Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15378/1848-9540.2016.39.02
Inscribing a New Space. Written Expressions of Utopia and Resistance during the Gezi Park Protests in Istanbul
Giustina Selvelli
; Department of Linguistics and Comparative Cultural Studies, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy
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.
Keywords
public inscriptions; reappropriation of space; protest; Gezi Park; minorities
Hrčak ID:
171001
URI
Publication date:
21.12.2016.
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