‘Being’, ‘Becoming’ and ‘Challenging’ European: Subject Positions in the European Heritage Label

Abstract

This article scrutinises the subject positions of 'being', 'becoming' and 'challenging' European in the context of the European Heritage Label (EHL), a flagship cultural heritage action of the European Union. While the positions are widely used in academia to analyse the relationship between the Central and East European (CEE) countries and the EU/Europe, the setting of the current research shows how the power dynamics between CEE countries and the EU contribute to forming 'European heritage' and contribute to the EHL as EU-level authorised heritage discourse in the making. Simultaneously, the transformative potential of heritage makes these subject positions visible and opens them up for changes. THIS ARTICLE FOCUSES ON THE FORMING OF EUROPEAN CULTURAL heritage from the perspective of the multifaceted relationship between the Central and East European (CEE) countries and the EU/Europe. 1 The relationship is illuminated in scholarly discussion on the basis of three subject positions: the initial two are the positions of 'being' European and 'becoming' European that indicate identification, and the third is 'challenging' European, which is critical towards the EU and its policies. While these three subject positions are not unique to CEE, they have been extensively used and elaborated both in academic and public discourse in the framework of the common communist past and the exceptionally broad EU accession process. These analyses form a valuable background context for the current article. This article offers a novel perspective on the topic by making visible how these subject positions endure and are actualised in the sphere of European cultural heritage. First, the