Signifying Europe

353 Pages·2011·2.22 MB·English

by  Johan Fornäs

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Johan Fornäs
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Signifying Europe provides a systematic overview of the wide range of symbols
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used to represent Europe and Europeanness, both by the political elite and the
broader public. Through a critical interpretation of the meanings of the various
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symbols—and their often contradictory or ambiguous dimensions—Johan Fornäs f
investigates how Europe currently identifies itself and is identified by others
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outside its borders. While the focus is on the European Union’s symbols, those
symbols are also interpreted in relation to other symbols of Europe. Offering i
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insight into the cultural dimensions of European unification, this volume will appeal
to students, scholars and politicians interested in European policy issues, cultural
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studies, and postnational cultural identity.

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Johan Fornäs is Professor at the Department of Media and Communication
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Studies at Södertörn University in Sweden, director of the Advanced Cultural
Studies Institute of Sweden, and the editor of Culture Unbound: Journal of r
Current Cultural Research.
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Signifying
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ISBN 978-1-84150-521-3
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9 781841 505213 Johan Fornäs
intellect | www.intellectbooks.com
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Johan Fornäs
by Richard Hickman
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Published with support from the Sven and Dagmar Salén Foundation and the
Publication Committee of Södertörn University in Sweden.
First published in the UK in 2012 by Intellect,
The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
First published in the USA in 2012 by Intellect, The University of Chicago Press,
1427 E. 60th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
This ebook is licensed under a Creative Commons CC-BY License.
To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Copy-editor: Macmillan
Cover design: Holly Rose
Typesetting: John Teehan
Cover image includes a detail of Captain Euro, reproduced here with the kind
permission of Nicolas De Santis.
ISBN (ePDF): 978-1-84150-657-9
ISBN (Hardback): 978-1-84150-480-3
ISBN (Paperback): 978-1-84150-521-3
For Hillevi
Signifying Europe
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Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Introduction 1
Chapter 1: Name and Myth 5
What’s in a name — and in a myth? 5
Introducing and interpreting the name and myth of Europe 8
Comparisons 17
Phoenix, Prometheus and post-World War II resurrection 20
Captain Euro 27
Conclusions 37
Chapter 2: Identifying Symbols 43
Meanings 44
Interpretations 46
Polysemies 48
Identities 50
Identifiers 52
Keys 56
Approaching European symbols 59
Signifying Europe
Chapter 3: Symbols of a Union 61
The emergence of Europe 64
Introducing the EU symbols 76
Chapter 4: Day 85
What’s in a day? 85
Introducing Europe Day 88
Interpreting Europe Day 90
Comparisons and commentary 92
Conclusions 99
Chapter 5: Motto 103
What’s in a motto? 103
Introducing the European motto 104
Interpreting the European motto 106
Comparisons and commentary 108
Conclusions 112
Chapter 6: Flag 115
What’s in a flag? 115
Introducing the European flag 117
Interpreting the European flag 120
Comparisons and commentary 128
Conclusions 145
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Chapter 7: Anthem 149
What’s in an anthem? 149
Introducing the European anthem 153
Interpreting Beethoven’s Ode to Joy 158
Interpreting the European anthem 171
Comparisons 181
Conclusions 201
Chapter 8: Currency 205
What’s in a currency? 205
Introducing the euro 210
Interpreting the common euro designs 215
Interpreting the national euro coin designs 223
Comparisons 243
Conclusions 248
Chapter 9: Projecting Europe 251
Additional symbolic realms 252
Four facets 256
In conclusion 262
Notes 267
References 299
List of Figure Sources 321
Index 325
Signifying Europe
viii
List of Figures and Illustrations
With the exception of Figures 7.1–7.5, all figures appear in the colour section
located at the back of this book.
0.1 David Černý: Entropa in the European Council building in Brussels, 2009
1.1 Europa and the Bull, Greek vase painting, c. 480 bc
1.2 Europa and Zeus Transformed into a Bull, terracotta figurine from Boeotia,
c. 460 bc
1.3 Rembrandt van Rijn: The Abduction of Europa, 1632
1.4 Carl Milles: Europa and the Bull, Halmstad, Sweden, 1935
1.5 Nikos and Pandelis Sotiriadis: The Abduction of Europa, sculpture outside the
European Parliament building in Strasbourg, 2005
1.6 Phoenix
1.7 Prometheus Brings Fire to Mankind, Heinrich Friedrich Füger, 1817
1.8 Murdoch’s Chinese Phoenix Television logo
1.9 Captain Euro together with his partner Europa and Lupo the wolf
1.10 Captain Euro with Twelve Stars team members
3.1 Satellite image of Europe
3.2 Polish map of Europe’s countries
3.3 European Union member states, 2007
3.4 Council of Europe member states, 2009
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