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Culture Nationale et Conscience Europ
Written by Professor Richard Hoggart
This book is based on a seminar, held in October 1997 in the historic Abbey of Fontevraud and co-chaired by M. Maurice Druon, Sécrétaire perpétuel de l’Académie française and Mr Michael Ignatieff , writer and broadcaster. Historians, writers, and sociologists took part and the range of areas of expertise and interest meant that the discussion was both critical and constructive. The two day meeting aimed to compare the national cultures of the two countries, to see what divides and what unites them. Despite differences of opinion, which the conference had indeed aimed to reveal, three themes emerged: · Historically, it is clear that Great Britain and France, who were among the first nation-states, have had a profound effect on Europe. The message that they gave to first to Europe and later to the world encompasses all human activities: for example, Great Britain "invented" parliamentary democracy while France produced the best thought-out interpretation of the rights of man. Without underestimating either the contributions or the merits of other European countries, both France and Great Britain have often been at the forefront of changes that have affected both society and ways of thinking. · Now, possibly more than ever, uncritical glorification of the past is as unrealistic as it is dangerous. No matter how universal the effect of British and French cultural values may have been in the past, we must raise questions and express doubts about their present and future relevance. Self-doubt, which is probably greater in France, that is caused by many factor. There is a sense of disorientation caused by the slow replacement of the hierarchical and elitist method of transmitting culture with the ‘global network’; ‘high culture’ is constantly challenged by popular culture, both mass and minority. The concept of a European culture is even more uncertain. Even though it may have been possible in the past to talk of a European culture, for which the French appear to retain a melancholy nostalgia, this was the preserve of an elite with which modern society cannot identify. There are few signs that Europe as a whole is capable of self-expression. We might even ask whether the French and the British did not have more in common in the past than they do today. The book includes not only the report of the proceedings but also background papers prepared for the seminar. These are by such eminent British participants as Professor Richard Hoggart, Professor Douglas Johnson, Michael Ignatieff and, on the French side, Professor Rene Rémond, Professor Henri Mendras, Jacques Rigaud and others.Number of pages/format: B5
Published: May 2002