A new agenda? - the European Union in the age of culture

Alliance Publishing Trust,
04 May 2009, Norway

Hans Erik Naess
Published by Alliance Publishing Trust
ISBN 978 0 9558804 3 8

Throughout the last couple of decades, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to globalization issues of today, various aspects of culture seem to affect the lives of European citizens more and more. As a reply the European Union (EU) in 2007 endorsed ‘A European agenda for culture in a globalising world’, evidently their ‘first –ever strategy for culture’.

To anyone familiar with the history of the EU, this was groundbreaking news. Culture had for the first time been elevated into the premier league of EU politics. In this book, which ranges from cosmopolitan philosophy to Playstation games, Norwegian sociologist Hans Erik Naess investigates the case further: what is the content of this strategy, what is new about it, and how will it affect European and national cultures?

This book allows the reader to explore these questions. Written in an easily accessible style, putting emphasis on exploration rather than tutoring, it provides students, philanthropists, culture journalists, artists, NGO staff, politicians and the like with a creative introduction to the interactions between EU policies and European culture.

About the author

Hans Erik Naess (b 1978). He has a Master of Arts in Society, Science and Technology in Europe (ESST) and a Master’s degree in Sociology, both from the University of Oslo. Currently he works as a teacher at the Department of Sociology and Human Geography, University of Oslo. He can be reached at [email protected]

http://www.alliancemagazine.org/en/content/alliance-publishing-trust#newagenda