European Identity from Below : The Presence of Eurosymbols in Two European Capitals
Author
Summary, in English
Abstract in Undetermined
Identity construction processes have been studied at the national level both from top-down (elite driven process) and from bottom-up (popular movements). In the context of European identity research, Billig's argument for "banal nationalism" has been transposed to the scale of the region by Cram under the name "banal europeanism". The present paper wants to test the processes of construction of a European identity from the bottom up through the analysis of eurosymbols, those graphic displays of references to Europe and/or the EU, in three European capitals: Paris, Copenhagen and Bucharest. The three cases represent three different urban environments embedded in three different larger cultures with different relationships to the idea of European integration. I argue that political symbols can function as transnational communication tools that may contribute to the creation of a shared European identity. The content or the interpretation given to Europe in these three different contexts may though vary, thus weakening the assumed connection between a shared (symbolic) language and a tighter bond between citizens across the EU.
Identity construction processes have been studied at the national level both from top-down (elite driven process) and from bottom-up (popular movements). In the context of European identity research, Billig's argument for "banal nationalism" has been transposed to the scale of the region by Cram under the name "banal europeanism". The present paper wants to test the processes of construction of a European identity from the bottom up through the analysis of eurosymbols, those graphic displays of references to Europe and/or the EU, in three European capitals: Paris, Copenhagen and Bucharest. The three cases represent three different urban environments embedded in three different larger cultures with different relationships to the idea of European integration. I argue that political symbols can function as transnational communication tools that may contribute to the creation of a shared European identity. The content or the interpretation given to Europe in these three different contexts may though vary, thus weakening the assumed connection between a shared (symbolic) language and a tighter bond between citizens across the EU.
Publishing year
2012
Language
English
Document type
Conference paper
Topic
- History and Archaeology
Keywords
- collective identity
- European identity
- banal europeanism
- visual studies
- urban ethnography
- European Union
- Eurosymbols
- Paris
- Copenhagen
Conference name
19th International Conference of Europeanists organized by the Council for European Studies
Conference date
2012-03-22 - 2012-03-24
Status
Unpublished