Engagement with Culture in Transformative Times

Susanne Janssen is Professor of Sociology of Media and Culture at Erasmus University Rotterdam.Nete Nørgaard Kristensen is Professor of Media Studies at the University of Copenhagen. Marc Verboord is Professor of Media and Society at Erasmus University Rotterdam.

• IntroductionPart I: Practices and understandings1. Understandings of culture in nine European countries: advancing the study of cultural stratification2. Mapping cultural practices in Europe: social inequalities and cross-national differences3. How inequality affects cultural participation in Europe: comparing before and after the financial crisis4 Understandings of culture in digital space: mapping Twitter discourses on culture5. Capturing cultural practices in everyday life: employing experience sampling methodologyPart II: Perceptions and experiences6. Europeans’ perspectives on the cultural impacts of globalisation and migration7. Cultural integration and difference from migrants’ perspective: cultural comparisons between country of residence and country of origin8. The impact of digitalisation in everyday life: citizens’ perspectives on the rise of digital media9. Migrants’ engagement with digital culture: active two-way use, Internet enthusiasm, digital dislike, and social media sociability10. Campaigning for culture online: An analysis of trending culture-related petitions on FacebookPart III: Outcomes, affordances, and values 11. What drives people to engage in cultural activities? Europeans’ motivations for cultural participation12. The importance of culture for well-being: perspectives of locals and migrants on how culture makes life better13. Different modes of openness and tolerance in Europeans’ cultural participation14. Religiosity, social solidarity, and cultural participation15. The limits of cultural democracy? Challenges and paradoxes in advancing cultural inclusion and participation in Denmark, the Netherlands, Serbia, and Spain

“This book provides a much-needed corrective to overly esoteric and abstract discussions of culture by examining culture in everyday life—doing so by way of an expansive cross-national survey of Europeans and by way of innovative methodologies. While attuned to differences across nations, educational levels, and age groups, each chapter gives us a view of culture from the perspective of the survey respondents themselves—which includes the various ways that they define and understand "culture"; how they engage in cultural activities; how they use culture to navigate migration across national borders and to inspire political mobilization; and so on. This book helpfully advances theoretical understandings while impressively illuminating the ways that culture matters for those in Europe and beyond.” - Timothy J. Dowd, Professor of Sociology, Emory University, US“In this rich, multi-faceted account of culture in Europe, a stellar team of social scientists from nine countries maps the cultural practices of Europeans in all their diversity. Offering a much-needed counterpoint to overly politicized and partisan accounts of culture that dominate public debates, this volume convincingly conveys the value of culture for fostering just, inclusive and democratic societies.” - Giselinde Kuipers, Professor of Sociology, KU Leuven University, Belgium“Thanks to its comparative approach, varied methodology and its concern for social and national varieties in how Europeans use and relate to culture, this book is a refreshing and deeply important addition to the research literature. It will inform and stimulate discussions of class and culture for years to come.” - Jan Fredrik Hovden, Professor of Media Studies, University of Bergen, Norway“If you are looking for a comprehensive, in-depth investigation of citizens’ engagement with culture in contemporary Europe, this edited volume should be your go-to reference point. Drawing on a wide-ranging set of original empirical data from nine countries, the contributions provide a much-needed comparative examination of cultural practices among European citizens, taking into account not only the arts and ‘highbrow’ cultural forms but also popular culture and everyday cultural practices. Of particular value are the inclusion of digital dimensions of cultural engagement and the perspectives of migrant populations, as well as the close consideration of the role culture plays in the reproduction of social inequalities.” - Sabina Mihelj, Professor of Media and Cultural Analysis, Loughborough University, UK“A marvellously comprehensive overview of the major issues concerning culture and values across Europe today, and an intriguing mapping of what Europeans think, feel and do in today's turbulent times.” - David Inglis, Professor of Sociology, University of Helsinki, Finland