Cultural Borders of Europe

The cultural borders of Europe are today more visible than ever, and with them comes a sense of uncertainty with respect to liberal democratic traditions: whether treated as abstractions or concrete realities, cultural divisions challenge concepts of legitimacy and political representation as well as the legal bases for citizenship. Thus, an understanding of such borders and their consequences is of utmost importance for promoting the evolution of democracy. Cultural Borders of Europe provides a wide-ranging exploration of these lines of demarcation in a variety of regions and historical eras, providing essential insights into the state of European intercultural relations today.

Autorentext

Katharina Vajta is senior lecturer in French at the Department of Languages and Literatures at the University of Gothenburg, where she also is Head of Department.

Inhalt

List of Figures and Tables

Introduction
Mats Andrén & Ingmar Söhrman

PART I: THE CHALLENGES OF RELIGIOUS BORDERS

Chapter 1. Territorial and Religious Identifications in Europe
Linda Berg

Chapter 2. Europe with or without Muslims: Creating and Maintaining Cultural Boundaries
Göran Larsson & Riem Spielhaus

Chapter 3. Ilm al-Hududuyya: Un-Inheriting Eurocentricity
Klas Grinell

PART II: LINGUISTIC BORDERS IN PRACTICE

Chapter 4. When the Intercultural Goes National:  Textbooks as Sites of Struggle
Katharina Vajta

Chapter 5. The Pluricentric Borders of Bavaria
Barbara Loester

Chapter 6. The Influence of Imagined Linguistic Performances
Ingmar Söhrman

PART III: MENTAL SPACES AND BARRIERS

Chapter 7. Mental Barriers Replacing Nation-State Borders
Fernand Fehlen

Chapter 8. Crossing Borders and Redefining Oneself: The Treacherous Life of Aino Kallas
Katarina Leppänen

Chapter 9. Evolving Symbolic Divides: in Basque Language Promotion Logos
Johan Järlehed

PART IV: SCHOLARS MAKING BORDERS

Chapter 10. The Controversial Concept of European Identity
Mats Andrén

Chapter 11. The EU as a 'Large Space'? Carl Schmitt and the Contemporary Dilemmas of Political Rituals and Cultural Borders
Jon Wittrock

Chapter 12. How Prehistory Becomes Crucial for Border Making
Per Cornell

Conclusion
Thomas Lindkvist & Katharina Vajta

Index