For over a century Europe has been characterized by a plurality of capitalist modernities. At any moment, each country possesses its own distinctly modern qualities which are partly shaped through interrelationships with other countries. "Recognising European" "Modernities" explores a century of civilization through a critical examination of the extreme case of Sweden. Using montage--relayering multiple pasts and on-going present--the book challenges the contemporary obsession with "postmodernity," demanding a deeper, more connective understanding of the pleasures and dangers of the European present.
The author visits three spectacular spaces: the Stockholm Exhibition of 1897, the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930 and the Globe, a contemporary multi-purpose arena. Analysis of these pivotal spaces reveals the on-going process of modernization as new forms of consumption are repeatedly entangled in changing discourses of power, to be reworked and translated into cultural politics.
