Regions of Culture - Regions of Identity / Kulturregionen - Identitätsregionen

The region has attained a remarkable centrality during the past two decades. Besides signifying a spatial parameter, the concept of the region embraces a wide range of political, economical, and cultural factors, which constitute the historical and cultural heritage of individual regions and contribute to the construction, negotiation, and revaluation of cultures and identities attached to them. 'Regions of culture' and 'regions of identity' are to be understood as concepts which summarise these processes of negotiating and sharing cultural values, concepts and practices, and as points of reference in the process of identity formation in relation to space. Offering a wide range of perspectives and disciplines including history, linguistics, literary studies, art history, cultural anthropology, and religious studies, this volume explores the structural and cultural foundations of spaces that qualify as 'regions' and their developments, challenges, and sustainability in an increasingly globalised world. In addition to discussing the concepts of 'region', 'culture', and 'identity', the essays assembled in this volume provide critical case-studies of historical and current regions of culture and regions of identity, illustrating constitutive factors of culture and identity in relation to regional space.