Chapter 2
In: Landscapes of Affect and Emotion
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Abstract
A basic notion for the proposed paper is the lure of the sea presented by Alain Corbin. Some attention has been paid to the history of the relationship between the sea, leisure, and the middle and upper classes. By contrast the relation between the sea, leisure, and the working class has been largely neglected so far. This paper focuses on the post-war period when the number of industrial workers reached its peak in most towns and cities in the industrial world. In the post-war period working class also emerged as a notable political force. The aim of the paper is to explore the impacts of these economic, social and political structural changes on the human-nature relationship in a Nordic city. How the strengthening of the position of the working class was noted in the overall nature-human relationships in Helsinki in the post-war period? What gains, if any, were made along the long march towards democratic urban nature? Did the proletariat culture of leisure have characteristics in particular? The proposed case study will focus on the question of access to the seaside and explore one island governed by members of the socialist and communist trade unions and parties.