Objective This research is a contribution to the comparative cultural sociology of contemporary European society. The aim of the research is to examine the role of festivals as sites of trans-national identifications and democratic debate. Analytically, the project objectives are to: (1) Explore how festivals use aesthetic forms to symbolize, represent and communicate social and political life (European, national, sub-national) from the perspective of different actors, including programme directors, funding promoters, performing artists and the audience. (2) Study the way in which festivals frame the discourse of identity in relation to arts with particular attention to the local / European and local / global interfaces as well as the conundrum of difference (diversity) and similarity. (3) Analyze how festivals represent sites of competition for access to resources, status and power and how this competition impacts on debates about representation, openness and the public sphere. Fields of science social sciencessociologyhumanitiesarts Keywords European identity aesthetic culture cosmopolitanism film literature mixed-arts city festivals music urban festivals Programme(s) FP7-SSH - Specific Programme "Cooperation": Socio-economic Sciences and Humanities Topic(s) SSH-2007-5.2-02 - The sources of European cultural development Call for proposal FP7-SSH-2007-1 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme CP-FP - Small or medium-scale focused research project Coordinator THE UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX EU contribution € 282 130,10 Address SUSSEX HOUSE FALMER BN1 9RH Brighton United Kingdom See on map Region South East (England) Surrey, East and West Sussex Brighton and Hove Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Rossana Loretta Dowsett (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Participants (3) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all INTERDISCIPLINARY CENTRE FOR COMPARATIVE RESEARCH IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES - ICCR Participation ended Austria EU contribution € 521 665,00 Address SCHOTTENFELDGASSE 69/1 1070 WIEN See on map Activity type Research Organisations Administrative Contact Liana Giorgi (Dr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data ECOLE PRATIQUE DES HAUTES ETUDES Participation ended France EU contribution € 18 600,00 Address RUE FERRUS 4-14 75014 Paris See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Jean-Claude Waquet (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data Fondazione di ricerca Istituto Carlo Cattaneo Italy EU contribution € 171 594,90 Address via Santo Stefano 11 40125 Bologna See on map Activity type Research Organisations Administrative Contact Giancarlo Gasperoni (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data