Mapping the Middle East from Within: (Counter‐)Cartographies of an Imperialist Construction

Abstract: The “Middle East” is a readily accepted geographical category throughout much of the world. However, within this ambiguous geographic entity, both the term and the idea of the “Middle East” are often rejected as western‐imperialist constructs. Through a critical examination of an extensive sample of maps produced within several Arab states of the “Middle East”, I found that the regional designation “Middle East” is nearly nonexistent, while the Arab Homeland is unequivocally a more common regional category. However, the “Middle East” did occasionally appear in a few maps. This paper provides an explanatory examination of the normative cartographic discourses in this region, and more focused analysis of the atypical maps of the “Middle East”. My analyses render unique insights into how the “Middle East” is both contested and re‐created from within a western‐imperialist defined region.     

日本早期诗僧的文化解读

奈良平安时期的日本诗僧包括“披着袈裟”的出家僧侣和“不披袈裟”的居士或准居士诗人。日本诗僧群体的产生不仅与唐代盛行的诗僧文化密切相关,还受到佛经中诗偈的潜在熏陶。佛教被提升到日本国家宗教的高度后,日本诗僧亦表现出亦佛亦俗、亦僧亦士的双重性人格。     

On the cultural blessings of fixed book prices

The system of fixed book prices whereby publishers set the price customers pay at the bookstore is very common in Europe and, according to the European Parliament, it is a means of unique cultural importance. For this reason, it is considered to more than outweigh any negative effects on the economic efficiency of such regulations. The main conclusion of this article, however, is that it is quite hard to find convincing evidence, either theoretical or empirical, that fixed book pricing is better, even as a cultural means, than free book pricing.     

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL INCLUSION IN BRITAIN

This paper attempts to distinguish the different meanings of “audience development” and “social inclusion” – two areas receiving increasing attention in British cultural policy – by discussing their overlap and close relation to “access”. These policy areas are fraught with inherent contradictions when examined in the light of sociological theories on culture. Consumption skills, the level of which is determined socio‐economically, and the function of culture for distinction suggest problems and paradoxes for audience development and social inclusion. Discussion on representation in culture, which can work to institutionalise inequality, also leads to a call for a “target‐driven” approach to these areas. This would be fundamentally different from the dominant “product‐led” approach that tries to leave the core product intact whilst making changes in presentation. To become truly inclusive is a most formidable challenge for cultural organisations as it inevitably brings them into a wholesale review of their core products.     

Ethnic boundaries in American,Dutch, and German national literary policies, 1965–2005

This article addresses the extent and ways in which ethnic diversity has been part of American, Dutch and German national literary policy from 1965 until 2005. By analyzing the content of policy documents of the National Endowment of the Arts and the Dutch and German Literary Fund, I found that ethnic boundaries were weak in the USA, moderate in the Netherlands and strong in Germany. First, national literary policy organizations made much, moderate and little use of ethnic discourse respectively. Cross‐national and longitudinal variations were closely related to the need for political legitimacy. Second, ethnic minority granters and grantees were (relatively) the least underrepresented by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Dutch Literary Fund, while the German Literary Fund included hardly any ethnic minority panelists or authors. The differences in the representation of ethnic minorities could largely be accounted for by demographics and variations in the need for legitimacy.     

Notes from a French perspective

This article uses John Kingdon's “multiple streams” model of the policy process to explore the role of French public intellectuals in processes of cultural and educational policy formation. The relative autonomy attributed by Kingdon to the “primeval soup” of ideas constituted by the policy stream (as distinct from the “problems” and “politics” streams posited by his model) provides the basis for this exploration. However, Kingdon's model is not developed with any reference to France, public intellectuals or cultural policy. The corresponding adjustments required are themselves enlightening. Public intellectuals must thus be distinguished from policy experts. They are characterised by their public visibility, the broad frame of reference that they bring to bear on the issues of the moment, certain limitations in technical expertise, and a capacity not simply to work through policy alternatives, but also to project their own counter‐agendas. These issues are explored particularly in relation to a selection of policy reports produced by public intellectuals.     

Theoretical reflections

The article starts with a discussion about the frequent statement that culture is a marginal area in politics. It proceeds with an analysis of the phenomenon and concept of “the cultural turn” and its possible consequences for cultural democracy. Then there follows a reflection on the potential power of religion and culture in political developments. After these introductory sections I present and discuss what I call five “democracy dimensions” of cultural policy: norms and ideologies; distribution of economic resources; institutional structures and decision‐making procedures; agents and interests in the policy‐making process; and access to and participation in cultural life. The conclusion is that under certain circumstances culture may mobilise huge masses of people in political actions but this is unlikely to happen in Western European democracies where culture in a long historical process has been privatised and isolated from big politics by the establishment of a specific sphere with its own structures, norms, logics and discourses. It is questionable if cultural policies will be more democratic under the reign of global capitalism and new liberalism. “The cultural turn” is an ambivalent phenomenon which cannot by itself bring about more cultural democracy. The future of cultural democracy cannot be decided for by cultural life or the cultural policy system themselves, it is dependent on what will happen to democracy as a total political system, of which cultural policy is only a small part.     

International treaties and art

International treaties shape the legal context for the arts, provide policy tools for political ends, and reveal roles of the arts in state identity. Culture‐specific instruments, general agreements with cultural provisions, general agreements without culture‐specific provisions, and general statements of principle are all pertinent. Since 1990, treaties have intervened in the global division of labor and the entry of works into the art market, forced transformations of domestic law, and illuminated ways in which differences in legal cultures are valuable for those who would break the law. Treaties highlight complexities of national identity, exacerbate national/regional tensions, support restitution, and draw attention to human rights issues. Conflicts over art have also become an explicit part of the world of foreign policy.     

THE CRISIS OF CULTURE AND THE CULTURE OF CRISIS

“Crisis” in cultural policy is a widespread phenomenon, whose meaning can be exemplified in case of opera. The Berlin, Paris and London opera houses hit a crisis at the end of the twentieth century. At the core of these crises and the discussions surrounding them were funding problems – which were also a point of academic interest. But beyond that, opera seemed to be an arena of discourse where creeping conflicts in the political system and society were debated as fundamental crises of a most cherished cultural heritage. This paper examines how, in these cases, “crisis” proves to be a cultural phenomenon in itself, displaying a symbolic and functional character rather than being defined by references to specific matters and qualities.     

Can national cultural policy approaches be used for sub‐national comparisons? An analysis of the Québec and Ontario experiences in Canada

There has been relatively little comparative research undertaken on sub‐national cultural policy. This article aims to contribute to the development of sub‐national comparative studies by assessing the utility of national cultural policy approaches for comparative research at the sub‐national level in Canada. Drawing on studies of national cultural policy, the authors develop three main approaches to cultural policy and administration – the French, British and hybrid approaches – and explore their applicability to the origin and evolution of cultural policy and administration in the Canadian provinces of Québec and Ontario. This exploratory research suggests there is room for optimism in drawing on national‐level experiences to undertake sub‐national comparative cultural policy research, particularly for comparisons over broad time periods. The study also suggests that it will be important in subsequent research to further elaborate the models for present‐day comparative analysis and to refine and adapt them to reflect specificities at the provincial level of analysis.