Titre du document / Document title

Chernobyl stories and anthropological shock in Hungary : The Environment as Master Narrative: Discourse and Identity in Environmental Problems = Histoires de Tchernobyl et choc anthropologique en Hongrie : L'environnement comme récit dominateur: Discours et identité dans les problèmes environnementaux

Auteur(s) / Author(s)

HARPER Krista M. ⁽¹⁾ ;

Affiliation(s) du ou des auteurs / Author(s) Affiliation(s)

⁽¹⁾ University of Massachusetts, Amherst, ETATS-UNIS

Résumé / Abstract

The Budapest Chernobyl Day commemoration generated a creative outpouring of stories about parental responsibilities, scientific knowledge, environmental risks, and public participation. The A. examines the stories and performances elicited by the tenth anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in April 1996. In these Chernobyl stories activists criticized scientific and state paternalism while engaging in alternative practices of citizenship. The decade between the catastrophic explosion and its commemoration coincides with the development of the Hungarian environmental movement and the transformation from state socialism. Chernobyl Day 1996 consequently became an opportunity for activists to reflect upon how the meaning of citizenship and public participation had changed in those years as well. First, the Chernobyl explosion drew into question the authority of scientific expertise and Cold War notions of technological progress, provoking the politicization of knowing for many activists. Second, personal memories of the 1986 disaster reflect how Chernobyl presented everyday life dilemmas that caused many parents and professionals to see themselves as citizens and environmentalists, a process the A. terms the politicization of caring. He analyzes the political implications of framing the environment as lifeworld, drawing from sociologist Ulrich Beck's concept of anthropological shock.

Revue / Journal Title

Anthropological quarterly   ISSN 0003-5491 

Source / Source

2001, vol. 74, n^o3, pp. 114-123 (20 ref.)

Langue / Language

Anglais

Editeur / Publisher

Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, ETATS-UNIS  (1953) (Revue)

Mots-clés anglais / English Keywords

Chernobyl ; Nuclear power station ; Narrative ; Commemoration ; Catastrophe ; Nuclear Power Plants ; Everyday life ; Technology ; Scientific knowledge ; Politicization ; Collective identity ; Citizenship ; State-society relation ; Civil Society ; Responsibility ; Hazard ; Environmentalism ; Post-communism ; Hungary ; East Europe ;

Mots-clés français / French Keywords

Černobyl' ; Centrale nucléaire ; Récit ; Commémoration ; Catastrophe ; Industrie nucléaire ; Vie quotidienne ; Technologie ; Connaissance scientifique ; Politisation ; Identité collective ; Citoyenneté ; Relation société-Etat ; Société civile ; Responsabilité ; Risque ; Environnementalisme ; Post-communisme ; Hongrie ; Europe de l'Est ;

Localisation / Location

INIST-CNRS, Cote INIST : 23696, 35400009909913.0020