Modernity in Crisis : A Dialogue on the Culture of Belonging

A blend of political theory, social theory, and philosophy of culture, the book will show the relationship and tension between thought and action, politics and literature, power and dissent in modern politics and culture. In In this book authors from different parts of Europe reflect on the idea of a European cultural communality and the two key terms in this debate: European identity and European cultural heritage. They question the possibility and desirability of a cultural or historical canon for Europe, which offers a fresh and new perspective. Since the end of World War II Europe and European (cultural) identity have been dreamed of and discussed by artists, writers, scientists, politicians and policy-makers. Until 1992, when the Maastricht Treaty was signed, the centre of attention was the development of a supranational European unity, built on a shared culture, the legacy of a common past. Art and culture were considered primarily in an economic way. After 1992, the attention shifted to Europe as a cultural commonality, with buzz words like cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue. The emphasis increasingly lies on the strengthening of artistic and cultural cooperation, the discussion focuses on what holds Europe together in a cultural sense Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-6 Troubled Identity, or the European Canon and the Dilemmas of Memory....Pages 7-42 Secrets, Mysteries, Conspiracies, and Art....Pages 43-80 Eastern Europe after Communism....Pages 81-132 The Crisis of Modernity and the Age of Anesthesia, or Life According to Zygmunt Bauman....Pages 133-165 In the Name of Civilization, or the New Forms of Angst and Longing....Pages 167-194 Back Matter....Pages 195-205