Europe is a fragile construct. For some, Europe is synonymous with progress, humanity and freedom – for others it stands for intolerance and slavery, colonialism and genocide. Who translates the various, often rivaling perceptions of Europe and in what way? The danger, that the concept of Europe could be lost in the diversity of its translations is quite real. Social cohesion and political action cannot be established without an understanding of the split and divisive memories, common visions, values and cultural assets. The societal relevance of European images and their translations is thus not to be undervalued – Historical impressions are in that context omnipresent and of great consequence.

In cooperation with the University of Gießen, the Centre for Contemporary Research in Potsdam, (the Georg-Eckert-Institute for International Textbook Research), and funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research(BMBF), the project networt explores, how perceptions of Europe have changed throughout the major 20th century caesuras, how Europe is generally constructed and mediated and how it is perceived from various spatial perspectives. The project covers matters of the intercultural and cross-media understanding of Europe, the visualization of European history and media coverage of images of Europe.

In doing so, various media or agents of translation are approached: printed media and parliamentary debates dispute Europe and European memory from a more ephemeral perspective, while textbooks, memorials or political symbols are geared at transmission. All media unites a specific selectivity, however, with which they translate images of Europe. Codes, symbols and narrative patterns that suggest transnational or trans-generational translation processes, bridges or continuities are used through these means.

The subprojects survey Europe from shifting centers and peripheries: Germany, France, Spain and Poland conceive of themselves, in varying ways and at various times, as European centers; England and the USA represent a view of Europe from the periphery.