CRRC, ARISC and American Councils are pleased to announce the 5th talk of the Spring 2024 Tbilisi Works-in-Progress series!
“The Trojan Horse of Saint George on Freedom Square”
Hans Gutbrod, Ilia State University
How has Freedom Square gone so spectacularly wrong? The message of Tbilisi’s main square seems to be that citizenship does not matter. The square conveys this through a bombastic central column; with Saint George on top, who on closer inspection turns out to be a Trojan horse of sorts; with the buildings that now encircle the square; and with how citizens are constrained when navigating a location that should be theirs. Drawing on an Ethics of Political Commemoration, this analysis will highlight Tallinn’s Freedom Monument as an illuminating contrast and conclude by outlining what “liberating Freedom Square” could do for Georgia and its democracy.
Hans Gutbrod is a Professor at Ilia State University in Tbilisi, Georgia. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the London School of Economics.
Image by Nino Shvelidze
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Works-in-Progress is an ongoing academic discussion series based in Tbilisi, Georgia, that takes place at the CRRC office at Liziko Kavtaradze St. 1 and online. It is co-organized by the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (CRRC), the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS, and the American Research Institute of the South Caucasus (ARISC). All of the talks are free and open to the public.
In observation of the spirit of the Chatham House Rule, the talks will not be recorded, and we courteously request that the other participants refrain from recording and/or distributing recordings as well. The opinions expressed in WiP talks are those of the speakers alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of CRRC, ARISC or of American Councils.
