Medical workers as heroes in the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Croatia

Diplomski se rad bavi heroizacijom medicinskih radnika u Republici Hrvatskoj za vrijeme pandemije COVID-19. Fokus ovoga rada je na pitanju razvoja medijske reprezentacije medicinskih radnika u okolnostima zdravstvene krize, evokaciji ratnog diskursa u pandemijskom narativu te na pitanju radničkog položaja medicinskih radnika. Cilj je predstaviti, analizirati i kritički se osvrnuti na ovaj fenomen privremene heroizacije kroz studije heroizma, antropologiju medija i antropologiju rada. Autorica metodološki polazi od etnografije, koristeći se tehnikama polustrukturiranog intervjua, neformalnih razgovora i analize medijskog diskursa.This paper deals with the process of heroization of medical workers in Croatia during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper focuses on the development of media representations of medical workers in circumstances of a health crisis, the evocation of war discourse in the pandemic narrative and the workers’ position and working conditions of medical workers. The aim is to analyse and critically reflect on this phenomenon of temporary heroization through heroism studies, media anthropology and anthropology of work. Methodology employed in this research and paper is ethnography and techniques of semi-structured interview, informal conversations, and analysis of media discourse