Deconstructing Europe

Postcolonial Perspectives

Sandra Ponzanesi editor Bolette Blaagaard editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:15th Apr '13

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Deconstructing Europe cover

This book engages with the question of what makes Europe postcolonial and how memory, whiteness and religion figure in representations and manifestations of European ‘identity’ and self-perception. To deconstruct Europe is necessary as its definition is now contested more than ever, both internally (through the proliferation of ethnic, religious, regional differences) and externally (Europe expanding its boundaries but closing its borders).

This edited volume explores a number of theoretical discussions on the meaning of Europe and proposes analyzing some of the deeds committed, both today and in the past, in the name of Europe by foregrounding a postcolonial approach. To deconstruct Europe as a postcolonial place does not imply that Europe’s imperial past is over, but on the contrary that Europe’s idea of self, and of its polity, is still struggling with the continuing hold of colonialist and imperialist attitudes. The objective of this volume is to account for historical legacies which have been denied, forgotten or silenced, such as the histories of minor and peripheral colonialisms (Nordic colonialisms or Austrian, Spanish and Italian colonialism) and to account for the realities of geographical margins within Europe, such as the Mediterranean and the Eastern border while tracing alternative models for solidarity and conviviality. The chapters deal with social and political formations as well as cultural and artistic practices drawing from different disciplinary backgrounds and methodological traditions. As such it creates an innovative space for comparative and cross-disciplinary exchanges.

This book was previously published as a special issue of the journal Social Identities.

'Deconstructing Europe is a truly cross disciplinary anthology which takes up an important debate about the future development of Europe as a multicultural project' Paulina Gasior, Postcolonial Europe

‘This exciting and creative collection…speaks to the ‘leading edge’ of debates in interdisciplinary feminist, postcolonial, and race theory and provides a valuable set of contributions to understanding the complexities, crossings, and convivialities at work in this region... Never closed, never shut off, and never completed, Europe remains open to intervention. This book provides many signposts to the ways in which these interventions work and the ways in which colonial legacies can be dismantled.’ Ian Law, University of Leeds in Postcolonial Text, Vol 7, No 3 (2012)

'The introduction to this volume makes us look in an original way at the social realities and the cultural production of contemporary Europe. The question that drives this book is the notion of European identity and its self-perception, made even more urgent, as the editors point out, by a phase in which the very notion of Europe is highly contested.' Sandra Marchetti, Cultural Studies, 3/2012

'The volume builds upon a growing dialogue on the question of what constitutes a postcolonial – others would say post-imperial – European identity in the broader contexts of postcolonial theory, whiteness studies and critical race studies. Drawing upon the backdrop of colonial/imperial histories and moving towards the construction of a European identity, the articles engage with the legacy of this history primarily in the form of contemporary anxieties over the migrant presence. While a number of studies have undertaken similar inquiries within European countries, Deconstructing Europe can be read as a contribution towards creating a space for thinking across Europe. Readers who are interested in such patterns will gather a great deal of insight into how national identities and identities of migrant others are constructed and can be challenged through a range of different perspectives presented in the book, from journalism, fiction and film to more empirically based approaches.'

Lars Jensen, Roskilde University, Journal of Postcolonial Writing


'Deconstructing Europe is a truly cross disciplinary anthology which takes up an important debate about the future development of Europe as a multicultural project'- Paulina Gasior, in the journal Postcolonial Europe

‘This exciting and creative collection…speaks to the ‘leading edge’ of debates in interdisciplinary feminist, postcolonial, and race theory and provides a valuable set of contributions to understanding the complexities, crossings, and convivialities at work in this region... Never closed, never shut off, and never completed, Europe remains open to intervention. This book provides many signposts to the ways in which these interventions work and the ways in which colonial legacies can be dismantled.’ Ian Law, University of Leeds in Postcolonial Text, Vol 7, No 3 (2012)

'The introduction to this volume makes us look in an original way at the social realities and the cultural production of contemporary Europe. The question that drives this book is the notion of European identity and its self-perception, made even more urgent, as the editors point out, by a phase in which the very notion of Europe is highly contested.' Cultural Studies, 3/2012

ISBN: 9780415846950

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 340g

180 pages