Constructing official culture through stamps: the case of the Republic of Cyprus

Abstract:

This study addresses the official culture of the Republic of Cyprus as it has been promoted through the postage stamps released by the state between 1960 and 2013.

The theoretical framework of this study is derived from relevant theories on the cultivation of official cultures, through visual communication, specifically postage stamps, in association with the social and political situation concerning the Republic of Cyprus. The corpus has been analysed using quantitative content analysis and the development of certain categories in relation to landmark dates for the country’s history has been studied.

According to the findings, the official culture of the state has favoured topics that highlight the island’s long history and has accentuated the importance of religion as part of the official repertoire. Nonetheless, there are strong indications deriving from the analysis of the corpus that there has been a shift in the representation of the official culture since the country became a member of the EU.