Deconstructing Nationalist Assemblages: A Visual Essay on the Greek Cypriot Memorials Related to Two Violent Conflicts in 20th Century Cyprus

digital

Article

Magazine

Fascicle

COMUNICAZIONI SOCIALI - 2018 - 1. POWER, MULTIDIRECTIONALITY AND CONTINGENCY Political Struggles over Representation, Decision-Making and Technology

Title

Deconstructing Nationalist Assemblages: A Visual Essay on the Greek Cypriot Memorials Related to Two Violent Conflicts in 20th Century Cyprus

Author

Nico Carpentier

Publisher

Vita e Pensiero

Format

Article |

Pdf

Online from

01-2018

Doi

10.26350/001200_000004

Issn

0392-8667 (print) | 1827-7969 (digital)

Write a comment for this product

€ 6.00

Ebook format Pdf readable on these devices:

Computer
with Software:
- Adobe PDF Reader
Android
iPhone/Ipad
with App:
- Adobe PDF Reader
E-Book Reader
Ibs Tolino
Kobo

Description Readers' comments

Deconstructing nationalist assemblages is a visual essay which analyses the memorialization of two conflicts in Cyprus ‒ he independence war of 1955-1959 and the Turkish invasion of 1974, focusing on the memorials in the part of Cyprus controlled by the Republic of Cyprus. Embedded in a discursive-material knot perspective, the essay defines the memorials as the material components of nationalist assemblages, which have the agency to invite for particular interpretations. After providing the historical background of the Cyprus Problem, and the two conflicts, the essay first analyses the statues and commemoration sites which support a (post-)antagonistic nationalism, but then also discusses (and shows) how this still dominant model is undermined in two ways. Firstly, the practices of everyday life undermine and neutralize the invitations for respect and agreement that the memorials communicate and expect. Secondly, as the Cyprus space cannot be totally controlled, memorials that invite for alternative and counter-hegemonic readings have also appeared. The conclusion briefly reflects about the possibilities for further self-enemy re-articulations.