The Discursive-Material Knot

"Nico Carpentier once again demonstrates himself to be one of the most sophisticated, rigorous and timely theorists of the politics of participation in contemporary culture. Here, he works through the major strands of current theory to distill and synthesize a brilliant conceptual framework which he applies to understanding the Cyprus crisis, the discursive and material roots of nationalism, and the varied roles and models of community media. Rarely do we see theory and application brought together with such spectacular results." -Henry Jenkins, author of "By Any Media Necessary: The New Youth Activism" "Every few years a book offers great insight on the often contested relationship between citizen media and agency. "The Discursive-Material Knot" is one such remarkable contribution. Embracing both critical reflection of participation theories and analytical interpretation of empirical studies, this book articulates an original model that deepens understanding of community media and conflict transformation." -Tao Papaioannou, University of Nicosia, Cyprus "The Discursive-Material Knot" will be an invaluable methodological toolkit for all those that will be researching community media organizations within the context of the ecological systems in which they operate. Its non-hierarchical nature and the use of a knot model for its analysis, is a very fitting tool to tackle the variety of diverse community media practices across the globe. The combination of highly theoretical work with empirical research, embedded within a mix of participatory use of qualitative research methods, promises to be a great resource for scholars and reflective practitioners alike." -Salvatore Scifo, Bournemouth University, United Kingdom "The Discursive-Material Knot" takes us to a highly significant, yet under-studied, region and provides a rich account of community based media in Cyprus. I particularly commend Nico Carpentier's fine work to bring together the discursive and the material on the basis of a well-researched case. This is a must-read for anyone who is interested in discourse theory and community media." -Miyase Christensen, Stockholm University, Sweden "Nico Carpentier's latest book on community media inspires the reader to imagine a 'non-hierarchical buffer zone' in 'triptych' form. Taking Cyprus as a case study is not only a courageous act, but also a transcending experiment for rhizomatic media creating their own agency... 'The discursive-material knot' is a creative referral throughout the book; a perpetual reminder of antagonistic interactions between conflict, community and participation." -Asli Telli Aydemir, Researcher and digital rights activist "This book is a must-read! Guaranteed to make you think about the role of community media and its impact on conflict transformation. Nico Carpentier provides a detailed and sensitive analysis of the Cyprus conflict from its past to its present and offers valuable insight into to the many mechanisms at play in shaping its future." -Shirin Jetha, independent consultant "This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the question of how to treat the relation between discourse and matter from the points of view of theory, method, and critique. In a breathtakingly systematic-iterative application of a novel framework to the Cyprus problem, Carpentier explores the potential of community media to transform the status of conflict from antagonism to agonism. In so doing the book robustly defends and advances the analytical and critical potential of discourse theory, demonstrating the immensely productive consequences of conceptualizing the relation between discourse and matter as a 'knot'." - Jason Glynos, Essex University "In this inspiring and outstanding book, Nico Carpentier provides an innovative theoretical framework which allows understanding and explaining the complexity of civil society community media. This integrated interdisciplinary approach is complemented by a fascinating in-depth history and ethnography of Cypriot society and its range of-sometimes-agonistic media production and reception, thus succeeding in grounding the grand theories in discursive and material practices." -Ruth Wodak, Emeritus Professor, Lancaster University, United Kingdom, and University of Vienna, Austria "Blending theory and collaborative research, this book presents discursive-material analyses of participation, community media organizations and conflict transformation with a case study so close to home. Nico Carpentier has been tirelessly exploring the Cypriot conflict through the lens of community media for years; this brilliant and comprehensive work comes as no surprise!" -Orestis Tringides and Hazal Yolga, Cyprus Community Media Centre and Cyprus Community Media Research Program researchers