“We have a point on the map”: Discursive constructions of Belarusian identity during CreativeMornings Minsk

ABSTRACT This paper investigates how Belarusians discursively construct a local identity of a creative people in Minsk. Drawing upon Cultural Discourse Analysis, we examine speakers’ talk at monthly meetings of CreativeMornings Minsk. Participants give voice to oppositional, cultural terms and notions about identity, acting, and relating; they build an alternative sociocultural space of togetherness that is opposed to the Belarusian state of devastation and war. Russian terms are identified that express this discourse include obschenie, tvorchestvo, and kreativ. Finally, this study discusses the discursive dimensions of time and their role in Cultural Discourse Theory.