Mitrovica Speaks: A Postmodern Urban Tale

Abstract
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Predominant studies on Mitrovica, a city in Kosovo, have traditionally employed linear, historical urban narratives that adhere to a universal truth, often diverging from the complex realities perceived by its inhabitants. As this method of narration oftentimes overlooks certain dimensions of urban storytelling, this paper embraces non-linear narration, advocating for a postmodern methodology in framing the urban tale of Mitrovica. Drawing from the longstanding analogy between architecture and language, the proposed narrative framework envisions the city as a communicative entity, similar to the way words are assembled into sentences within a linguistic structure. It explores how urban components combine to form a cohesive urban identity, thus challenging the conventional notion of urban expression. The paper analyzes visual and textual materials, coupled with postmodern urban tales, to expand on how Mitrovica articulates its narrative, its syntactic composition, and the auditory perception of its inhabitants. This exploration ultimately sheds light to the complex interplay between urban identity, postmodern narrative techniques, and the communicative potential inherent in cities like Mitrovica, offering new insights into the ways urban spaces are interpreted and engaged with.
Keywords: Mitrovica; Postmodern Narration; Urban Identity; Reticence; Paralepsis.

References
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