Why Europe? Problems of Culture and Identity, Volume 1 : Volume 1: Political and Historical Dimensions

The chapters in this volume, like those in the companion volume, Media, Film, Gender, Youth and Education, arise from a conference, 'Why Europe? Problems of Culture and Identity,' which was held at Keele University, on 6-9 September 1996. While the scope of the conference, and of both volumes, was by no means limited by or to the European Union, it had as its impulse the Intergovernmental Conference which took place in that year. Following on from Maastricht, this event was envisaged as helping to determine the future direction, shape and size of Europe as a whole, and the European Union in particular. The conference adopted a distinctive approach to these issues. Concentrating on questions of history, origins, culture and citizenship, it sought to evaluate the extent to which a specifically European identity had begun to emerge, and what profile this identity was beginning to take. The conference, and this volume alongside its 'twin', addressed a range of issues which underlie the notions of European identity. Among them are: What does it mean to be a European? What ideologies have shaped the political debate over the last two centuries? What place will minorities find in the Europe of the twenty-first century? What roles will women play in the future communities? Will Europe become more open to diversity, or become increasingly introspective, a 'fortress Europe'? The orientation of the conference was organized by the work of the Department of Modern Languages and the Keele European Research Centre, and focused primarily, but not exclusively, on cultural issues, as the chapters in this volume will illustrate. A number of individuals and organizations were instrumental in making the conference a success, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank both them and those who have helped me with the preparation of this volume. In particular, I wish to thank La Délégation Culturelle Française, the ESRC and the Goethe Institut; my fellow organizers and editors, Front Matter....Pages i-xi Introduction: the Remaking of Europe....Pages 1-16 Front Matter....Pages 17-17 Why Europe? From Contradiction to Refoundation....Pages 19-34 Why Europe?....Pages 35-40 Towards a European Identity: Policy or Culture?....Pages 41-47 Identity, Citizenship and Democracy in Europe....Pages 48-52 Front Matter....Pages 53-53 European Identity....Pages 55-73 Who are ‘We’? Populists, Democrats and the People....Pages 74-84 Being and Doing in Europe since 1945: Contrasting Dichotomies of Identity and Efficiency....Pages 85-96 From Nation-Building to the Construction of Europe: the Lessons and Limitations of the French Example....Pages 97-114 Constructing a European Identity: Problems of Supranationalism....Pages 115-130 Europe...the Creation of a Nation? A Comparative Analysis of Nation-Building....Pages 131-154 Front Matter....Pages 155-155 Poland, Post-Communism and the Nation-State....Pages 157-166 Songs of Love and Hate: the Role of the Intelligentsia, Music and Poetry in Forging Serbian Ethnic National Identity....Pages 167-181 Ethnotope and Imperium in Nineteenth-Century Russian Literature....Pages 182-201 Back Matter....Pages 202-204 The chapters in this volume arise from a conference, Why Europe? Problems of Culture and Identity, held at Keele University. Concentrating on questions of history, origins, culture and citizenship, the contributors seek to evaluate the extent to which a specifically European identity has begun to emerge, and what profile this identity is beginning to take. This volume, alongside its companion volume, Why Europe? Problems of Culture and Identity: Media, Film, Gender, Youth and Education, addresses a range of issues which underlie the notions of European identity. Among them are: What does it mean to be a European? What ideologies have shaped the political debate over the last two centuries? What place will minorities find in the Europe of the twenty-first century? What roles will women play in the future communities? Will Europe become more open to diversity, or become increasingly introspective, a fortress Europe? This volume, Why Europe? Problems of Culture and Identity: Political and Historical Dimensions, addresses a range of issues which underlie the notions of European identity. Among them are: what does it mean to be a European? What ideologies have shaped the political debate over the last two centuries? What place will minorities find in the Europe of the twenty-first century? What roles will women play in the future communities? Will Europe become more open to diversity, or become increasingly introspective, a 'fortress Europe'? v. 1. Political and historical dimensions v. 2. Media, film, gender, youth, and education.