Geographers have produced a host of different interpretations of the landscape. In this essay I aim to participate in such an endeavour by linking Mikhail Bakhtin's work to geographical inquiry. Concepts such as dialogism, heteroglossia, the chronotope, and polyphony are only a sample of his valuable contributions to the theory of knowledge, alongside the ‘carnival’ sense of the world that conveys a pathos of shift and change, of death and renewal. ‘Carnival’ sums up the rituals and diverse festivities that reflect popular culture. Together these notions lead to a better understanding of otherness and alterity. This understanding provides the basis for a conceptual landscape that indicates the moment and situation (time-space) of a dialogue whose outcome is never a neutral exchange. Landscape thus becomes not only ‘graphically visible’ in space but also ‘narratively visible’ in time through dialogue.

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Considers the impact of globalization on the capacity to establish and maintain public space in the specific setting of Catalonia, as evidenced by the coverage of globalization issues in the Catalan media. Traits of civil society such as the dialogue established by individuals and institutions, the incorporation of individuals into groups through institutions, and the political spaces enclosing cultural, religious, and social alliances are represented and discussed in the Catalan media. The chapter's main objective is to assess, in the light of Catalan publications dating from the 1800s to 1997, the role played by the media in the formation and preservation of local identity in Catalonia.

National identity and manufactured unity have paved the way to the modern phenomenon of the nation-state, which emerged around the French Revolution in the late 18th century. The nation-state sought to unite the people by means of homogenization, creating a "common culture, symbols, values, reviving traditions and myths of origin, and sometimes inventing them" (Guibernau, 2000, p. 989). Ethnic division had no place or explanation in this product of the Enlightenment. Yet, despite the high minded aim of nation builders, ethnic and cultural differences did not disappear overnight. Indeed, they have been noted and written about by reporters and political observers alike. Their vision of these differences challenges the status quo in many ways, and most likely has altered the manner in which national unity is perceived inside and outside national borders.Requests for reprints should be sent to