Creating the cultures of the future: cultural strategy,policy and institutions in Gramsci

Gramsci’s writings have rarely been discussed and used systematically by scholars in cultural policy studies, despite the fact that in cultural studies, from which the field emerged, Gramsci had been a major source of theoretical concepts. Cultural policy studies were, in fact, theorised as an anti-Gramscian project between the late 1980s and the early 1990s, when a group of scholars based in Australia advocated a major political and theoretical reorientation of cultural studies away from hegemony theory and radical politicisation, and towards reformist–technocratic engagement with the policy concerns of contemporary government and business. Their criticism of the ‘Gramscian tradition’ as inadequate for the study of cultural policy and institutions has remained largely unexamined in any detail for almost 20 years and seems to have had a significant role in the subsequent neglect of Gramsci’s contribution in this area of study. This essay, consisting of three parts, is an attempt to challenge such criticism and provide an analysis of Gramsci’s writings, with the aim of proposing a more systematic contribution of Gramsci’s work to the theoretical development of cultural policy studies. In Part I, I question the use of the notion of ‘Gramscian tradition’ made by its critics, and challenge the claim that it was inadequate for the study of cultural policy and institutions. In Parts II and III, I consider Gramsci’s specific writings on questions of cultural strategy, policy and institutions, which have so far been overlooked by scholars, arguing that they provide further analytical insights to those offered by his more general concepts. More specifically, in Part II, I consider Gramsci’s pre-prison writings and political practice in relation to questions of cultural strategy and institutions. I argue that the analysis of these early texts, which were written in the years in which Gramsci was active in party organisation and leadership, is fundamental not only for understanding the nature of Gramsci’s early and continued involvement with questions of cultural strategy and institutions, but also as a key for deciphering and interpreting cultural policy themes that he later developed in the prison notebooks, and which originated in earlier debates. Finally, in Part III, I carry out a detailed analysis of Gramsci’s prison notes on questions of cultural strategy, policy and institutions, which enrich the theoretical underpinnings for critical frameworks of analysis as well as for radical practices of cultural strategy, cultural policy-making and cultural organisation. I then answer the question of whether Gramsci’s insights amount to a theory of cultural policy.     

Palynological interpretation of the Early Neolithic coastal open-air site at Sa Punta (central-western Sardinia,Italy)

The major goal of the present study has been to assess the ecological context of the Early Neolithic settlement under excavation in the coastal site of Sa Punta-Marceddì (Terralba, Sardinia, Italy) where a trench of Neolithic age has been brought to light. Based on the origins of the site's organic fossiliferous content, the purpose of this work is to achieve an understanding of: 1) the reasons why this location was chosen by EN man and 2) its functions. This research has enabled us to suggest a human paleoecological scenario over the course of the last three centuries of the 6th millennium BC in the inland area of the Oristano Gulf. On the basis of pollen spectra and the phytolith morphologies recognised, it is suggested that herbaceous vegetation covered the alluvial plain. Arable agriculture does not seem to have been practiced on the site, but the record of coprophilous fungi and endoparasites, along with clues that there were burning practices, suggest livestock farming activity. To date, a univocal interpretation of the function of this trench is still lacking. However, it is the oldest and the only evidence in Sardinia of a remarkable transformation of an open-air space due to settlement.     

Multicentric osteosarcoma associated with DISH,in a 19th century burial from England

Osteosarcoma is a rare type of malignant neoplasm that is most frequent in adolescents and young adults although it can develop at any age. It can metastasize from a primary site in bone to other bones and soft tissues. Usually the disorder causes a single bone‐forming lesion (unicentric) but some cases have multicentric, bone‐forming lesions. Some of these lesions develop at different sites at different times. In a second variant of multicentric osteosarcoma, synchronous bone‐forming lesions develop at multiple sites. Distinguishing between these two types of multicentric osteosarcoma is challenging in a clinical context and the criteria for doing so are unlikely to be met in an archaeological burial. Wolverhampton burial HB 39 was excavated from an early‐nineteenth century cemetery site in England. It consists of the incomplete skeleton of an adult male of at least 45 years of age with multicentric osteosarcoma. The individual represented by this burial also had diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). Three of the bone‐forming lesions associated with osteosarcoma developed on the bony outgrowths related to DISH. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A non-invasive study of Roman Age mosaic glass tesserae by means of Raman spectroscopy

Ancient mosaic tesserae are a range of materials of very varied and complex nature, including pottery, stone and glass. Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool for the analysis of all these kinds of materials. In the particular case of glasses, this technique can be used both for a study of surface weathering and for the characterization of bulk structure, but it has not yet been extensively used for the characterization of mosaic glass tesserae. We carried out Raman analyses on a set of Roman and Late Antiquity period mosaic glass samples, which allowed a good characterization of both the glass matrix and the crystalline inclusions. All the samples show the typical Raman signatures of soda-lime-silicate glasses. Several crystalline phases were also identified, being relics of raw materials used during the glass manufacturing process, such as quartz and feldspars, or linked to the glass color/opacification, such as bindheimite and cuprite. The analyses also led to the identification in some blue, turquoise and green tesserae of calcium antimonate, whose Raman signature has only recently been recognized in the scientific literature on mosaic glasses. Some emphasis is given to the analysis of red lead-containing tesserae, colored with Cu⁺ ions or even Cu⁰ (or Au⁰) metal nanoparticles. Samples with peculiar compositions, as well as “modern” (and restoration) samples, could quite easily be distinguished from the ancient ones by their Raman spectra.     

Lepromatous leprosy in an early mediaeval cemetery in Central Italy (Morrione, Campochiaro, Molise, 6th–8th century AD)

The aim of this study is to investigate and discuss the cases of leprosy diagnosed on two skeletal individuals from an early mediaeval necropolis at Morrione (Campochiaro, Molise, Central Italy), dated to the 6th–8th century AD. At present only two inhumation areas have been found in Campochiaro: one at Morrione and the other at Vicenne. Since no signs of a stable settlement or built-up area have been found, it seems the cemeteries can be attributed to a semi-nomadic Lombard-Avar group. This site may have represented a military outpost to control the area against Byzantine invasions. The skeletons of a female (40–46 years) and a male (50–55 years), from tombs 68 and 108, revealed several bony changes indicative of leprosy with clear rhino-maxillary syndrome in both specimens. There is a scarcity of information in the osteoarchaeological literature of leprosy in ancient Italy. The significance of these cases is that they add to an understanding of the history of the disease in Italy and to the data set necessary to understand the epidemiological dynamics in the Mediterranean basin during the ancient period.     

A generational attitude: young adults facing the economic crisis in Milan

Abstract

For almost 10 years there has been talk of the economic crisis affecting the European area, with more evident effects in the Mediterranean countries. Yet the expression ‘economic crisis’ has become too wide and blurred to be useful for describing how the current socio-economic conjuncture is affecting different categories of young people in different ways. Precariousness and reduced job opportunities, with their consequences for social mobility, constitute only the more explicit and raw evidence of the lived experience of the crisis among young people. Although families remain the all-solving institution, the consequences of the crisis are diversified according to the economic, cultural and social capital of each individual, to gender and generation position, and to subjective and contextualized perceptions. This article presents research conducted to investigate how young people living in the urban area of Milan locate, react, readapt and reinvent themselves in the present economic context by analysing their aspirations, expectations and practices. We develop a comparative analysis of the main structural bias (gender, education, social class position) in order to shed light on the effects and perceptions of the crisis among young people in the city of Milan.     

Feminist Mobilization,Claims Making and Policy Change: An Introduction

More than two decades after the Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, gender equality policies have not delivered in the ways envisaged. This special cluster of articles seeks to understand why. Women's mobilization and feminist activism was central to the Beijing process and the advocacy that followed, yet their influence on policy processes seems constrained in the current context of global political and economic changes. The articles in this cluster explore the negotiations between different actors, institutions and discourses — and the tensions and contradictions therein — as explanations for why certain domains of women's rights remain at the margins of political agendas and others receive more attention. Specifically, why have women's labour rights and the demands of the unpaid care economy failed to gain policy traction? The articles point to the importance of political practice, which includes the ‘framing’ of policy demands as compelling narratives, engagement with state entities and the forming and managing of alliances. There are trade‐offs inherent in each of these elements, for example, between transformative gender equality objectives and the pragmatic impulse to frame claims in less politically and socially threatening ways. Further, in a context of increasing globalization, mobilization is required at multiple levels — from the local to the transnational. The articles thus seek to deepen our understanding of how policy change for women's rights occurs.     

Protecting Critical Assets: The r-Interdiction Median Problem with Fortification

Many systems contain bottlenecks, critical linkages, and key facilities. Such components, when lost due to a man-made or natural disaster, may imperil a system in performing its intended function. This article focuses on reducing the impact of an intentional strike against a supply system where supply facilities can be fortified in order to prevent such events. It is assumed that fortification resources are limited and must be used in the most efficient manner. In a recent article, Church, Scaparra, and Middleton (2004) introduced the r-interdiction median problem, which can be used to identify the most important facilities in a supply system. In this article, we extend that model to address the option of fortifying such sites against possible interdiction. We present a new integer-linear programming model that optimally allocates fortification resources in order to minimize the impact of interdiction. Computational results are presented in using this model for several hypothetical problems. We also discuss the general properties of fortification and demonstrate that the presence of fortification can impact which system elements are considered critical.     

Effectiveness of Phosphocitrate as Salt Crystallization Inhibitor in Porous Materials: Case Study of the Roman Mosaic of Orpheus and the Beasts (Perugia,Italy)

Salt crystallization in porous materials constitutes one of the major causes of decay of buildings/archaeological sites in a wide range of environments. Desalination is among the most common methodologies of conservative treatment for salt decay. However, classic desalination techniques might be not suitable for long-term conservation. During the past decade interest has been an increasing towards crystallization inhibitors as a new means of controlling crystallization damage. This study deals with the first in-field application of an environment-friendly inhibitor system— phosphocitrate (PC). In particular, the case study of the Roman mosaic of Orpheus and the Beasts in Perugia (Italy) is presented. The inhibitor is completely soluble in water or alcohol, non-toxic, and easy to apply, thus enabling its use in accordance with the volatile organic compounds emission control and safety during the conservation works. Relevant samples from control and treated mosaic areas were collected and analyzed comparatively by means of Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectrometry to study the potential of the inhibitor system in preventing/controlling salt damage in such archaeological site.     

Single carcass of Mammuthus primigenius with lithic artifacts in the Upper Pleistocene of northern Italy

This paper presents the find of a Mammuthus primigenius carcass and associated Mousterian implements from the Last Glacial site of Asolo, in north-eastern Italy. We review the exploitation of proboscidean carcasses at Lower and Middle Paleolithic sites of Africa, Europe and the Levant, including evidence of elephant killing, and summarize recent research on hafting and use of Mousterian points as spearheads already before the end of the Middle Pleistocene. The bones and implements from Asolo are described in detail; we provide information on other Italian sites with mammoth remains and on the Mousterian record of the north-eastern quadrant of the peninsula. A possible impact fracture has been detected on a Levallois point from Asolo; its interpretation is based on comparisons to similar scars found on spear points of verified function from archaeological sites of later age, and on experimental material. We conclude that the evidence of Asolo is consistent with information from a number of Western European sites supporting a picture of Neanderthals as capable hunters of large game, such as woolly mammoth.