Social change – To Archeio

The causal powers of social change: the case of modern Greek society

apostolos — Mon, 04 May 2020 23:24:47 +0000

This article provides an empirical exploration of social change, by assessing subjective experiences and evaluations in relation to social alterations in Modern Greek society. The investigation concerns whether change in everyday life deriving from the Greek crisis also involves an alteration in the ways that Greeks perceive and consider social reality and themselves within it. This article supports the view that social change is related to agency in terms of reflexivity and that Greeks have contributed to social change through the alteration of their ways of thinking and behaving. Participants reported that practices, norms and mentalities inhereted by previous generations are no longer helpful. Customs (such as clientilism) and mentalities (such as prioritizing the personal over collective interest) must now change and be reformed as the new reality demands different ways of thinking and rapid adaptations to a new way of living which has become economically restricted and politically unstable. In this sense, Greeks are becoming reflexive towards the present situation and themselves within it and critical towards the past and future, as they consider what part of the older generation’s established mentalities to retain and what aspects of their way of living will alter.

Communal Performativity—A Seed for Change? The Solidarity of Thessaloniki’s Social Movements in the Diverse Fights Against Neoliberalism

apostolos — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:52 +0000

The debate on the financial crisis is at an impasse. Neoliberal austerity discourse is often positioned as an almost insurmountable barrier, its disciplinary power affecting even the most change‐oriented citizen‐initiatives existing today. Countering this, this paper highlights the transformative capacity of social movements in Thessaloniki. Drawing from Butler, Laclau and Mouffe, and Gibson‐Graham we develop the notion of “communal performativity” both as an academic and as a practical concept to understand and build trajectories of socio‐economic change. “Communal” denotes the drive of the movements’ participants to interconnect and (re)negotiate with a multiplicity of Others, curbing identity politics to articulate internal differences and Otherness. We see some hopeful signs of bridges being built towards shared trajectories of change that can be understood as different but concrete variations on the abstract counter‐narrative of “breaking with neoliberalism”. Some of these variations challenge, others diversify neoliberal discourses and practices.

Agency on the Streets: Crisis, Radical Politics and the Production of Public Space in Athens 2008–2012

apostolos — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:18 +0000

The dynamic of the street in political struggles is not to be found merely in the fact that it is the space for visibility and representation, but also in that it is the space where potential emancipatory action and non-mediated modes of social conduct can play out. This paper will examine this notion of the street in the context of events of unrest and crisis in Athens from 2008 until 2012. The paper argues that the irregular changes of social, economic and political features in the city during that period transformed public space from primarily a ‘space for representation’ and a ‘space of representation’ to the site/space allowing the subversion of social relations in times of crisis.

Marketing applications in Greek academic library services

apostolos — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:25:17 +0000

This paper aims to describe marketing methods, techniques and activities used in Greek academic libraries and their staff perceptions regarding the importance of marketing applications. In addition, it identifies factors which hinder the uptake of marketing, and investigates the evaluation methods used.