Šluknovský výběžek: Identities, Narratives, Representations.

Abstract

The thesis results from a qualitative anthropological research conducted in the border area of Šluknovský výběžek. The research subject is the construction and representation of local identites by the inhabitants of the borderland. The first part of the thesis contains an analyzis of local identity construction by the people who migrated into the studied area in the 2nd half of the 20th century. The key concept of this part is the concept of narrativity. The author analyzes the potential re-territorialization of local identity of new settlers as well as the geographical demarcation of the local identity with regard to the near national borderline. Furthermore, there are described distinct post-migration adaptation strategies of the new settlers. In the second part the author focuses on the public representations of the studied area by local activists. Three different projects aspiring to represent and thus establish the studied area as an internally homogenous (trans-border) region are analyzed. Thereby the thesis refers to the issue of the European Union and interconnected idea of European regionalism