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In:Occupy: The spatial dynamics of discourse in global protest movements
Edited by Luisa Martín Rojo
[Benjamins Current Topics 83] 2016
► pp. 99–126

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Identity as space

Localism in the Greek protests of Syntagma Square

 | University of Athens
 | Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona
Published online: 11 May 2016
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https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.83.05gou
The chapter studies the textual, discursive and social practices of the Greek “aganaktismeni” (indignados) movements, which mainly took place in the public gathering of tens of thousands of Greeks in Syntagma Square, outside the Greek parliament from May to August 2011. Data come from multiple sources, including the General Assembly proceedings and resolutions, while a linguistically-informed approach is followed, which combines Critical Discourse Analysis concepts with corpus linguistic methods. It is argued that the Syntagma protests generated a new context in Greek politics, by introducing new genres and the innovative articulation of already existing discourses. It was also found that social/political identities and social/public space were co-articulated, since the identity of the movement was crucially constructed in terms of space.
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