Instrumental territorialisation, cultural change and artistic practices: the case of the Western Balkans

Topuzovski, Tihomir (2014). Instrumental territorialisation, cultural change and artistic practices: the case of the Western Balkans. University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the ‘instrumental territorialisation’ (a concept based on Foucauldian and Deleuzian premises) of the Western Balkans, and the manner in which the emergence of territory is enmeshed within wider political, cultural and artistic dynamics.
Understanding how these processes are involved in the field of culture - more precisely visual art - presents the leading challenge of this study. One of my central arguments is that the ‘creation of a territory’ can be understood through the lens of artistic terms and practices. I use the notions of territorialisation, panopticon and heterotopia to explore the functioning of visual art in the Western Balkans, while interrogating the different ways in which territorial arrangements have been implicated in the rise of new cultural policies and practices.
The study relies on visual methods and interviews to explore the establishment of a new region, through this process of instrumental territorialisation, which has resulted in a specific political and cultural arrangement. The research proceeds to a demonstration of the way in which the cultural changes and artistic practices in the Western Balkans, in all their different aspects, are associated with a plethora of political narratives, discourses, arrangements and regulations.

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):