Inscribing a New Space
Inscribing a New Space
Written Expressions of Utopia and Resistance during the Gezi Park Protests in Istanbul
Author(s): Giustina SelvelliSubject(s): Civil Society, Politics and communication, Politics and society, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Theory of Communication, Rural and urban sociology, Sociology of Culture, Ethnic Minorities Studies, Sociology of Politics
Published by: Hrvatsko etnološko društvo
Keywords: public inscriptions; reappropriation of space; protest; Gezi Park; minorities;
Summary/Abstract: In this paper I consider examples of urban public inscriptions which appeared during the Gezi Park protests of Istanbul in 2013. I consider them both as a form of expression permitting the creation and circulation of utopian messages of resistance, and as relating to the inclusion of a multiplicity of identities in the protest arena, such as Kurdish, Armenian and LGBT identities. I insist on the role the written word plays in forging a specific and non-exclusivist imaginary of the protest, positioned within complex power dynamics and national narratives. I view the physical presence of specific graphic expressions referencing "marginal identities" as part of a set of revolutionary actions, which demonstrate the importance of written-in spaces and surfaces in processes of "symbolic reterritorialization". This theme emerges as one of the central questions in interpretations of events relating to the Gezi resistance.
Journal: Etnološka tribina : Godišnjak Hrvatskog etnološkog društva
- Issue Year: 46/2016
- Issue No: 39
- Page Range: 94-110
- Page Count: 17
- Language: English