Contested conceptualizations of forest in bioeconomy-related discourses
Application period: 11 June – 10 August, 2026
Research project description
Planetary sustainability is a widely shared aim in present society, with forests and bioeconomy playing an important role in the development. The public discussions and policy negotiations related to how we treat our forests and natural resources, however, are by no means unanimous but cover diverse, even opposing perspectives that reflect the expectations, wishes and fears of different stakeholder groups taking part in these discussions and negotiations.
The public discourses related to bioeconomy are often dominated by views based on biology and economy, but various societal, cultural and even philosophical aspects also emerge when negotiations related to our environment are conducted. To investigate the whole spectrum of these views and their affective aspects a more humanistically-oriented approach is required, and this is the main contribution of this research project to DP-FOBI.
This research project concentrates on scrutinizing the different ways in which forest and nature are conceptualized through various rhetorical, metaphorical, and affective means of expression in the public bioeconomy-related discourses that deal with forest-based suggestions to the societal and environmental problems we are trying to solve. In addition to traditional and social media, these discourses can be detected, for example, in works of art, advertisements, policy documents and textbooks and involve governmental and non-governmental organizations, corporations and general public. The way a forest and forest-based bioeconomy is conceptualized and contested in these discourses influence the way the whole phenomenon is depicted. By understanding these conceptualizations better, the project can help develop tools to interpret these discussions more fruitfully and participate in them more efficiently in the future.
Academic background and skills of the applicant
An ideal candidate holds a master’s degree in languages, translation studies, linguistics, media studies, communication studies, cultural studies, environmental humanities or a related field. Excellent written and oral communication skills in English are essential for the position, and the selected candidate must fulfil the language skills requirements of the Doctoral Programme of the Philosophical Faculty at UEF (see https://www.uef.fi/en/degree-programme/doctoral-programme-of-the-philosophical-faculty (Admission criteria)). The ability to work in more than one language is considered an advantage. Prior methodological knowledge of language data analysis such as metaphor analysis or rhetorical analysis is an advantage but not required.
Doctoral programme and research group
Doctoral education in the University of Eastern Finland is arranged in seven discipline specific or thematic doctoral programmes. This research project will be located in the Doctoral Programme of the Philosophical Faculty, and the submitting department is the School of Humanities.
This research project is closely linked to the project “Environmental discourses and spread of multilingual (dis)information in social networks”.
Partners / Secondments
Umeå University, Department of Language Studies, hosted by Professor Marlene Johansson Falck and Associate Professor Per Boström.
Other interdisciplinary, international and/or intersectoral collaboration
Intersectoral and interdisciplinary collaboration is strengthened through DP-FOBI’s three summer schools involving academic supervisors, non-academic partners, and other stakeholders, enabling hands-on interaction and knowledge exchange.