Arts and Culture: Policy and Politics
Full course description
What is art? What makes good art? Who decides what is good art? Is taste in art strictly subjective? Why and how should the government support or not support art and culture: which art, whose culture? How about cultural participation? Is art for the elite or for everyone? What are values of art and culture? Can art be used as an instrument, for instance to enhance social inclusion? What are possible economic benefits for governments to support arts and culture? Why are most artists poor, while some are flagrantly rich?
These are some of the questions tackled in this introductory course to Cultural Politics. Highly distinctive is the mix between need-to-now cultural theory and practice-based encounters with professionals from the cultural sector during workshop-like lectures and fieldtrips. The course includes in-situ tutorials and together with a team of fellow students you will work on a practice-based research project. The approach is international and comparative.
Course objectives
At the end of this course you will able to:
- demonstrate knowledge of basic theories and concepts on cultural politics;
- apply these theories and concepts to practical cases from the cultural sector;
* write an academic paper in which you critically reflect on these theories and concepts and their application in professional cultural practice;
* work together in a team on a practice-based research project
Prerequisites
n/a