Hello all. I’m former international politics student turned marketer, and yet still have an undying interest in this funny little ‘continent’ we call home that is Europe, and its place in the modern world. The purpose and context of this blog has changed considerably since I first started writing it back in 2015. My country, England, has not considered itself a part of the political project to turn Europe into a union of nations since 23rd June 2016. This is a problem for me, as a staunch Europeanist, with Europe core to who I am. I also as I said used to study the politics and theory of European integration, international relations and political economy, and do not any more, but during the natural progression of life, my interests have considerably broadened.

In light of these factors, this blog is less about news and current affairs which I used to comment on, and more the unexpected discoveries and surprises of living with a deep passion for learning about the history, experiences and stories that bring the multitude of peoples of this continent together – or as I call it, in Search for Europa. Why this turn of phrase? Well, to quote Zygmunt Bauman in his telling of the myth of Europa:

“When the Princess Europa was kidnapped by Zeus in bull’s disguise, her father, Agenor…sent his sons in search of his lost daughter. One of them, Cadmon, sailed to Rhodes, landed in Thrace, and set out to explore the lands destined to assume later the name of his hapless sister. In Delphi he asked the Oracle about his sister’s whereabouts. On that specific point Pythia, true to her habit, was evasive – but she obliged Cadmon with practical advice: ‘You won’t find her. Better get yourself a cow, follow it and push it forward, don’t allow it to rest; at the spot where it falls from exhaustion, build a town.’“

Zymunt Bauman in Europe An Unfinished Adventure, 2004

There are other stories Bauman mentions in the start of his book on Europe, from the Phoenicians and from Judaism, however, they are all united by this thread. That is, “to seek Europe is to make it; Europe exists through its search for the infinite”, or, adventure.

“Europe is not something you discover; Europe is a mission – something to be made, created, built.” And this is no easy task. “A labour that never ends, a challenge still to be met, a prospect forever outstanding.”

Is there a manifesto in here? I don’t know. Maybe a way of living and learning. But to me? It’s about people and migrants and borders; it’s about recipes and food and the soil; it’s about culture and customs and stories; it’s about transgression and revolutions and upheaval; it’s about renaissance and reformation and enlightenment. And it’s about understanding these against the backdrop that Europe’s nations have never existed in isolation, separate from each other, and nor has the literature coming from and about this place. I will continue that tradition. I will continue to be supportive but critical of the Union that seeks to bind Europeans together. And finally, I will always try to tell you something interesting or entertaining. I hope you enjoy reading my writings in these troubled times.

Your writer,

Sam Hufton

Schedule: Irregular