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What does ‘Europe’ mean? Two students wrote a song to answer this question

What does ‘Europe’ mean? Two students wrote a song to answer this question

Elmer Smaling

22 May 2019

Culture

On the occasion of the International Bachelor Communication and Media Honours symposium, second-year communication students Sam Vitikainen and Max Buzzell wrote a song about what the concept of ‘Europe’ actually means.

Sam and Max are both half-European. Sam has a Finnish and Filipino background, while Max is Dutch and American. “One of the courses in our programme explored the construct of Europe, what it means and how it was actually established” says Sam, explaining how the song came about (Max is currently in the United States). “‘Europe’ could mean just about anything. The only way to clarify what it means is by talking about it. The flag is a good example: someone simply came up with the idea for the flag, but it only stood for something once people started using it and talking about it. That’s what our song is about. It’s meant to be a ‘conversation’ about what Europe means.”

(Text resumes under the video)

Europeanization (a song)

Were your clothes made by children in unsafe factories?

Five years ago, the clothing manufacturing factory Rana Plaza in Bangladesh collapsed, killing more than 1000 people and leaving more than 2500 people injured.

Western 'fast fashion' brands were among those produced in Rana Plaza. Unsafe factories, low wages and environmental pollution are commonplace in the 'fast fashion' industry. The Fashion Revolution Week aims to raise awareness for fashion sustainability. By using the hashtag #whomademyclothes they are asking brands to justify how the clothings are acutally being manufactured.

Today, reporter Cameron Wylie goes onto the campus to find out what students' thoughts are on fashion sustainability."

Cooking Class at the Sustainability Hub

Every Wednesday afternoon the Erasmus Food Lab opens its doors for students who want to (learn to) cook. This week we participate in cooking Indonesian food.

Saving the bees one dance at a time

A welcome break from the busy university city life for a couple of students on Tuesday: on Erasmus Sowing Day, they went outside with the Sustainability Hub to sow seeds and make campus more beautiful, and a better place for insects.

Sam doesn’t plan on voting, he says, even though he thinks he probably should. “I’ve only been living in Europe for three years, and before that I grew up in Laos. So it’s difficult for me to decide what’s best for a country. People who have lived here for a long time are in a better position to decide. I feel like I’m an outsider, so I’ll let my voice be heard only when it comes to international issues like climate change.”

Does Sam feel like a European? “That’s hard to say. I’m going on an exchange in Canada soon. Maybe while I’m there I’ll figure out what is European about me. I feel like I have a closer connection to a kind of international culture, if there is such a thing.”

Europeanization by Max & Sam,the lyrics.

What does it mean to be created discursively?
Discursively?
Yeah, what does that mean?
It means we talk about it.
Yeah, but we are talking about it.
No I mean, it’s more like…

See Europe’s one of those things,
with enough discussion it brings,
a mutual understanding of our own reality.
Like how fashion is always changing,
gender roles rearranging,
see now European countries have paternity leave.

Ok, so I get what you’re saying. So you are saying that since we are talking about Europe in the public sphere, we are constantly renegotiating the ways we understand society?
Yeah, pretty much.
Are you trying to say we talked the European Union into existence?
Well, not exactly, it’s more like…

The Commission commenced a mission to perpetuate a superstate.
In order to facilitate the European citizen.
Establishing a euro-zone, a flag, passport and a song.
To assure our synergy as European citizens.

I get it, I get it. So these symbols are being actively created by the commission in order to strengthen our shared cultural values as well as a European identity? (Shore, 2000)
Yeah.
Is Ashe European?
No.
Is Sara?
I won’t want to be.

From the outside it’s a fortress,
from the inside it’s a supermarket,
customers waiting to be served.
Not everyone is European at least not part of schengen.
But that doesn’t mean that we can’t be friends.

Do you get it now?
I think I get it now.
Ok, everybody now!