The Authoritative Medium: George Eliot,Ruin, and the Rationalized Market

This essay analyses the competing dynamics that shaped the formation of market relations in mid-nineteenth-century Britain: abstraction and rationalization, on the one hand, and embeddedness and personalism, on the other. It takes as its central case the mid-century debates over bankruptcy reform, focusing in particular on two textual representations of ‘ruin’: the system of certificates classifying bankrupts according to their culpability of character, established in 1849 and abolished in 1861; and Eliot's 1860 novel The Mill on the Floss, with its account of financial and sexual ruin. I argue that the debates surrounding the character certificates' intervention in market relations, and Eliot's explorations of abstract and embedded or sympathetic modes of knowledge were part of a larger concern to negotiate the tensions produced by the contemporary impulse toward market rationalization. Eliot's mode of omniscient narration – her construction of a simultaneously interested and disinterested, authoritative and sympathetic narrative voice – represented, I suggest, a novelistic instance of a broader cultural fantasy that an approach to character representation could be found that would mediate the changing marketplace. At the same time, her narration of the story of debt through familial and sexualized representations highlights the way that the personal continued to pose a challenge to the establishment of market rationality. However, despite the generic distinctions that can be traced, I argue that their shared interest in character provides grounds for the project of reading across genres, and suggest that the cultural history of the Victorian credit economy requires attention to what different genres have in common, as much as how they have diverged.     

Towards ‘Embedded Non-creative Work’? Administration,digitisation and the recorded music industry

Abstract

For contemporary cultural policy, ‘non-creative’ work continues to form a conceptual blindspot: a foil to define and value creativity against. This paper develops existing categories to augment the task-focused notion of ‘embedded creativity’ with a more situated view of work’s cultural and institutional embedding. It first interrogates this ‘embeddedness’, taking a ‘cultural economy’ approach to intermediation and administrative support. Drawing on observations from an in-depth qualitative study of employees in major record labels, the second part articulates the heightened importance of ‘admin’ to recorded music industries, after ‘digital disruption’. Routine bureaucratic labour presents an atypical example, revealing much about the hidden relational and identity work that goes into constructing ‘creative industries’ as such. The intention is not to show that ‘embedded non-creative workers’ are in fact ‘creative’ but, on the contrary, to articulate the distinct contributions and value of support work in this context, questioning a persistent reliance on creative/non-creative dualisms. Policy research would benefit from enriched understanding of culture's assembly in marketable objects, reorienting understandings of ‘cultural’ labour markets and careers, and reimagining the role of traditional cultural ‘administration’ in the contemporary ‘creative economy’.     

Are the global media and entertainment conglomerates having an impact on cultural diversity? A critical assessment of the argument in the case of the film industry

This paper critically examines the dominant discourse on the global media and its impact on cultural diversity. The term cultural diversity suffers from the lack of good definition and criteria to assess its degree and change over time in specific markets. The paper also argues from an economic perspective that the distinctive economic features of the film business has led to market concentration, which, however, is ‘natural’ and does not trigger the application of competition law to rectify it. A particular problem is the assumed link between the market structure and its performance, which is not definitively supported by theory or empirical research. It is argued that the discussion in the media and entertainment studies literature is sometimes based on flawed reasoning and insufficient evidence. It is suggested that we start with the important discussion on what state of cultural diversity cultural policy should strive to achieve.     

Musical memory,heritage and local identity: remembering the popular music past in a European Capital of Culture

This paper explores the relationship between rock music, collective memory and local identity, by focusing on events connected to Liverpool's status as European Capital of Culture 2008. The first part of the paper describes these events and how memories of local rock music were attached to heritage and local identity and mobilised to validate Liverpool as a capital of culture, whilst in turn the city's Capital of Culture status served to validate particular ways of remembering the local musical past. The second part of the paper considers the broader significance of these events by relating them to three pan-European trends in cultural policy: the development of the cultural and heritage industries; the protection and promotion of local culture and identity; and the fostering of cultural diversity and integration. It highlights the general significance of the popular music past for cultural policy in Europe, but also the politics of popular music memory and how it involves a complex and dynamic process of negotiation that relates to cultural policy in particular ways. The paper concludes by arguing that popular music offers a specific and productive focus for research on cultural policy, heritage and local identity in Europe.     

中国现场音乐演出空间特征及成因

以秀动网上的演出信息为数据来源,获取2017年中国现场音乐演出的数据,运用变异系数、香农—威纳指数和ArcGIS可视化表达等方法,分析我国现场音乐演出的空间分布特征并探讨其形成原因。研究发现：①中国现场音乐演出数量在月季分布和演出风格上分布极不均衡。②在区域、省域和城市三个尺度上,中国现场音乐演出的数量和风格分布特征各不相同。③现场音乐演出空间特征是在现场音乐演出基础与市场差异、城市社会经济发展水平、地方音乐根植性与文化包容性以及音乐文化产业相关政策驱动等作用下形成的。     

“The Old Vexed Question:” Divergent Attitudes and Practices in the Sacred Music of Early Ballarat

When gold was discovered at Ballarat in 1851, the peaceful pastoral community was transformed into a rough mining camp. People from all parts of the world came in search of wealth, bringing with them a diversity of cultural and spiritual affiliations. As the musical life of the various denominational groups developed according to specific doctrinal principles and local influences, strong opinions were expressed in the community regarding the place of music in worship. This article looks at the developments in sacred music during the two decades that saw Ballarat transformed into a major city. The strong differences in discourse and practice that were evident between and within particular religious groups form a background for reflecting upon contemporary perceptions of the function of music in worship.     

Imaginary Success?—The Contentious Ascendance of Creativity

This paper posits that a set of “creative industries” centred around cultural practice have played a key role within a dominant “economic imaginary” in recent years. The success and stability of this role is considered, and a coherent position regarding the nature of creativity is outlined. Examination of the “evidence” gathering projects used to bulwark this position, however, reveals how the data which emerge from such projects may no longer appropriately serve to support the position the creative industries have come to occupy within the dominant imaginary. It is argued that this imaginary persists in providing a coherent framework for understanding and for action, however, regardless of the contradictions it contains. A tangible example of this “imaginary success” is briefly considered within the UK context, via an examination of developments around the staging of the European Capital of Culture programme in Liverpool, England in 2008. In this case, it is also argued that apparent contradictions are successfully concealed by dominant positions regarding culture and creativity. In conclusion, some explanations for this state of affairs are considered, and it is argued that the increased attention being paid to cultural creativity may render the continued concealment of these contradictions untenable.     

对中日学校唱歌的发生与发展的思考

音乐作为文化的一个领域,在中日交流中发挥着极其重要的作用。这一点从中日两国近代音乐交流的代表事物－学校唱歌（中国早期称之为学堂乐歌）中即得到反映。就中日两国而言,它体现了与西方音乐相接触时所发生的变迁,即音乐上的“涵化”过程。同时,由于两国社会历史条件、文化经济等方面的差异,因此两国的学校唱歌也有着不同的发展轨迹,对其的研究也正受到应有的重视。     

THE "CREATIVE CLASS" IN THE UK: AN INITIAL ANALYSIS

Richard Florida argues that regional economic outcomes are tied to the underlying conditions that facilitate creativity and diversity. Thus the Creative Class thesis suggests that the ability to attract creativity and to be open to diverse groups of people of different ethnic, racial and lifestyle groups provides distinct advantages to regions in generating innovations, growing and attracting high‐technology industries, and spurring economic growth. In this paper we investigate the extent to which there might be similar processes concerning the relationship between creativity, human capital, and high‐technology industries at work in the UK as in North America. The approach taken is broadly sympathetic to the Creative Class thesis; critical perspectives and reservations from the literature are introduced as appropriate research is focused around the three principal research questions: Where is the creative class located in the UK? What is the impact of quality of place upon this dispersion? What is the connection between the location of the creative class and inequalities in technical and economic outcomes within the UK? To this end, the creative class and its subgroups are defined and identified. We then construct quality of place indicators relating to tolerance, diversity, creativity and cultural opportunity. To these are added measures of public provision and social cohesion. Data are analysed by means of correlations and regression. In general we find that, although the distribution of the creative class is uneven and complex, our results are consistent with the findings of the North American research with the notable exception of technology‐based employment growth. Finally, priorities for further research are discussed. The need to further investigate causality, variations within the creative class itself, and the potential role of qualitative data in this are highlighted, as is the potential fate of “non‐creative” workers and places.     

Remembering the 1960s: popular music and memory in Europe

Following the increasing attention paid to popular music in heritage discourses, this article explores how the popular music culture from the 1960s is remembered in Europe. I discuss the role of heritage organizations, media and the cultural policy of the EU in the construction of a popular music heritage of this period. Furthermore, I examine the ways in which attachments to local, national and European identities are negotiated. To this end, I draw upon interviews with representatives of museums, websites and archives. The article reveals a recurring tension between transnational and local experiences of the 1960s. It is found that media and heritage institutions like museums and archives predominantly have a national and local orientation, although narratives with a European vantage point are now emerging on the internet.     

文化创意在博物馆中的运用

当今时代,随着我国经济的快速发展,生活水平不断提高,人们已不再满足于物质生活,提高文化生活需求的呼声已越来越高。作为文化产业的重要部门,博物馆已逐渐强调其开放性与多样性,增加观众的参与和互动。将其与文化创意相融合已成为文化部门当下最主要的任务和挑战,从而使得博物馆对我国的发展起到更加多元化的社会作用。     

The Geography of Zydeco Music

Zydeco music is a blend of African-American and African- French traditions that developed in southwest Louisiana. Although related to Cajun music, zydeco music has been influenced by Caribbean rhythms and urban blues and jazz, and the music now serves as an important indicator of black Creole ethnic identity. From its origins on the prairies of southwest Louisiana, zydeco music has spread to several other areas of the country, particularly Texas and California. Such diffusion is linked to the World War II era out-migration of black Creole families. While its role as a cultural trail is strongest in the core area, zydeco music fulfills the same function elsewhere. The increasing popularity of this music is attributable to commercial recording, radio broadcasts, and concert tours by zydeco musicians.     

日本泉屋博古馆所见先秦私文书——西周青铜私文书的鼎盛

在日本泉屋博古馆展藏的中国青铜器中,西周青铜私文书的数量和字数超过了商和春秋战国,不仅如此,中国考古出土的青铜铭文器字数和数量,迄今为止,也是以西周居多。西周铸造技术的提高和普及、奴隶制度的高度完善、家庭成员思想观念的转变及留传意识的增强等,是西周青铜私文书的数量、字数以及记事的范围和内容增多的主要原因。西周是青铜私文书发展的鼎盛时期。     

Rhetoric of unity and cultural diversity in the making of European cultural identity

The fundamental aim of the cultural policy of the European Union (EU) is to emphasize the obvious cultural diversity of Europe, while looking for some underlying common elements which unify the various cultures in Europe. Through these common elements, the EU policy produces ‘an imagined cultural community’ of Europe which is ‘united in diversity’, as one of the slogans of the Union states. This discourse characterizes various documents which are essential to the EU cultural policy, such as the Treaty of Lisbon, the European Agenda for Culture and the EU’s decision on the European Capital of Culture program. In addition, the discourse is applied to the production of cultural events in European Capitals of Culture in practice. On all levels of the EU’s cultural policy, the rhetoric of European cultural identity and its ‘unitedness in diversity’ is related with the ideas and practices of fostering common cultural heritage.     

Terr(it)or(ies) of Peace? The Congolese Mining Frontier and the Fight Against “Conflict Minerals”

This article traces the geography of the “conflict minerals” campaign and its impact on artisanal mining in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a region that currently emerges as a pioneer case of traceability and due diligence efforts with regard to the exploitation and trade in tantalum, tungsten and tin. We subsequently analyse the opening and attempted closure of the Congolese resource frontier in the context of recent market reform, and we describe how this process has accompanied a transnational corporate–government nexus bent on monopolising Congo's artisanal 3 T resources. Specifically, we argue how the conflict minerals campaign and its implementation “on the ground” has brought about a harmful, disruptive logic for an artisanal mining sector that is notoriously categorised as unruly, illegal, and informal, but of which upstream stakeholders have in practice been jeopardised by transnational reform. We thus shift the attention from questions on the political economy of “resource wars” towards a deeper understanding of the intersecting spaces of production and regulation that underpin formalisation and traceability of “conflict minerals” in this protracted conflict environment.     

Untangling creativity and art for policy purposes: ethnographic insights on Manchester International Festival and Manchester Day Parade

This paper draws on anthropological fieldwork of a civic parade in Manchester from 2010 to 2012 to argue for engaging with creativity as a process rather than an attribute of a particular sector or individual. It shows how the focus on funding and supporting ‘creative industries’ defined as ‘cinema, television, music, literature, performing arts, heritage and related areas’ actually excludes and diminishes the potential for others to engage with ideas and creative processes. Two major events in Manchester’s cultural calendar – Procession by artist Jeremy Deller, produced by Manchester International Festival and Manchester Day Parade, a council-led civic celebration – both combined community groups with artist input to put large-scale structures and people on the city’s streets. In this ethnographic analysis, I argue that the ‘creativity’ sought from these artists is their adaptive and productive approach to making ideas tangible. By focusing on creativity as a process rather than a character trait, there is even greater potential for stimulating a ‘creative’ city.     

新时期中国文化发展的几个宏观问题研究

改革开放以来,中国共产党的文化理论与政策经历了从“一体化”的文化建设理论与方针到建设“高扬主旋律”的多样化的文化观念与政策的演进;党在知识分子问题上的认识和政策也发生了很大转变,不但认识到知识分子是工人阶级的一部分,是先进生产力的开拓者,而且把市场经济、知识经济、信息时代与知识分子政策密切联系在一起;与此同时,建立在一元化基础上的一体化的文化形态开始解构,并形成了主导文化、大众文化和精英文化三足鼎立的当代中国文化的基本格局。     

Ramadan Blues: Debates in Popular Islam during Ramadan in Amman,Jordan

Within the context of the contemporary Middle East and the post‐Islamic Resurgence, avoiding music has become associated with a rise in religiosity and normative Islam. As a result, residents of Amman, Jordan actively avoid consuming music during Ramadan. A large‐scale survey and ethnographic data, including participant observation with employees in an Islamic bank, confirm that avoiding music is a public ethic of Ramadan that is temporally specific and in wide use during the month. In this article, I argue that the tensions surrounding the debates of music's compatibility with normative Islam are enacted in terms of a conflict between cultural and Islamic authenticities. These tensions are resolved temporarily during Ramadan through altered consumption in which one ethical, “Islamic” framework that regards music as haram, or “forbidden,” eclipses another, more diverse “cultural” framework, and does so largely without inducing crisis or controversy. This is because the two realms are not articulating with each other; rather, claims of a normative Islamic authenticity overwhelm the possibilities for a more diverse cultural authenticity. Outside of Ramadan, however, these two competing authenticities often spark tensions and conflicts between family members, neighbors, and coworkers. This article concludes by exploring the implications of ordering morality for religious life in this assertive, even illiberal fashion for diversity in belief and practice.     

基于文化创意产业的历史街区提升改造研究——以南锣鼓巷为例

本文以南锣鼓巷为例,剖析了基于文化创意产业的历史街区改造与提升方式。分析结果显示:在历史街区发展文化创意产业是一种新型的改造与提升方式,二者关系密切,互利共生;发展文化创意产业需以不破坏历史街区风貌为前提,主要应该注意开店位置、扰民现象、墙体的颜色、门窗的颜色及质地、遮阳棚放置、空调等、灯光强度等因素;发展本地文化为主要创意来源的文化创意产业是避免"千城一面"的绝佳途径,不仅可以传承保护当地文化特色传统,还可以有效避免其他城市或地区的抄袭和复制。     

Geographies of mediation: Market development and the rural broker in Maharashtra, India

This paper explicates the role of community-level intermediaries in post-liberalized economic sectors. Focusing on nascent commercial markets for improved, smokeless cookstoves in southwestern Maharashtra, I describe how development is encountered by three analytic groups – artisans, female stove users and NGO field officers. This study highlights patterns of strategic intermediary action, or forms of brokering, used to negotiate the commercialization process for individuals involved in the fabrication, distribution and use of improved cookstoves. A close analysis of the mediating agent can strengthen theories on how individuals and communities encounter sector privatization and state retrenchment. This study reveals a diverse set of brokering activities and actors, and shows how intermediaries combine tasks associated with traditional conceptions of the political fixer and market broker by working within and between groups of market, village and state operatives to transform market supply chains. Mediating agents coordinate counter regulating activities within civil society in the absence of heavy state intervention and play a crucial role in activating and connecting community interests to latent neoliberal state resources.