European Identity and Culture

As the EU continues its integration process, the concepts of culture and transnational European belonging remain ambivalent, whether in the realm of socio-historical representation or mass politics. Engaging with recent scholarly debates surrounding the formation of collective transnational identities, this collection draws on the latest empirical case studies to explore the meaning and composition of European identity, the mechanisms that create and shape it and the question of whom it includes. Each author pays close attention to the cultural aspects of identity formation, whether manifested in official, institutional articulations, such as symbols, coinage, ceremonies and discursive manifestations, or in the cultures of the everyday, such as through new forms of communication networks, consumption or leisure. Exploring attempts by various actors - institutions, groups, individuals - to create transnational European identities, European Identity and Culture scrutinizes the cultural formations that have either reignited or emerged in often contradictory relations to the EU project, including local, regional and transnational allegiances. A rich, interdisciplinary investigation of the role of culture in the formation of European identity, whether as a central building block to unity or as a formidable obstacle to a common sense of purpose, this book will be of interest to scholars across the social sciences and humanities working on questions of political culture, European integration, citizenship and (trans-) national identity.

Rebecca Friedman is an Associate Professor of History and Co-Director of the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence (MEUCE) at Florida International University. She is author of Masculinity, Autocracy and the Russian University and co-editor of Russian Masculinities in History and Culture. Markus Thiel is Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Florida International University. He is author of The limits of Transnationalism in the EU and co-editor of both Diversity in the European Union and Identity Politics in the Age of Globalization.