Contesting Europe's Eastern Rim: Cultural Identities in Public Discourse. E dited by: Ljiljana Saric, Andreas Musolff, Stefan Manz, Ingrid Hudabiunigg. Multilingual Matters, 2010. (original) (raw)

Contesting Europe's Eastern Rim: Cultural Identities in Public Discourse. E dited by: Ljiljana Saric, Andreas Musolff, Stefan Manz, Ingrid Hudabiunigg. Multilingual Matters, 2010.

Abstract: Since 1989, Europe’s eastern rim has been in constant flux. Political and economic transformations have triggered redefinitions of cultural identity. Combining theory-oriented and empirical approaches, this book analyzes modes of identity construction in public discourse, particularly focusing on national and cross-national rhetorical strategies related to European Union enlargement and EU policy towards southeast Europe. Reviews: This is a timely book with a rich array of contributions exploring discursive constructions of identity in a number of countries on Europe’s Eastern rim. Thematically focused and integrated, the volume provides much needed perspectives on hitherto underresearched areas and languages. At the same time, the theoretical and methodological issues that it addresses will appeal more generally to scholars studying political and media discourse. Gerlinde Mautner, Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Austria This publication offers a convincing case for the fluidity of national and cultural identities, especially those predicated on 'Europe'. It corroborates the proposition that identities are constructed in relational terms and it offers clear insights on how the 'other' has been dynamically contested, negotiated and reconstructed in public discourses on an enlarged EU, thus highlighting the key role of different linguistic representations in redefining identities. This publication is certainly refreshing as it invites reflections on the construction of 'Europeanness'. Franco Zappettini, Birkbeck College, University of London, in Journal of Language and Politics Vol.12:2 (2013)