Franco Zappettini Presentation
Franco Zappettini Presentation
18 to 20 April 2013
3rd I-mean Conference: Transnationalism As An Index To Construct European Identity: An Analysis Of ‘Transeuropean’ Discourses
University of West England, Frenchay Campus, Bristol
I attended the 3rd I-mean conference held in Bristol on 18-20 April at the University of West England, Frenchay Campus, which this year dealt with the theme of 'Language and Identity'. I gave a talk based on a paper I have been developing with the provisional title “Transnationalism As An Index To Construct European Identity: An Analysis Of ‘Transeuropean’ Discourses”.
In this paper I argue that the intensification of globalization processes and the proliferation of transnational practices over the last few decades have had a profound impact on our society and challenged the traditional ‘identity-border-order’ paradigm of nation-states. Consequently, the European space has emerged as a social field of increased diversity as well as a political arena where embryonic post-national identities and new patterns of belonging are being negotiated, challenged and legitimized. In this context my analysis seeks an understanding of how current ‘European’ identities are discursively constructed from a bottom up perspective, investigating discourses of members of a transnational NGO. In particular I presented some insight on how Europeanness is constructed (and reflected) in patterns of belonging indexed to transnationalism.
The conference was an exciting social event to meet other academics, discuss and exchange views and engage with a wider community of linguists in a friendly environment. It also gave me the opportunity to find out about other people’s interests and to network with fellow researchers. It was also refreshing to see some attendees from Birkbeck.