Stones Speaking: Reading Conflicting Discourses in the Urban Environment

Abstract

The urban environment and especially monuments say a lot about a society, particularly its political and cultural values and systems. They could be messengers of a discourse delivering a grand narrative, which supports, or even imposes, a power distribution within society, as happens in totalitarian societies. Alternatively, they could reflect the process of liberating society from totalitarianism and experimenting with different forms, shapes and materials for the sake of finding one's own identity and defining oneself. This article reflects on how the urban environment in Georgia reflects contemporary socio-political developments taking place in the country.