'What is whose?' As there develops increasing speculation, in our age, on the nature of 'globalisation', the prodigious flux of ideas, people, ideas, goods and fashions between Europe and the United States over the centuries invites nuanced approaches and a modicum of relativisation. Imports and exports, the endless back and forth movement of political, social, economic, cultural notions and institutions permanently raise the question of reciprocal influences and contributions. 'Facing realities' is both a fact and an indispensable activity. American institutions are indebted to European thought, American culture has to deal with European visions and the variety of the European heritage; American social and political circumstances keep informing and interfering with European choices and decisions. What notions, values and artefacts are indeed 'adopted' by one or the other continent turn out to be selected in the name of idiosyncratic cultural dispositions and thereby undergo subtle modifications. No cultural object or sign ever travels without being profoundly transformed. This volume examines nationhood, citizenship and culture, on both sides of the Atlantic, in the light of such complex exchanges. At a time when Europe is exploring its own political organization, it seeks to profit by the American experience; at a time when American culture is more and more forcefully asserting its presence in Europe, critical evaluations of its real pertinence grow more numerous. What superficially appears to be one-sided imposition turns out to be an intricate and complex dialogue. Resistance, caution, recalcitrance, defiance and rejection are as important for a definition of identity as enthusiastic sharings and the adoption of welcomed influences, however ambiguous and variously motivated. An analysis of misunderstandings is the surest way to mutual comprehension. Climb aboard the cultural shuttle.

Examining the cultural dynamics of translation and transfer, Cultural Transfer Reconsideredproposes new insights into both epistemological and analytical questions. With its focus on the North, the book opens perspectives mainly implying textual, intertextual and artistic practices and postcolonial interrelatedness.

Travel Writing and Cultural Transfer addresses the multifaceted concept of cultural transfer through travel writing, with the aim of expanding our knowledge of modes of travel in the past and present and how they developed, as did the way in which travel was reported. Travel as both factual and fictional— with authors and narratives moving between different worlds— is one of the many devices that demonstrate the fluidity of the genre. This fluidity accounts for the manifold and powerful influence of travel writing on processes of cultural transfer. This volume also illustrates that cultural transfer is frequently linked to issues of power, colonialism and politics. The various chapters investigate the transmission of other cultures, ideas and ideologies to the writer’s own cultural sphere and consider how the processes of cultural transfer interact with the forms and functions of travel writing.

Toward the end of the fifteenth century, the Habsburg family began to rely on dynastic marriage to unite an array of territories, eventually creating an empire as had not been seen in Europe since the Romans. Other European rulers followed the Habsburgs' lead in forging ties through dynastic marriages. Because of these marriages, many more aristocrats (especially women) left their homelands to reside elsewhere. Until now, historians have viewed these unions from a primarily political viewpoint and have paid scant attention to the personal dimensions of these relocations. Separated from their family and thrust into a strange new land in which language, attire, religion, food, and cultural practices were often different, these young aristocrats were forced to conform to new customs or adapt their own customs to a new cultural setting. Early Modern Dynastic Marriages and Cultural Transfer examines these marriages as important agents of cultural transfer, emphasizing how marriages could lead to the creation of a cosmopolitan culture, common to the elites of Europe. These essays focus on the personal and domestic dimensions of early modern European court life, examining such areas as women's devotional practices, fashion, patronage, and culinary traditions.

An exploration of the changing conceptions of the iconic Space Shuttle and a call for a new vision of spaceflight The thirty years of Space Shuttle flights saw contrary changes in American visions of space. Valerie Neal, who has spent much of her career examining the Space Shuttle program, uses this iconic vehicle to question over four decades' worth of thinking about, and struggling with, the meaning of human spaceflight. She examines the ideas, images, and icons that emerged as NASA, Congress, journalists, and others sought to communicate rationales for, or critiques of, the Space Shuttle missions. At times concurrently, the Space Shuttle was billed as delivery truck and orbiting science lab, near-Earth station and space explorer, costly disaster and pinnacle of engineering success. The book's multidisciplinary approach reveals these competing depictions to examine the meaning of the spaceflight enterprise. Given the end of the Space Shuttle flights in 2011, Neal makes an appeal to reframe spaceflight once again to propel humanity forward.

Literary Prizes and Cultural Transfer addresses the multilevel nature of literary and translation prizes, with the aim of expanding our knowledge about them as an international and transnational phenomenon. The contributions to this book analyse the social, institutional, and ideological functions of such prizes. This volume not only looks at famous prizes and celebrities but also lesser known prizes in more peripheral language areas and regions, with a special focus on cultural transmitters and their networks, which play a decisive role in the award industry. Cultural transfer and translations are at the heart of this book and this approach adds a new dimension to the study of literary and translation prizes. The contributions reveal the diverse ways in which a cultural transfer approach enhances the study of literary prizes, presenting the state of the art regarding recent developments in the field. Articles with a broader scope discuss definitions, concepts, and methods, while other contributions deal with specific case studies. A variety of theoretical and methodological approaches are explored, applying field theory, network analysis, comparative literature, and cultural transfer studies. By providing multiple perspectives on the literary prize, this volume aims to contribute to our knowledge and understanding of this intriguing phenomenon.

This book is the first to focus specifically upon the relationship between refugees and intercultural transfer over an extensive period of time. Since circa 1830, a series of groups have made their way to Britain, beginning with exiles from the failed European revolutions of the mid-nineteenth century and ending with refugees who have increasingly come from beyond Europe. The book addresses four specific questions. First, what roles have individuals or groups of refugees played in cultural and political transfers to Britain since 1830? Second, can we identify a novel form of cultural production which differs from that in the homeland? Third, to what extent has dissemination within and transformation of the receiving culture occurred? Fourth, to what extent do refugee groups, themselves, undergo a process of cultural restructuring? The coverage of the individual essays ranges from high culture, through politics and everyday practices. The volume moves away from general perceptions of refugees as ‘problem groups’ and rather focuses on the way they have shaped, and indeed enriched, British cultural and political life. This book was previously published as a special issue of Immigrants and Minorities.