National Territories as Semiotic Spaces

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National Territories as Semiotic Spaces

• Harri Veivo
• Semiotics
• University of Helsinki

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The Conventionality of National Territories

• National territory area occupied by a nation, or
  a group of people sharing language and culture
  (and traditions, values etc.)
• Rousseau the possession of land is based on a
  convention in the (orginal) natural state land
  belongs to everybody and thus to nobody
• National territories belonging to has to be
  expressed, signified by some means it has to be
  a semiotic space

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Semiotic Space

• Semiotic space limited and organized
• Means to create semiotic spaces signs and texts
• Signs and texts are also epressions of semiotic
  space
• Operations with signs and texts and on signs and
  texts
• Bordering, limiting
• Homogenization, organisation narrativization,
  hierachisation,
• Muting and exclusion

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Bordering

• Borders necessary for internal organization of
  semiotic spaces
• Borders create discontinuities and asymmetries,
  segmentate and delimit, and therefore hierarchize
• Borders function in relation to, as embedded in
  social practices this holds also in cases where
  borders are grounded in nature (for ex. river,
  sea)
• Point of view the border seen from within and
  from outside
• Narrative programs what kind of activities does
  the border support, necessiate or create?
• Modalities what kind of modalities do subjects
  have in relation to the border?
• Differences and hierarchies between subjects
  created by borders in terms of points of view,
  narratives programs and modalities

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• A multimodal text visual and verbal (and
  spatial)
• Creation of discontinuities and identities
• Hierachization (of languages)

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• Point of view from inside protection, from
  outside obstacle
• Narrative programs ordinary citizens ? illegal
  immigrants ? police and customs
• Modalities pouvoir (to be able to) vs.
  non-pouvoir (not to be able to)

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Homogenization, organisation narrativization,
hierachisation

• Nations based on shared elements (language,
  culture) and a feeling of belonging together
• Homogenization the repetition of the same
  through the extension of the national territory
  (for ex. emblems and colors)
• Iconic similarity connected to symbolical,
  conventional interpretations, and indexical
  referentiality (to space and time)
• Creation and maintaining of an isotopy, of a
  unified level of reading
• May occasionally extend above the official
  limits of the national territory (for ex.
  football supportes abroad)

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Homogenization, organisation narrativization,
hierachisation

• Organization narrativization creation of
  connections between different expressions (signs
  and texts) of nationality or its components
• Syntagmatic and narrative dimension
• Continuities in space and in time, over space and
  over time
• Hierachization creation, expression and
  maintaining of value structures
• What is considered as exemplary, own
• Idealized representations

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• System of oppositions evaluation
• Narrative dimension
• Representation of border

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• Exemplary landscapes represent values and
  history
• Nature purity, peace, harmony
• Work sisu (fighting spirit), persistence,
  progress
• Repeated from late 19th century paintings to
  modern websites the diffuse frontiers of the
  national territory

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• Temporary extension of national borders
• Carnevalization of national identity
• Cross-reference to contemporary history system
  of oppositions and narratives, but note the
  reversal of traditional oppositions

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Muting and exclusion

• Culture is constituted through oppisitions we
  vs. others, ours vs. theirs, order vs. disorder
  ()
• The other is necessary for self-definition
  without the other there is no opposition, and
  therefore no culture
• The other is thus always present in a semiotic
  territory, if not concretely, then at least
  semiotically (as constitutive for
  self-definition)
• Leads (all too often) to processes of muting and
  exclusion (physical and semiotic), especially
  when the possession of the territory is contested
• Limitation of access to speech and reprsentation
• Disturbing of channels of communication
• Destruction of signs and texts

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• Disturbing, muting of language
• Adding supplementary expressions of nationality
• Détournement transformation, manipulation of
  signs and texts note that the neutral
  language is unaffected

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Bibliography

• Yury Lotman The Universe of Mind. A Semiotic
  Theory of Culture. London, I.B.Tauris, 1990.
• Göran Sonesson Spaces of Urbanity From the
  Village Square to the Boulevard. Teoksessa Virve
  Sarapik ja Kadri Tüür (toim.), Koht ja paik/Place
  and Location III. Tallinna, Estonian Academy of
  Arts, 2003, 25-54.
• Manar Hammad Présupposés sémiotiques de la
  notion de limite. Il senso dello spazio, Urbiono,
  Centro Internazionale di Semiotica e di
  Linguistica, Documenti di lavori e
  pre-pubblicazioni, serie C, 330-331-332
  (gennaio-febbraio-marzo) 2004, 36-49.
• Pierluigi Cervelli Territori in transizione
  percorsi semiotici nella periferia urbana. Il
  senso dello spazio, Urbiono, Centro
  Internazionale di Semiotica e di Linguistica,
  Documenti di lavori e pre-pubblicazioni, serie C,
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