Conceptualizing the Common European Home:
a French Vision
DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2021.01.02
Abstract
The “Common European Home” (maison commune européenne) is a political project and civil society strategy which prioritises the cultural similarities of the peoples of Europe in relation to integration amongst nation-states. The purpose of this study is to trace the specifics regarding the conceptualization of this principle in its form of political mythology (political metaphor) as fed by media and artistic discourses. The study conducts an innovative analysis of the political metaphor “European Home” based on material by the famous French writer Michel Houellebecq. The deconstruction of Houellebecq’s metaphor helps to trace the transgression of the political myth of the “European Home” as 1) “Greater Europe from Gibraltar to the Urals” and 2) “a union identical to the EU”. The image created by Houellebecq himself reflects new perspectives on “new values” as based on Europeans’ experiences thereof, identifying the problem of rejecting the “new” (pan-European) identity and refusing to reduce culture to its political façades. The close relationship between the artistic optics of Houellebecq’s novels and the techniques of modern imagology is revealed; the deep significance of literary images in the creation of the image of the country regarding its political consciousness is explained and traced. The results of the study provide a new perspective on the discussions that are underway in France in connection with the “political dimension” of Houellebecq’s work, and also clarify the importance of literature as an empirical and theoretical source of political theory.
Keywords
European home, new values, politics and culture, paradoxes of European unity, anthropological prism, imagological studies of political processes, creativity of M. Houellebecq.
ReferencesAgerup K. 2019. The Political Reception of Michel Houellebecq’s Submission. – European Review. Vol. 27. No. 4. Р. 615-635. https://doi.org/10.1017/s106279871900019x
Ahearne J. 2017. Cultural Policy Through the Prism of Fiction (Michel Houellebecq). – International Journal of Cultural Policy. Vol. 23. No. 1. Р. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2015.1035266
Alesina A., Giavazzi F. 2006. The Future of Europe: Reform or Decline. Cambridge: The MIT Press. 186 p.
Bellanger A. 2010. Houellebecq, écrivain romantique. Paris: Léo Scheer. 299 p.
Beller M. 2007. Perception, Image, Imagology. – Imagology. The Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of National Characters. A Critical Survey. Ed. by M. Beller, J. Leerssen. Amsterdam; New York: Rodopi. 472 р. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004358133
Brass T. 2016. Houellebecq, Anthropologist? – Critique of Anthropology. Vol. 36. No. 1. Р. 93-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308275X16635911
Clement J. 2010. Une influence plutot indirecte sur la politique. – Revue internationale et strategique. Vol. 78. No. 2. P. 75-79. https://doi.org/10.3917/ris.078.0075
Dahl R.A. 1989. Democracy and Its Critics. New Haven: Yale University Press. 397 p.
Doorslaer L., van. 2019. Embedding Imagology in Translation Studies (Among Others). – Slovo.ru: baltijskij accen. Vol. 10. No. 3. Р. 56-68. https://doi.org/10.5922/2225-5346-2019-3-4
Dubois P. 1956. The Recovery of the Holy Land. New York: Columbia University Press. 251 p.
European Identity and the Second World War. 2011. Ed. by M. Spiering, M. Wintle. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. 273 р.
Farkas B. 2016. Models of Capitalism in the European Union: Post-crisis Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan. 541 р.
Fligstein N. 2008. Euroclash: The EU, European Identity, and the Future of Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 279 р. https://doi.org/10.7202/039970ar
Gambier Y. 2016. Rapid and Radical Changes in Translation and Translation Studies. – International Journal of Communication. Vol. 10. Р. 887-906.
Gouldner A. 1982. The Future of Intellectuals and the Rise of the New Class. New York: Oxford University Press. 128 р.
Gustavsson S., Karlsson C., Persson T. 2009. Examining the Illusion of Accountability. – The Illusion of Accountability in the European Union. Ed. by S. Gustavsson, C. Karlsson, T. Persson. London; New York: Routledge. 192 р. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203874714
Harris A. 2017. Michel Houellebecq’s Transmedial Oeuvre: Extension of the Realm of Creative Intervention. – Itineraires. Litterature, textes, cultures. No. 2. https://doi.org/10.4000/itineraires.3441
Harris A. 2020. On the Return of the (Media) Author: Michel Houellebecq, Ecrivain Mediatique. – French Cultural Studies. Vol. 31. No. 1. P. 32-45. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957155819893582
Ideas of Europe since 1914: The Legacy of the First World War. 2002. Ed. by M. Spiering, M. Wintle. Palgrave Macmillan. 224 p.
Imagology. The Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of National Characters. A Critical Survey. 2007. Ed. by M. Beller, J. Leerssen. Amsterdam; New York: Rodopi. 472 р. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004358133
Jeffery B. 2011. Anti-Matter: Michel Houellebecq and Depressive Realism. Winchester (UK); Washington (USA): John Hunt Publishing. 95 p.
Kotzian P., Steffek J. 2013. Do Members Make a Difference? A Study of Transnational Civil Society Organizations. – European Political Science Review: EPSR. Vol. 5. No.1. С. 55-81.
Kühnhardt L. 2008. The Fall of the Berlin Wall and European Integration. European Union – The Second Founding: The Changing Rationale of European Integration P. 47-60. URL: https://www.kas.de/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=c5a8d200-db92-7a59-ba57-580ba995a95a&groupId=252038 (accessed 20.08.2020).
Lyotard J.-F. 1984. The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge. Minneapolis: University of Minnessota Press. 111 р.
Michel Houellebecq sous la loupe. 2007. Etudes reunies par Murielle Lucie Clement et Sabine van Wesemael. Amsterdam; New York: Rodopi. 405 p. https://doi.org/10.4000/studifrancesi.8375
Mischi J., Weisbein J. 2004. L’Europe comme cause politique proche. Contestation et promotion de l’intégration communautaire dans l’espace local. – Politique européenne. No. 12. P. 84-104. https://doi.org/10.3917/poeu.012.0084
Pageaux D.-H. 1983. L’imagerie culturelle: de la littérature comparée à l’anthropologie culturelle. – Synthèsis. No. 10. Р. 79-88.
Pageaux D.-H. 1989. De l’imagerie culturelle à l’imaginaire. – Précis de littérature comparée. Brunel P. ed. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France. P. 133-161.
Palayret J.-M. 1994. Le Mouvement européen 1954-1969. Histoire d’un Groupe de Pression. – Europe brisée, Europe retrouvée. Nouvelles réflexions sur l’unité européenne au XX siècle. R. Girault,t G. Bossuat (dir.) Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne. Р. 365-383.
Pasquier R., Weisbein J. 2004. L’Europe au microscope du local. Manifeste pour une sociologie politique de l’intégration communautaire. – Politique européenne. No. 12. P. 5-21. https://doi.org/10.3917/poeu.012.0005
Preda D., Pasquinucci D. 2010. The Road Europe Travelled Along: The Evolution of the EEC/EU Institutions and Policies. Bruxelles; Вern; Frankfurt am Main; New York; Oxford; Wien: Peter Lang. 500 р. https://doi.org/10.3726/978-3-0352-6008-3
Sreenan N. 2019. Universal, Acid: Houellebecq’s Clones and the Evolution of Humanity. – Modern & Contemporary France. No. 27. Р. 77-93. https://doi.org/10.1080/09639489.2018.1557130
The Eurozone Crisis and the Future of Europe: The Political Economy of Further Integration and Governance. 2014. Ed. by D. Dăianu, G. Basev, C. D’Adda, R. Kumar. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan/ 328 p. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137356758
The Future of Europe: Integration and Enlargemen. 2004. Ed. by F. Cameron. London; New York: Routledge. 170 p.
The Idea of a United Europe: Political, Economic and Cultural Integration since the Fall of the Berlin Wall. 2000. Ed. by J. Shahin, M. Wintle. London; New York: Palgrave Macmillan. 172 p.
Weisbein J. 2011. `La Federation francaise des maisons de l’Europe (1960-2000). La trajectoire d’un militantisme europeen de terrain. – Politique européenne. Vol. 34. No. 2. P. 37-62. https://doi.org/10.3917/poeu.034.0037
Weninger R. 2009. Imagology: The Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of National Characters. – Comparative Critical Studies. Ed. by M. Beller, J. Leerssen. (A Critical Survey). Series: Studia Imagologica. Vol. 6. No. 2. P. 281-285. https://doi.org/10.3366/E1744185409000779
Badiou A. Petit manuel d’inesthetique (Russ. ed.: Badiou A. 2014. Maloe rukovodstvo po inestetike. Saint Petersburg: EUSP Press. 156 p.).
Borko Yu.A. 2016. France in European Integration: Evolution of Concepts and Policies (1950-2015). – Frantsiya na poroge peremen: ekonomika i politika v nachale XX veka [France on the Verge of Change: Economics and Politics at the Beginning of the 21st Century]. Ed. by A.V. Kuznetsov et al. Moscow: IMEMO RAS. P. 221-233. (In Russ.)
Borovkov I.I., Petrovskaya O.V., Vilovatykh A.V., Dovgilenko G.A., Podchasov N.A., Kalinkin V.A., Uzunova N.Yu. 2019. Transformation of European Political Landscape and Parties Under the New World Order. – National Strategy Issues. No. 4. P. 13-57. (In Russ.) URL: https://riss.ru/journal/55/ (accessed 25.08.2020)
Dianina S.Yu., Khalil M.A.M., Glagolev V.S. 2019. Cultural Islam In Northern Europe. – Baltic Region. Vol. 11. No. 3. P. 142-160. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.5922/2079-8555-2019-3-8
Fedotova V.G., Fedotova N.N., Chugrov S.V. 2018. Culture, Institutions, Politics. – Polis. Political Studies. No. 1. P. 143-156. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2018.01.10
Filosofiya kul’tury v sisteme izucheniya mezhdunarodnykh otnoshenii. Kniga 1. Paradoksy issledovatel’skoi prizmy [Philosophy of Culture in the System of Studying International Relations. Book 1. Paradoxes of the Research Prism]. 2020. Moscow: MGIMO. 544 p. (In Russ.)
Houellebecq M., Levy B.-H. Ennemis publics (Russ. ed.: Houellebecq M., Levy B.-H. 2011. Vragi obshchestva. Saint Petersburg: Azbuka, Azbuka-Atticus. 316 p.).
Houellebecq M. La carte et le territoire (Russ. ed.: Houellebecq M. 2011. Karta i territoriya. Moscow: Astrel; CORPUS. 480 p.).
Houellebecq M. Serotonine (Russ. ed.: Houellebecq M. 2020. Serotonin. Moscow: Astrel; CORPUS. 320 p.).
Houellebecq M. 2015. Submission (Russ. ed.: Houellebecq M. Pokornost. Moscow: АSТ, CORPUS. 352 p.).
Kant I. Zum Ewigen Frieden (Russ. ed.: Kant I. K vechnomu miru. Filosofskiĭ proekt. – Kant I. Sobr. soch. Vol. 7. Moscow: Choro. P. 5-56).
Korolev A.A. 2020. “European Home” Concept seen in French Art and Culture (on the Example of M. Houellebecq’s Work). – Concept: Philosophy, Religion, Culture. No. 1. P. 139-149. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24833/2541-8831-2020-1-13-139-149
Kovler V.I. 2016. Evropejskaja integratsija: federalistskij proekt [European Integration: Federalist Project]. Moscow: Statut. 216 p. (In Russ.)
Kudryavtsev A.K. 2019. France Impressing the World. – Polis. Political Studies. No. 6. P. 165-176. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2019.06.13
Oshchepkov A.R. 2010. Imagology. – Knowledge. Understanding. Skill. No. 1. P. 251-253. (In Russ.)
Podoroga V.A. 2009. What Is Being Asked When One Asks About What Is Philosophy. – Philosophy Journal. Vol. 1. No. 2. P. 5-17. (In Russ.)
Sidorov A.S. 2018. European Construction and France: Personal Factor (From De Gaulle to Mitterrand). – Contemporary Europe. No. 3. P. 115-124. (In Russ.) http://dx.doi.org/10.15211/soveurope32018115124
Silant’eva M.V., Glagolev V.S., Tarasov B.N. 2017. Philosophy of Cross-Cultural Communication. – International Trends. Vol. 15. No. 2. P. 64-76. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.17994/IT.2017.15.2.49.4
Strelnikova L.Yu. 2019. Postmodernistic Antiutopia “Soumission” by M. Houellebecq: The Last Spiritual Crisis of Europe’s World. – Proceedings of Voronezh State University. Series: Philology. Journalism. No. 1. P. 71-77.
Uznarodov I.M. 2015. New Nationalism in Contemporary Europe. – Contemporary Europe. No. 5. P. 75-90. (In Russ.)
See also:
Theme of the issue: New facets of communication processes. – Polis. Political Studies. 2008. No1 Krasikov S.A.,
Political Risks of Detraditionalization. – Polis. Political Studies. 2008. No5 Round Table of the «Polis» Journal, Kara-Murza A.A., Chugrov S.V., Zubov A.B., Rashkovsky Ye.B., , Zhukova O.A.,
Russian liberalism and christian values. – Polis. Political Studies. 2011. No3 Glinchikova A.G.,
Democratic modernization and national culture. – Polis. Political Studies. 2010. No6 Bolshakov I.V.,
The culture of russian political actors: a variant of typology. – Polis. Political Studies. 2011. No5