Bachelor's Thesis — Graphic Design
Royal Academy of Art The Hague
The names of geographical locations, also known as toponyms, play a crucial role in shaping the identities of individuals and communities and constructing historical memories. The process of naming is not only about claiming land, but also about owning and controlling narratives of the environment. The naming of places holds political significance and is often used as a means to establish spatial domination, drawing borders between groups and shaping the relationship between individuals and their surroundings. Place naming can thus serve as a tool for constructing new notions of national identity and promoting certain historical narratives while denying, suppressing or erasing others.
Through decolonial analysis, this study will attempt to provide an overview of the geopolitically charged practice of toponymic inscription, with the main point of departure being the Zionist political project of Hebraizing Arabic toponyms in Palestine. The focus will then shift to the role and power of cartography and the Latin script in colonial discursive practices, and finally to a closer look at subliminal counterhegemonic acts of resistance in the everyday lives of the subordinate.
Supervised by Prof. Füsun Türetken
→ READ ONLINE
48 pages
2-colour RISO print
Cover: 3-colour screen print
Paper: EOS 90g/m²
Edition of 32
Typefaces:
Greta Text by Typotheque
Akzidenz Grotesk by Berthold Types
