Renee Gordon

Search #1

Search Date: December 6, 2009
Topic: Culture Policies in Europe
Source: A Song for Europe: Popular Music and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest
Search Terms: In the index: European Union, European Parliament, European identity, European Broadcasting Union, EEC
Results: This book is a good resource for incorporating another side of the cultural activities that occur on a European-wide scale that is independent of the European Union. In this edited volume, several authors discuss how the Eurovision Song Contest relates to specific EU member-states and the complicated political interaction these contests often produce in all of Europe. Though I may not include much of the substance from these essays in my paper, it has helped me understand how popular music in all of Europe functions, especially as it does and does not relate to the EU. Since multiple authors mention the EU, I hope to draw from their different assessments of the EU’s relation to Eurovision.

Citation:
Raykoff, Ivan, and Robert Deam Tobin, ed. 2007. A Song for Europe: Popular Music and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest. Hampshire, England: Ashgate.

Search #2

Search Date: December 6, 2009
Topic: Common Cultural Heritage
Source: The Unbearable Lightness of Being European: A Discourse Analytical Study about the Construction of the European Union and its Citizens
Search Terms: European Identity
Results: This study by Marko Kananen includes analyses of speech material given by European politicians concerning topics like political and cultural identity. As a sociological work emphasizing the discourse of European identity, this secondary source will provide information on how Europeanness is manifested through the elevation of this identity legitimates the EU’s activity. Though only several sections apply to my theme of EU Cultural policy, this book helps to support other areas of my paper.

Citation:
Kananen, Marko. 2008. The Unbearable Lightness of Being European: A Discourse Analytical Study about the Construction of the European Union and its Citizens. Saarbrücken: VDM Verlag Dr. Müller.

Search #3

Search Date: December 7, 2009
Topic: Music and European Union Cultural Policy
Source: Resounding International Relations: On Music, Culture, and Politics
Search Terms: European Union
Results: Of the three books consulted thus far, this work seems to be the least helpful. As its title indicates, it is too global in scope, and no articles by contributors address the European Union’s cultural policy. The introduction does provide an account of the signing of the EU constitution in 2004, including the use of Beethoven’s 9th as the EU Anthem. I may need to dig deeper to find particular case studies that relate to my EU culture topic, but first glances at the index seem to indicate that little else will be found, and therefore possibly this source will not be included in my paper.

Citation:
Franklin, M. I., ed. Resounding International Relations: On Music, Culture, and Politics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.