INVENT CONFERENCE ROTTERDAM – Session V

Do you think shopping malls belong to culture or not? Data from our cross-national survey show that Europeans were most indecisive about this question. At session 5 of the INVENT Conference 2021 we will be exploring the extents and boundaries of what constitutes “culture” for residents of a variety of European countries. Come join the conversation!

One of the core motives of the INVENT project is to take inventory of people’s understandings of culture. So, asking our research participants what they think culture is, is certainly a good place to start. But beyond the answers at the top of our minds when we think of culture (historical monuments, high art, or food), there proves to be a lot more diversity and nuance when you ask citizens of nine different European countries to further express their understanding of culture.

The INVENT team took a mixed-method approach, conducting a survey to receive respondents’ direct answers when prompted the questions of culture, and an analysis of Twitter data to take stock of online communications and discussions that occurred around the subject of culture.

What belongs to culture and what does not? What kind of conversations are taking place online surrounding this ubiquitous word ‘culture’ and who is talking about culture on Twitter? Session 5 of the INVENT Conference 2021 will focus on mapping the diverse meanings of culture across Europe and features presentations by INVENT team members Semi Purhonen, Franziska Marquart, and Neta Yodovich. Gaining insight into the multiplicity of meanings Europeans ascribe to culture is pivotal for developing European policy that speaks more to the hearts and minds of European citizens.

Session speakers:

• Definitely (Not) Belonging to Culture: European citizens’ understandings of the contents and limits of “culture”
  Semi Purhonen (Tampere University)

• Talking about Culture on Twitter
  Franziska Marquart (University of Copenhagen) & Neta Yodovich (University of Haifa)