Rural Networking/Networking the Rural

This project explores the position of the Swedish countryside in network society, and aims to clarify how new digital media are used in different social groups, and what significance these technologies have for the establishment of civic communities (cultural,political etc) and for the representation of the countriside as a social milieu. In extension the project aims to deepen the democratic processes in society, closing the gap between urban and rural areas. The point of departure is that the digital revolution so far has had an ambivalent impact upon Swedish countryside development, where many areas are becoming infrastructurally marginalized, while others show a vitalization through the new potentials of global communication. The project is divided into two studies - the first consisting of a national survey, the second of ethnographic fieldwork in two Swedish countryside areas in Arvika (Värmland) and Bromölla (Skåne). Both studies revolves around three interlinked themes: (A) Globalization and network society, (B) Democracy and participatory culture, (C) Rural lifestyles and media use. While the survey will generate general social patterns, the ethnographic parts involve interviews and observations in both private and more or less public settings. Theoretically, the project contributes to the development of communication geography as a research field, and to strengthening the pre-existing partnership between the universities in Karlstad and Malmö.

Financed by FORMAS 2008-2011

Project Participants

Project leader
Karlstad University: André Jansson, Professor 

Co-investigator
Malmö University: Magnus Andersson, Assistant Professor