The European Puzzle: The Political Structuring of Cultural Identities at a Time of Transition

Published by Berghahn Books 2007

The European Puzzle

The Political Structuring of Cultural Identities at a Time of Transition

Edited by: Marion Demossier

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780857458636

Overview
Contents

About this book

The twin concepts of “Culture” and “Identity” are inescapable in any discussion of European Integration and yet over the last ten years their meaning has become increasingly contested. By combining an anthropological and political perspective, the authors challenge the traditional boundaries within the issue of the construction of Europe. In the first part, historians and anthropologists from various national traditions discuss the process of the construction of Europe and its implications for cultural identities. The second section examines a number of topics at the core of the process of Europeanization and presents up-to-date information on each of these issues: political parties, regions, football, cities, the Euro, ethnicity, heritage and European cinema. Emphasis is be placed on the political structuring of cultural identities by contrasting top-down and bottom-up processes that define the tensions between the unity and diversity of the European Community.

Author / Editor information

Marion Demossier is a senior lecturer in French and Anthropology at the University of Bath. She is the co-ordinator of a postgraduate Euromasters and Trans-Atlantic Masters course on ‘Culture and identity in Europe’ which has provided the material for this book. She has published extensively on the Anthropology of rural France and has recently edited a book on Recollections of France: Memories, Identities and Heritage (Berghahn, 2001). Her first monograph Hommes et Vins, une anthropologie du vignoble bourguignon was published in 1999 (éditions universitaires de Dijon) and won a prize. She is currently preparing a monograph on Wine Culture and Consumption in France.

Reviews

“Despite the variety of approaches and themes developed, the book successfully bridges this interdisciplinarity and provides a coherent flow of analysis of European identity which, as the title best illustrates, still remains a puzzle to be explored. The book therefore highlights the complexity of constructing European identity from political and cultural means…Overall it intellectually alerts the reader to some of the most significant challenges facing European identity and will be very useful to experts in the field.” · Political Studies Review

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
List of Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Key Dates of European Integration Publicly Available Download PDF	x
Acknowledgements Marion Demossier Publicly Available Download PDF	xiii
Map of Europe Publicly Available Download PDF	xiv
Introduction Marion Demossier Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I. European Political Constructs
1. The Formation of National Identities Anne-Marie Thiesse Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	13
2. ‘More Than Its Fair Share of History’: Europe and Its Recent Past Richard Vinen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	29
3. The Political Structuring of Cultural Identities in Europe Marion Demossier and Marion Demossier Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
4. European Identity in a Transnational Era Ralph Grillo Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	67
Part II. Cultural and Political Identities in Transition
5. Heritage versus Tradition: Cultural Resources for a New Europe? Ullrich Kockel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	83
6. Dinosaur, Shipwreck or Museum Piece? The Unstable Identity of European Cinema Wendy Everett Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	102
7. Through the Looking Glass of Football Christian Bromberger Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	119
Part III. Challenges to Existent Forms of Belonging and Cultural Values
8. Parties, Identity and Europeanisation: An Asymmetrical Relationship? David Hanley Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	141
9. Remapping Regionalism in Europe Peter Wagstaff Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	161
10. Cultural Identities and the European City Susan Milner Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	183
Notes on Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Select Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	210
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	214

Language: English
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 236
Keywords: Theory and Methodology; Political and Economic Anthropology

eBook

Published: August 1, 2007
ISBN: 9780857458636