Federico Giulio Sicurella - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Conference Presentations by Federico Giulio Sicurella

Chi, come me, ha seguito con attenzione l’esperienza delle proteste di massa e dei plenum in Bosn... more Chi, come me, ha seguito con attenzione l’esperienza delle proteste di massa e dei plenum in Bosnia-Erzegovina nel 2014 avrà probabilmente sentito molti partecipanti, interpellati dai media, dichiarare con insistenza che “il movimento non ha portavoci”. L’affermazione rifletteva, cercando allo stesso tempo di esorcizzarlo, uno dei timori più diffusi, cioè che qualcuno ‘usurpasse’ il movimento per perseguire i propri interessi, corrompendo così la genuina volontà di cambiamento che migliaia di persone erano state capaci di esprimere (peraltro con un’intensità mai raggiunta prima). Ma affermare pubblicamente che il movimento non ha portavoci non produce forse un sottile paradosso? Non si tratta forse di un atto linguistico che per essere efficace deve originare, per l’appunto, dalla posizione autorevole del portavoce? Detto altrimenti, sancire l’assenza di rappresentanti non costituisce forse di per sé un atto di rappresentanza?

In un certo senso, questo paradosso racchiude in sé una delle contraddizioni che hanno segnato i movimenti di protesta bosniaco-erzegovesi, e che in ultima analisi ne hanno impedito la trasformazione in un soggetto politico organizzato e unitario. La tesi che proverò a sviluppare in questo articolo, infatti, è che questo insuccesso non è dipeso da un’usurpazione, ma al contrario dalla mancata alleanza tra il movimento e uno specifico gruppo di potenziali portavoci: gli intellettuali pubblici. Per indagare le ragioni di questa mancata alleanza mi servirò degli strumenti dell’analisi critica del discorso, avvalendomi in particolare di un caso studio della mia ricerca di dottorato in cui esamino il posizionamento discorsivo degli intellettuali bosniaco-erzegovesi in rapporto ai movimenti di protesta del 2014.

Papers by Federico Giulio Sicurella

Public intellectuals play an important role in shaping public perceptions and forming public opin... more Public intellectuals play an important role in shaping public perceptions and forming public opinions. One of the most important ways in which intellectuals affect and transform society is by promo...

Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 2017

Are border walls and fences becoming an increasingly accepted and legitimate way of coping with t... more Are border walls and fences becoming an increasingly accepted and legitimate way of coping with the challenges of the refugee crisis and mass migration in Europe? The article addresses this question by examining how Serbian and Croatian public intellectuals reacted to the dramatic impact of Hungary's decision to fortify its southern border in September 2015. The analysis of salient argumentative strategies reveals how their criticism of wall building was embedded in specific discourses of values, historical narratives, and the topos of "Fortress Europe."

Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology, 2013

Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines (CADAAD Journal), 2020

One hundred years after the 'ten days that shook the world' (to use John Reed's famous phrase), t... more One hundred years after the 'ten days that shook the world' (to use John Reed's famous phrase), the October Revolution is still the subject of intense intellectual and popular debate, holding a unique place in our collective imagination. Whether celebratory, apologetic or critical, public attitudes towards the value and legacy of the October Revolution form an evolving memoryscape (Muzaini and Yeoh 2016) in which the historical memory of the event is constantly de-and re-contextualized to articulate contingent demands and concerns (see Heer et al. 2008). In this paper, we seek to outline the distinct trajectory of the October Revolution memoryscape in the Italian context from a critical discourse-analytical perspective. Focusing on the opinion articles published in three major Italian newspapers in conjunction with key anniversaries (1977, 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2017), we examine the ways in which the memory and history of the Revolution were re-framed and embedded in specific argumentative topoi, and how these were employed to support different, and often conflicting, viewpoints.

Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines, 2020

One hundred years after the ‘ten days that shook the world’ (to use John Reed’s famous phrase), t... more One hundred years after the ‘ten days that shook the world’ (to use John Reed’s famous phrase), the October Revolution is still the subject of intense intellectual and popular debate, holding a unique place in our collective imagination. Whether celebratory, apologetic or critical, public attitudes towards the value and legacy of the October Revolution form an
evolving memoryscape (Muzaini and Yeoh 2016) in which the historical memory of the event is constantly de- and re-contextualized to articulate contingent demands and concerns (see Heer et al. 2008). In this paper, we seek to outline the distinct trajectory of the October Revolution memoryscape in the Italian context from a critical discourse-analytical
perspective. Focusing on the opinion articles published in three major Italian newspapers in conjunction with key anniversaries (1977, 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2017), we examine the ways in which the memory and history of the Revolution were re-framed and embedded in specific
argumentative topoi, and how these were employed to support different, and often conflicting, viewpoints.

According to the constructivist approach to nationalism, mass education systems not only constitu... more According to the constructivist approach to nationalism, mass education systems not only constitute a key marker of modern state-ness, but also perform a crucial function within the nation-building process itself. Namely, state education is the apparatus through which a state’s societal culture is inculcated into the new generations of citizens. The teaching of history in schools, in this respect, takes up the vital task of disseminating a state’s national, or official, history. An eloquent illustration is that of the ‘new’ countries emerged from the dissolution of the Yugoslav Federation. Here, the willingness to do away with the socialist legacy, and the need to construct ‘new’ national memories to uphold each country’s engagement in the nation-building process, have resulted in deep changes in the content of education. In particular, the contents of history teaching – that is, what is written in the textbooks – have been rearranged according to markedly ethno-centric perspectives...

Discourse & Communication, 2014

In contemporary post-Yugoslav societies, the ongoing processes of nation-building interact and in... more In contemporary post-Yugoslav societies, the ongoing processes of nation-building interact and intersect with the manifold challenges of post-socialist transition, post-conflict reconciliation, democratisation and European integration. Amid growing uncertainty and insecurity, public intellectuals may play a key role in ‘making sense’ of these complexities, in particular by shaping shared representations of the nation and by defining national identities in public discourse. Engaging in symbolic practices of nation-building, however, also enables intellectuals to legitimise their own authority and social status, as reflected in the concept of national intellectual practice elaborated by Suny and Kennedy (1999). This thesis explores the multifaceted power dynamics underlying post-Yugoslav intellectuals’ engagement in nation-building from the perspective of the Discourse-Historical Approach to critical discourse studies (Reisigl & Wodak, 2009; Wodak, 2011). Using an innovative methodolo...

Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture

Ricerche di Pedagogia e Didattica, 2009

Gender and Language, 2014

Narrability Journal, 2017

Il mondo che conosciamo, quello della comunicazione digitale e della mediatezza, è segnato da un’... more Il mondo che conosciamo, quello della comunicazione digitale e della mediatezza, è segnato da un’incessante proliferazione di voci. Se per alcuni questa polifonia incarna la promessa di un’intelligenza collettiva e di un sapere finalmente libero dalle costrizioni del potere, per molti altri essa non è altro che una cacofonia, un brusio dissonante in cui ogni informazione diventa ambigua e ogni opinione sospetta. A chi dare retta, e come farsi dar retta? La mia tesi è che oggi, forse più che mai, abbiamo bisogno degli intellettuali pubblici, intesi in senso lato come narratori e narratrici autorevoli e portavoce di idee, progetti e comunità. L’articolo si conclude con una proposta per riconciliare il primato dell’intellettuale con la pluralità virtuosa del pubblico: diventare l’occhio dello sciame.

Are border walls and fences becoming an increasingly accepted and legitimate way of coping with t... more Are border walls and fences becoming an increasingly accepted and legitimate way of coping with the challenges of the refugee crisis and mass migration in Europe? The article addresses this question by examining how Serbian and Croatian public intellectuals reacted to the dramatic impact of Hungary’s decision to fortify its southern border in September 2015. The analysis of salient argumentative strategies reveals how their criticism of wall building was embedded in specific discourses of values, historical narratives, and the topos of “Fortress Europe.”

Chi, come me, ha seguito con attenzione l’esperienza delle proteste di massa e dei plenum in Bosn... more Chi, come me, ha seguito con attenzione l’esperienza delle proteste di massa e dei plenum in Bosnia-Erzegovina nel 2014 avrà probabilmente sentito molti partecipanti, interpellati dai media, dichiarare con insistenza che “il movimento non ha portavoci”. L’affermazione rifletteva, cercando allo stesso tempo di esorcizzarlo, uno dei timori più diffusi, cioè che qualcuno ‘usurpasse’ il movimento per perseguire i propri interessi, corrompendo così la genuina volontà di cambiamento che migliaia di persone erano state capaci di esprimere (peraltro con un’intensità mai raggiunta prima). Ma affermare pubblicamente che il movimento non ha portavoci non produce forse un sottile paradosso? Non si tratta forse di un atto linguistico che per essere efficace deve originare, per l’appunto, dalla posizione autorevole del portavoce? Detto altrimenti, sancire l’assenza di rappresentanti non costituisce forse di per sé un atto di rappresentanza?

In un certo senso, questo paradosso racchiude in sé una delle contraddizioni che hanno segnato i movimenti di protesta bosniaco-erzegovesi, e che in ultima analisi ne hanno impedito la trasformazione in un soggetto politico organizzato e unitario. La tesi che proverò a sviluppare in questo articolo, infatti, è che questo insuccesso non è dipeso da un’usurpazione, ma al contrario dalla mancata alleanza tra il movimento e uno specifico gruppo di potenziali portavoci: gli intellettuali pubblici. Per indagare le ragioni di questa mancata alleanza mi servirò degli strumenti dell’analisi critica del discorso, avvalendomi in particolare di un caso studio della mia ricerca di dottorato in cui esamino il posizionamento discorsivo degli intellettuali bosniaco-erzegovesi in rapporto ai movimenti di protesta del 2014.

Public intellectuals play an important role in shaping public perceptions and forming public opin... more Public intellectuals play an important role in shaping public perceptions and forming public opinions. One of the most important ways in which intellectuals affect and transform society is by promo...

Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, 2017

Are border walls and fences becoming an increasingly accepted and legitimate way of coping with t... more Are border walls and fences becoming an increasingly accepted and legitimate way of coping with the challenges of the refugee crisis and mass migration in Europe? The article addresses this question by examining how Serbian and Croatian public intellectuals reacted to the dramatic impact of Hungary's decision to fortify its southern border in September 2015. The analysis of salient argumentative strategies reveals how their criticism of wall building was embedded in specific discourses of values, historical narratives, and the topos of "Fortress Europe."

Jundishapur Journal of Microbiology, 2013

Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines (CADAAD Journal), 2020

One hundred years after the 'ten days that shook the world' (to use John Reed's famous phrase), t... more One hundred years after the 'ten days that shook the world' (to use John Reed's famous phrase), the October Revolution is still the subject of intense intellectual and popular debate, holding a unique place in our collective imagination. Whether celebratory, apologetic or critical, public attitudes towards the value and legacy of the October Revolution form an evolving memoryscape (Muzaini and Yeoh 2016) in which the historical memory of the event is constantly de-and re-contextualized to articulate contingent demands and concerns (see Heer et al. 2008). In this paper, we seek to outline the distinct trajectory of the October Revolution memoryscape in the Italian context from a critical discourse-analytical perspective. Focusing on the opinion articles published in three major Italian newspapers in conjunction with key anniversaries (1977, 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2017), we examine the ways in which the memory and history of the Revolution were re-framed and embedded in specific argumentative topoi, and how these were employed to support different, and often conflicting, viewpoints.

Critical Approaches to Discourse Analysis across Disciplines, 2020

One hundred years after the ‘ten days that shook the world’ (to use John Reed’s famous phrase), t... more One hundred years after the ‘ten days that shook the world’ (to use John Reed’s famous phrase), the October Revolution is still the subject of intense intellectual and popular debate, holding a unique place in our collective imagination. Whether celebratory, apologetic or critical, public attitudes towards the value and legacy of the October Revolution form an
evolving memoryscape (Muzaini and Yeoh 2016) in which the historical memory of the event is constantly de- and re-contextualized to articulate contingent demands and concerns (see Heer et al. 2008). In this paper, we seek to outline the distinct trajectory of the October Revolution memoryscape in the Italian context from a critical discourse-analytical
perspective. Focusing on the opinion articles published in three major Italian newspapers in conjunction with key anniversaries (1977, 1987, 1997, 2007 and 2017), we examine the ways in which the memory and history of the Revolution were re-framed and embedded in specific
argumentative topoi, and how these were employed to support different, and often conflicting, viewpoints.

According to the constructivist approach to nationalism, mass education systems not only constitu... more According to the constructivist approach to nationalism, mass education systems not only constitute a key marker of modern state-ness, but also perform a crucial function within the nation-building process itself. Namely, state education is the apparatus through which a state’s societal culture is inculcated into the new generations of citizens. The teaching of history in schools, in this respect, takes up the vital task of disseminating a state’s national, or official, history. An eloquent illustration is that of the ‘new’ countries emerged from the dissolution of the Yugoslav Federation. Here, the willingness to do away with the socialist legacy, and the need to construct ‘new’ national memories to uphold each country’s engagement in the nation-building process, have resulted in deep changes in the content of education. In particular, the contents of history teaching – that is, what is written in the textbooks – have been rearranged according to markedly ethno-centric perspectives...

Discourse & Communication, 2014

In contemporary post-Yugoslav societies, the ongoing processes of nation-building interact and in... more In contemporary post-Yugoslav societies, the ongoing processes of nation-building interact and intersect with the manifold challenges of post-socialist transition, post-conflict reconciliation, democratisation and European integration. Amid growing uncertainty and insecurity, public intellectuals may play a key role in ‘making sense’ of these complexities, in particular by shaping shared representations of the nation and by defining national identities in public discourse. Engaging in symbolic practices of nation-building, however, also enables intellectuals to legitimise their own authority and social status, as reflected in the concept of national intellectual practice elaborated by Suny and Kennedy (1999). This thesis explores the multifaceted power dynamics underlying post-Yugoslav intellectuals’ engagement in nation-building from the perspective of the Discourse-Historical Approach to critical discourse studies (Reisigl & Wodak, 2009; Wodak, 2011). Using an innovative methodolo...

Discourse Approaches to Politics, Society and Culture

Ricerche di Pedagogia e Didattica, 2009

Gender and Language, 2014

Narrability Journal, 2017

Il mondo che conosciamo, quello della comunicazione digitale e della mediatezza, è segnato da un’... more Il mondo che conosciamo, quello della comunicazione digitale e della mediatezza, è segnato da un’incessante proliferazione di voci. Se per alcuni questa polifonia incarna la promessa di un’intelligenza collettiva e di un sapere finalmente libero dalle costrizioni del potere, per molti altri essa non è altro che una cacofonia, un brusio dissonante in cui ogni informazione diventa ambigua e ogni opinione sospetta. A chi dare retta, e come farsi dar retta? La mia tesi è che oggi, forse più che mai, abbiamo bisogno degli intellettuali pubblici, intesi in senso lato come narratori e narratrici autorevoli e portavoce di idee, progetti e comunità. L’articolo si conclude con una proposta per riconciliare il primato dell’intellettuale con la pluralità virtuosa del pubblico: diventare l’occhio dello sciame.

Are border walls and fences becoming an increasingly accepted and legitimate way of coping with t... more Are border walls and fences becoming an increasingly accepted and legitimate way of coping with the challenges of the refugee crisis and mass migration in Europe? The article addresses this question by examining how Serbian and Croatian public intellectuals reacted to the dramatic impact of Hungary’s decision to fortify its southern border in September 2015. The analysis of salient argumentative strategies reveals how their criticism of wall building was embedded in specific discourses of values, historical narratives, and the topos of “Fortress Europe.”

Over the past two decades, queer has grown into an established critical approach to social scienc... more Over the past two decades, queer has grown into an established critical approach to social science. Correspondingly, the term queer has emerged as a recognised brand in the language of academia. This paper examines the potential risks that such linguistic institutionalisation poses for queer as a critical and emancipatory endeavour. Building on Michael Billig’s argument that the bias towards ‘big nouns’ in academic discourse tends to further entrench the power of academic elites, I draw a parallel between queer and CDA (critical discourse analysis) as two emerging academic brands in order to determine whether queer is one such big noun and how this may affect the very capacity of queer scholars to commit themselves to critique and self-critique. I conclude by outlining a modest proposal to ensure that the term queer remains available to be appropriated by whoever shares the premises and the aspirations underlying the queer project.

Imagining the peoples of Europe: populist discourses across the political spectrum, 2019

The political landscape in Europe is currently going through a phase of rapid change. New actors ... more The political landscape in Europe is currently going through a phase of rapid change. New actors and movements that claim to represent 'the will of the people' are attracting considerable public attention, with dramatic consequences for election outcomes. This volume explores the new political order with a particular focus on discursive constructions of 'the people' and the category of populism across the spectrum. It shows how a unitary representation of 'the people' is a central element in a vast range of very diverse political discourses today, acting to anchor identities and project antagonisms in a multitude of settings. The chapters in this book explore commonality and contrast in representations of 'the people' in both radical and mainstream political movements, looking in depth at recent political discourses in the European sphere. The authors draw on approaches ranging from Essex-style discourse theory over critical discourse studies, corpus analysis and linguistic prag-matics, to investigate how historically situated categories such as the people and populism become fixed through local linguistic, textual and narrative practices as well as through wider ideological and discursive patterns.