Cultural democracy: an ecological and capabilities approach

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been sustained critique of the conceptual and normative foundations of UK cultural policy – the paternalism of ‘excellence and access’ and the neoliberal logic of ‘creative industries’. Whilst these critiques are well established, there is little work offering alternative foundations. This paper makes a contribution to this task. It does so in three ways. Firstly, by identifying ‘cultural democracy’ as a key discourse offering a counter-formulation of what the aims of cultural policy could and should be, and analysing uses of this term, it highlights the need to more effectively conceptualize cultural opportunity. Secondly, drawing on research with one UK-based initiative, Get Creative, the paper identifies a particularly consequential aspect of cultural opportunity: its ecological nature. Thirdly, it shows that the capabilities approach to human development provides ideas with the potential to help build new conceptual and normative foundations for cultural policy. Proposing a distinctive account of cultural democracy characterized by systemic support for cultural capabilities, the paper concludes by indicating the implications this may have for research, policy and practice.     

The Beasts at Large – Perennial Questions and New Paradigms for Caribbean Translocation Research. Part I: Ethnozoogeography of Mammals

ABSTRACT

While researchers have long appreciated that mammal introductions were an important aspect of Amerindian-environment interaction in the prehistoric Caribbean, persistent questions about dispersal routes, animal management practices, possible domestication, and ritual use remain unresolved. In this three-article series, offered as a model approach for prehistoric translocation studies, I review the present state of knowledge on pre-Columbian Caribbean mammal translocations, focusing on three fundamental areas: (1) ethnozoogeographic distributions; (2) the sociocultural significance of translocated fauna; and (3) the ecological impact of introduced species. Here, in Part I, I consider species introduction patterns in relation to dispersal modes, the need to distinguish live introductions from the import of animal products, and the importance of direct-dating specimens to establish translocation chronology. In subsequent papers I explore topics II and III, advocating for a holistic approach to translocation research that integrates all three investigative areas to address larger questions about the role of introduced mammals in island society and ecology and their impact on human adaptation to the landscape. This first paper provides foundations for an ensuing final discussion in which I argue that intentional faunal translocation is sufficiently robust as a behavioural phenomenon across time and space to warrant theoretical treatment from an evolutionary perspective.