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Article published In: Journal of Language and Politics
Vol. 17:6 (2018) ► pp.713–743

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Constructing the Czech nation

A discursive-theoretical analysis of the articulation of the nation in the cultural magazines produced by Czech WWII London exiles

ORCiD logo with link | Charles University in Prague
 | Uppsala University | Vrije Universiteit Brussel | Charles University in Prague
Published online: 14 December 2018
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/jlp.17063.bat
Abstract
The article’s objective is to analyse the discursive construction of the Czech nation in three cultural magazines, produced by Czech exiles in London during WWII. The theoretical backbone for this analysis is provided by Laclau, Ernesto, and Chantal Mouffe. 1985. Hegemony and Socialist Strategy : Towards a Radical Democratic Politics. London; New York: Verso.Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar discourse theory, which in turn supports a discourse-theoretical re-reading of the literature on the nation, first in general and then in relation to the Czech nation. These three theoretical components support an analysis of 650 selected contributions in 36 issues of the three main cultural journals of the Czech London exile: Obzor [Horizon], Kulturní zápisník [Cultural Notebook] and Review. This discourse-theoretical analysis shows the presence, particularity and contingency of a series of internal nodal points (temporal, spatial, linguistic, cultural and popular), in combination with the external nodal point of diversity in relation to outgroups. In the conclusion, the political nature of this construction, which we label the politics of poetry, is emphasized.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Discourse theory and the nation
  • 3.The discursive construction of the Czech nation
  • 4.The Czech exile in WWII and its historical, political and cultural context
  • 5.The construction of the Czech nation in the cultural magazines
    • 5.1Time & history
    • 5.2The space of the homeland
    • 5.3The Czech language
    • 5.4The cultivated nation
    • 5.5The Czech people
    • 5.6Constitutive outsides
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
  • Articles cited from the exile magazines
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