"Floating signifiers": negotiating the meaning of national in Montenegro, at the Internet chat room Café del Montenegro Cover Image

"Plutajući označitelji": pregovaranja oko značenja nacionalnog u Crnoj Gori na Internet-forumu Café del Montenegro
"Floating signifiers": negotiating the meaning of national in Montenegro, at the Internet chat room Café del Montenegro

Author(s): Čarna Brković
Subject(s): Media studies, Politics and communication, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology, Nationalism Studies
Published by: Филозофски факултет, Универзитет у Београду
Keywords: national belonging; anthropology of the Internet; Internet chat rooms; Montenegro; cultural engagement; reproduction of the state;

Summary/Abstract: The paper represents the analysis of the narratives that deal with the sentiment of national belonging in Montenegro within the chat room Café del Montenegro. The practice of the Internet chat room users is perceived as cultural engagement – „practicing" the State and the emotion of national identification of its own kind. By writing, arguing, negotiating the meaning of the state and nation an abundance of different and broken knowledge’s are created- many histories, geographies, ethics and politics are offered. On the one hand, these directly undermines, jeopardizes and questions the power of the State narrative, hitherto negotiating the nation, the State, authentic devotion, simultaneously manufacturing the state-nation as a reality. The result of mutual correspondence in the chat room is persistent negotiation of the meaning of national categories in Montenegro over the years.

  • Issue Year: 3/2008
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 123-141
  • Page Count: 20
  • Language: Serbian