web Forum Discussion Topics, Dates of Initiation, and Number of Posts on Ilta-Sanomat
    • Footnotes
    • Works Cited
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • References
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • No related articles found.
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Swedish Migration to Northern Argentina
  • Literary Gimmicks
  • The Aspiring Author Meets the Metropolis
Show more Articles

Similar Articles

Keywords

  • Finland
  • summer cottage
  • cultural discourse analysis
  • ethnography of communication
  • voluntary solitude
UW Press logo

© 2026 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System