Re-Thinking Europe sets out to investigate the place of the idea of Europe in literature and comparative literary studies. The essays in this collection turn to the past, in which Europe became synonymous with a tradition of peace and tolerance beyond national borders, and enter into a critical dialogue with the present, in which Europe has increasingly become associated with a history of oppression and violence. The different essays together demonstrate how the idea of Europe cannot be thought apart from the tension between the regional and the global, between nationalism and pluralism, and can therefore be re-thought as an opportunity for an identity beyond national or ethnic borders. Engaging contemporary discourses on hybrid, postcolonial, and transnational identity, this volume shows how literature can function as both a vital tool to forge new identities and a power subversive of such attempts at identity-formation. Like Europe, it is always marked by the tension between integration and resistance. The book will be of interest to students and scholars of modern literature, comparative literature, and European studies, as well as people concerned with cultural memory and the relation between literature and cultural identity.

What are the characteristics of European culture and identity? In which way can culture contribute to the current crisis of meaning within the EU and Europe? And should we return to the discourse of culture and historical experience in order to find a common ground for Europe? In the run-up to the Forum we will publish an anthology on these urgent questions. A host of prominent and influential thinkers such as political scientist Ivan Krastev and historians Philipp Blom and Adam Zamoyski have been invited to write essays. Their thoughts are assembled in the anthology Re:Thinking Europe. In addition to these current day reflections, a selection of often overlooked classical texts that have proved fundamental importance for Europe have been curated.

Dominant approaches to the transformation of Europe ignore contemporary social theory interpretations of the nature and dynamics of social change. Here, Delanty and Rumford argue that we need a theory of society in order to understand Europeanization. This book advances the case that Europeanization should be theorized in terms of: globalization major social transformations that are not exclusively spear-headed by the EU the wider context of the transformation of modernity. This fascinating book broadens the terms of the debate on Europeanization, conventionally limited to the supersession of the nation-state by a supra-national authority and the changes within member states consequent upon EU membership. Demonstrating the relevance of social theory to contemporary issues and with a focus on European transformation rather than simplistic notions of Europe-building, this truly multidisciplinary volume will appeal to readers from a range of social science disciplines, including sociology, geography, political science and European studies.

What are the characteristics of European culture and identity? In which way can culture contribute to the current crisis of meaning within the EU and Europe? And should we return to the discourse of culture and historical experience in order to find a common ground for Europe? In the run-up to the Forum we will publish an anthology on these urgent questions. A host of prominent and influential thinkers such as political scientist Ivan Krastev and historians Philipp Blom and Adam Zamoyski have been invited to write essays. Their thoughts are assembled in the anthology Re:Thinking Europe. In addition to these current day reflections, a selection of often overlooked classical texts that have proved fundamental importance for Europe have been curated.

Rethinking European Welfare provides a wide-ranging and innovative rethinking of the study of Europe and social policy and offers new ways of analyzing European welfare and its future. Whilst acknowledging the importance of research and analysis of policy making in Europe, this Reader addresses a range of other challenging and provoking issues which have been marginalized or ignored in the study of European social policy. .