Place, culture, identity : A critical discourse analysis of media representations in Västerbotten county

Place, culture, identity: A critical discourse analysis of media representations in Västerbotten The aim of this thesis is to analyse how representations in newspaper media constructs and reconstructs conceptions of place, culture and identity in the county of Västerbotten located in northern Sweden. The study is based on 26 different newspaper articles from two local agencies located in Västerbotten, Folkbladet and Västerbottens-kuriren. Adopting the method Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this paper explores how differentiation is made through the use of language and how media divides and represents different characteristics as symbolic of the municipality Umeå, the hinterland (inlandet) and the county of Västerbotten. Even though the study shows that there are multiple different opinions regarding the "true" culture and identitity of the different spaces, the study reveals the presence of a political neoliberal agenda that aims to redefine the locals idea of culture in the different communities for marketing purposes. It is found that media representations are influenced by a political attempt to present the geographical spaces as a part of a new and exotic cultural centre in Europe, wherefor the articles reflect an ongoing conflict of definition between locals and politicians in Västerbotten