Transforming national holidays
Subtitle: identity discourse in the west and south Slavic countries, 1985-2010
By: edited by Ljiljana S̆arić, Karen Gammelgaard, Kjetil Ra Hauge
Series: Discourse approaches to politics, society and culture -- v. 47
Publisher: John Benjamins Pub. Co.
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Amsterdam; Philadelphia
Language: eng
Number of pages: 314
ISBN-13: 9789027206381; 9789027272973
Subjects: Social life and customs; Ethnic identity; Political aspects; Slavic languages; Holidays; Slavs; Discourse analysis; Sociolinguistics; Nationalism and literature; Nationalism
Description: How do people construct collective identity during profound societal transformations? This volume examines the discursive construction of identity related to important national holidays in nine countries of Central Europe and the Balkans: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia, and Slovakia. The chapters focus on the decades during which these countries moved from communism towards democracy and a market economy. This transition saw revivals of national values and a new significance of regional and transnational ties, entangled with negotiations of national identity that have been particularly lively in discourse concerning national holidays. The chapters apply discourse analysis in addition to approaches from history, sociology, political science, and anthropology. All of the analyses make use of empirical material in the Slavic languages, including newspaper articles, interviews and other media contributions, sermons, addresses, and speeches by members of the political elite.--
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [297]-309) and index.