Linguistic Landscape as standing historical testimony of the struggle against colonization in Ethiopia

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-290
Author(s):  
Hirut Woldemaram

Ethiopia is Africa’s oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. Apart from a five-year occupation by Italy, which is considered as a war time, the country has never been colonized. The Linguistic Landscape (LL) of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia and the seat of the African Union, prominently depicts that important history. Erected in the main squares of the city, the various monuments serve as standing testimonies of the struggle, victory and important figures pertaining to Italian fascist invasion of Ethiopia. Moreover, there are different institutions (schools, hospitals) and infrastructures (bridges, streets) officially named after significant historical moments. Visible in the central locations and squares of the city, monuments, statues, and the naming of streets, bridges, schools, and hospitals, keep the peoples’ memory about the struggle against the Italian invasion and the victories obtained. Symbols of the Lion of Judah, cross and national flags are also part of the public exhibit marking identities, ideologies and references to the country’s history. This study aims at showing how the LL serves as a mechanism to build the historical narrative of Ethiopia. It overviews how the LL in Addis Ababa via its monuments depicts the anti-colonial struggle and the victory over Fascist Italian forces. The monuments considered are: the Victory Monument, The Patriots Monument, The Abune Petros statute, and the Menelik II Statue. After presenting background aspects, this paper tackles Ethiopians’ memories of the Italian invasion as expressed in Addis Ababa’s LL and their identity construction and reconstruction. The last section discusses the findings and draws concluding remarks. Methodologically, digital Figures of the monuments were collected coupled with interview. Ethnographic approaches to the LL are used to analyze the selected memorial objects. As Creswell (2003) indicates ethnographic designs like qualitative research procedures, aims at describing, analyzing, and interpreting a culture-sharing group’s patterns of behavior, beliefs, and language. Semi-structured interviews were carried out in 2014 with a sample of 15 pedestrians, males and females, of different ages and educational categories who were standing in front of the monuments waiting for buses. The interviewers wanted to know what people think of the significance and relevance of location of the monuments in the public space. Most of the interviewees tended to support the views of the prevailing popular interpretations. They strongly relate the monuments with memories of brutality of Italian invaders on the one hand, and the strong resistance, patriotism and heroism of the Ethiopian people. The interviews agree that this unique victory needs to keep being celebrated and glorified as part of the history of Ethiopia.

Author(s):  
Jonathan Stutz

AbstractWith the present paper I would like to discuss a particular form of procession which we may term mocking parades, a collective ritual aimed at ridiculing cultic objects from competing religious communities. The cases presented here are contextualized within incidents of pagan/Christian violence in Alexandria between the 4th and 5th centuries, entailing in one case the destruction of the Serapeum and in another the pillaging of the Isis shrine at Menouthis on the outskirts of Alexandria. As the literary accounts on these events suggest, such collective forms of mockery played an important role in the context of mob violence in general and of violence against sacred objects in particular. However, while historiographical and hagiographical sources from the period suggest that pagan statues underwent systematic destruction and mutilation, we can infer from the archaeological evidence a vast range of uses and re-adaptation of pagan statuary in the urban space, assuming among other functions that of decorating public spaces. I would like to build on the thesis that the parading of sacred images played a prominent role in the discourse on the value of pagan statuary in the public space. On the one hand, the statues carried through the streets became themselves objects of mockery and violence, involving the population of the city in a collective ritual of exorcism. On the other hand, the images paraded in the mocking parades could also become a means through which the urban space could become subject to new interpretations. Entering in visual contact with the still visible vestiges of the pagan past, with the temples and the statuary of the city, the “image of the city” became affected itself by the images paraded through the streets, as though to remind the inhabitants that the still-visible elements of Alexandria’s pagan topography now stood as defeated witnesses to Christianity’s victory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-407
Author(s):  
Peter Gilles ◽  
Evelyn Ziegler

Abstract In this article we outline how corpus-based studies can contribute to the methodology of linguistic landscape research. Linguistic-landscape research can be roughly understood as the “study of writing on display in the public sphere” (Coulmas 2009: 14). From a historical perspective, we investigate the emergence and use of the public sphere as a place of attention for official top-down communication in Luxembourg. Based on a large corpus of public announcements of the municipality of the city of Luxembourg, the history of public top-down communication is analysed by taking into account both sociolinguistic and linguistic factors. The analysis reveals that the public announcements are increasingly typographically and linguistically adapted to the conditions of public perception and self-reading in the course of time – whereby initially the multimodal embedding of the older presentation form is maintained.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 71-83
Author(s):  
Marta Koszko

Cities are the main centres of social, cultural life and economic development. They have always attracted newcomers not only because of new opportunities but also because of the feeling of belonging and uniqueness which people need. The attractiveness of a particular urban centre mainly rests on its image, which is created in relation to its own unique identity. The language of the city, which is present in the public space in the form of the linguistic landscape and which reflects the socio-cultural composition of the city, creates the identity. Both socio-cultural composition of a city (hence the languages spoken in the public space) and the linguistic landscape can create an image of a city which is either open for an interaction or presents limited interactional potential.


2016 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-85
Author(s):  
Beata Kowalczyk

This text is an attempt at a sociological description of the phenomenon of street trading as a form of (in)visible presence in the public space of the city. Street traders are (in)visible in the sense that, in breaking the legal regulations setting the frame for public visibility, they must be invisible to the apparatus of power in order to avoid fines and ensure their ability to achieve their aims, their livelihoods. On the one hand, street traders balance on the edge of the law, transgressing the public order, and on the other hand, they are active creators of its (in)visible portion, metaphorically speaking—protesters against the established socio-cultural structures but in reality people seeking the means to survive.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Guilat ◽  
Antonio B. Espinosa-Ramírez

In its Historical Memory Law (October 2007), Spain recognized victims on both sides of its 1936–1939 Civil War and established entitlements for victims and descendants of victims of the war and the Franco regime that followed (1939–1975). The law requires authorities to remove Francoist symbols and signs from public buildings and spaces, rename streets and squares, and cleanse the public space of monuments and artifacts that glorify or commemorate the regime. By allowing exceptions on artistic, architectural, or religious grounds, however, the law triggered persistent public struggles over monuments, memorials, and outdoor sculptures. This article examines the implementation of the law in the city of Granada, via a case study relating to the removal of a sculpture honoring the founder of the Spanish Fascist movement, José Antonio Primo de Rivera. The controversy over the statue sparked a debate in Granada about the implementation of the law in the public space and raised questions about the role of text, material and visual culture in redesigning Linguistic Landscape by articulating contested memories.


2022 ◽  
pp. 191-201
Author(s):  
Yasushi Iwabuchi

This chapter shows the characters and problems of local democracy through analyzing local referendums in Japan. The author starts the discussion by posing three questions: (1) Why is the number of local referendums increasing? (2) Is the dialogue between citizens and local councilors efficient? (3) Can transformations in local democracy be observed? This chapter regards the history of local referendums as a lesson of democracy and reveals the necessity of dialogue through campaigns of local referendums. It comprises three parts: (1) the history of local referendums in Japan, (2) a theoretical background on local referendums and representative democracy, and (3) the analysis of a local referendum in the city of Matue in Shimane Prefecture.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Pera ◽  
Iolanda Bianchi

This article deploys the Foucauldian concept of governmentality to study the political tensions that may unfold when commons are enacted through hybrid institutional configurations. We focus on civic management facilities (CMFs) that are located in the city of Barcelona. These are facilities owned by Barcelona City Council which, responding to organised citizens’ demands, are transferred to them so that they can develop their own transformative projects for the community. The hybrid institutional nature of these CMFs makes it impossible for them to avoid maintaining a relationship with the local state. Based on a survey to 51 CMFs, semi‐structured interviews with 41 grassroots members of CMFs and seven semi‐structured interviews with public employees and politicians, we argue that hybrid forms of commons lead to the development of political tensions. On the one hand, we show how the local state’s administrative procedures—to do with accountability and the use of public space—reshape the activities of the CMFs, leading to the depoliticisation of their transformative projects. On the other hand, the analysis also presents the strategies of resistance articulated by the facilities, which enable members to work towards the development of their transformative aims. We conclude that such political tensions cannot be resolved but must be properly governed in order to make the commons’ transformative project an enduring one.


Author(s):  
Aulia Kurnia Putri ◽  
Ofita Purwani ◽  
Tri Joko Daryanto

<p><strong><em>Abstract</em></strong><strong><em></em></strong></p><p><em>Slamet Riyadi street is one of Surakarta main roads which has a role as network connectivity within</em></p><p><em>adjacent district. Slamet Riyadi street whose existence line up with the history of Surakarta, houses</em></p><p><em>several historical building heritage along its road. The structures alongside Slamet Riyadi street have</em></p><p><em>many different functions, one of them is commerce and trade purpose which ample mostly on the</em></p><p><em>section of Ngapeman through Gladak. Ngapeman through Gladak section has a prospect to become</em></p><p><em>an example of a thriving pedestrian mall. A pedestrian mall is capable to revive the active use of</em></p><p><em>Slamet Riyadi street. A pedestrian Mall in Slamet Riyadi street can be used as a means to promote</em></p><p><em>walking habit for the citizens by providing a space for pedestrian. With an addition of rapid transit</em></p><p><em>facility, people in the city will be convinced to take a stroll on its pedestrian way, thus provide an</em></p><p><em>active use for the district. A pedestrian Mall promotes diverse activities, which include daily or</em></p><p><em>periodic activity, to ensure frequent visit. A pedestrian mall provides consumption and commerce</em></p><p><em>activity for people to enjoy as a day-to-day attraction. A pedestrian Mall also encourages communities to use the space to organize events</em></p><p><em>which utilize the outdoor concept of pedestrian mall such as exhibitions, festivals, and fairs. The</em></p><p><em>quality of public space will improve with the addition of public amenity and public art within the area.</em></p><p><em>Certain mural art and vine pergola become attractive objects in the area whilst the public amenity</em></p><p><em>addition can furnish the overall pedestrian mall usage. </em><em></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><strong><em>Keywords: </em></strong><em>slamet riyadi, pedestrian, pedestrian mall, public space, outdoor space</em></p>


2020 ◽  
pp. 200-220
Author(s):  
José Joaquim Franze

RESUMOConstitui objeto deste artigo compreender a relação entre o crescimento da criminalidade e o processo de urbanização da cidade de Chimoio, em especial nas periferias em expansão, com o fito de aferir o nível organizacional e da eficácia das políticas públicas de segurança e do sistema de justiça criminal. A abordagem é qualitativa, feita através da revisão bibliográfica, análise documental, conversas informais e entrevistas semiestruturadas. Acredita-se que o município de Chimoio, pela sua localização ao longo da principal rodovia que liga sul, norte e centro do país e ao mesmo tempo com a República do Zimbabwe, tem registrado nos últimos anos um crescimento urbano extensivo, resultante, por um lado, da alta taxa de natalidade, e, por outro lado, pela imigração interna e externa, influenciada pela busca de melhores condições de vida, dada a sua natureza “agroindustrial”, que pressiona assim a ocupação dos espaços urbanos periféricos de forma “desordenada”. A ocupação desses espaços tem sido acompanhada pela prática de diversos crimes, dentre eles crimes violentos e não violentos, criando, dessa forma, uma sensação generalizada de medo e insegurança pública da sua população. Para este trabalho, são usados como parâmetros comparativos os estudos da criminalidade realizados na Argélia e África do Sul, devido a idênticas formas de ocupação socioespacial e da maneira como tem sido praticada a criminalidade.PALAVRAS-CHAVEEspaço urbano. Criminalidade. Periferia. Chimoio. Moçambique. ABSTRACTThe purpose of this article is to understand the connection between the growth of criminality and the urbanization process in the city of Chimoio, especially in the expanding peripheries, aiming to assess the organizational level and the effectiveness of the public security policies and of the criminal justice system. The approach is qualitative, performed through bibliographic review, document analysis, informal conversations and semi-structured interviews. It is believed that the municipality of Chimoio, due to its location along the main highway that connects south, north and center of the country and, at the same time, with the Republic of Zimbabwe, has registered in recent years an extensive urban growth, result of, on the one hand, a high birth rate, and, on the other, of internal and external immigration, influenced by the search for better living conditions, given its “agroindustrial” nature, which pressures the “disorderly” occupation of peripheral urban spaces. The occupation of these spaces has been accompanied by the practice of several crimes, among them, violent and non-violent crimes, thus creating a generalized sense of fear and public insecurity among its population. For this work, crime studies carried out in Algeria and South Africa were used as comparative parameters, due to the identical forms of socio-spatial occupation and the way in which crime has been practiced.KEYWORDSUrban space. Crime. Periphery. Chimoio. Mozambique.


Author(s):  
Carl Douglas

Inorganic collections, kerbside collections of inorganic waste that cannot be recycled or disposed of by the regular means, are held in most parts of Auckland twice yearly. In practice, proscribed items are abundant, piles reach gargantuan proportions, and footpaths are disrupted. Salvaging from these piles is common, and accounts for the fondness many Aucklanders feel towards these collections. As of July 1, 2015 they will cease, to be replaced by “community recycling hubs” and booked waste collections. Soon be part of the history of Auckland’s urban culture, inorganic collections are also a significant moment for discerning the configuration of its public space. I employ inorganic collections as a probe for mapping the regime of public space at work in Auckland’s suburban streets. Baron von Haussmann’s Paris serves as a model for the administrative rationalisation of cities, according to which streets cease to be civic spaces, and become conduits for bundled technical systems. The production of atmosphere as phantasmagoria or spectacle is essential as part of the policing of a regime in which everything has its place and its proper conduits. Atmospheres are seen as technostructures for subjects. The handling of urban waste is symptomatic of this atmotechnics, seamlessly and invisibly whisking away waste away. The public space of the administratively rationalised city relies on the careful construction and laborious physical and symbolic maintenance of an interior and an exterior; a finite ‘here’ of desirable or useful things moving in orderly synchronicity, and an infinite ‘away’ which absorbs and isolates us from the undesirable or redundant which cannot be made to move in sync. Waste passes across the horizon between these two spaces, through a porous and sometimes leaky membrane that purports to selectively permit and prevent affects from passing between here and away.In the administratively rationalised city, waste is siphoned away from public space, no longer permitted to perform in the relation between me and my neighbour. Inorganic collections, however, undermine or overflow this waste regime. Momentarily, when the inorganic collection takes place, the policed order of the street is disrupted. For a short time waste is not a private matter handled invisibly between myself and the city; but something that activates relationships (disputes, perhaps, but also potentially exchanges or discoveries of things in common or intriguing differences) with my neighbours.


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