Articulations of Memory in Northern Cyprus

Articulations of memory in Northern Cyprus draws upon approaches from a variety of fields such as social psychology, sociology, history, politics and media studies, while the empirical investigation consists of in-depth interviews. The research explores how memory and national identity have been articulated in the context of competing discourses after the presentation of the Annan Plan in Northern Cyprus. It is argued that the Annan Plan constitutes a turning point in Cypriot politics as it proposes a possible participation of Northern Cyprus in the European Union after a solution of the Cyprus problem that is about the division of the island since 1974. The Annan Plan is the most serious step on the way to the reunification of the island since then and, as such, it has functioned as a catalyst and precipitated an intense competition between alternative, often opposing, discourses on Turkish Cypriot national identity. Focussing on key mechanisms of memory such as history textbooks, commemorations, traditions and the media the research explores the mobilization, articulation and construction of memory/ies in relation to national identity.

Autorentext

Heycan Erhürman was born in Cyprus in 1977. She received her PhD from the University of Westminster.Her current research interests include idenity, memory and politics. She has taught courses on media discourse, public memory, analysis of news and political economy of communication and worked as a journalist on Television.

Klappentext

'Articulations of memory in Northern Cyprus' draws upon approaches from a variety of fields such as social psychology, sociology, history, politics and media studies, while the empirical investigation consists of in-depth interviews. The research explores how memory and national identity have been articulated in the context of competing discourses after the presentation of the Annan Plan in Northern Cyprus. It is argued that the Annan Plan constitutes a turning point in Cypriot politics as it proposes a possible participation of Northern Cyprus in the European Union after a solution of the Cyprus problem that is about the division of the island since 1974. The Annan Plan is the most serious step on the way to the reunification of the island since then and, as such, it has functioned as a catalyst and precipitated an intense competition between alternative, often opposing, discourses on Turkish Cypriot national identity. Focussing on key mechanisms of memory such as history textbooks, commemorations, traditions and the media the research explores the mobilization, articulation and construction of memory/ies in relation to national identity.