Norwegian cultural policy—A civilising mission? The Cultural Rucksack and abstract faith in the transforming powers of the arts

Bjørnsen, Egil

doi:10.1016/j.poetic.2012.05.005

Cited by 28 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 17 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In Scotland, rates of cultural participation are monitored through the Scottish Household Survey (Scottish Government, 2009) (Stevenson, 2016;Bjørnsen, 2012;Shiner, 2001). Indeed, when asked why participation with culture should be encouraged, interviewees tended to speak of the potential for "life-changing experiences" (Interviewee 38) and "meaningful transformational engagement" (Interviewee 12).…”

Section: Searching For a Cultural Non-participantmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cultural non-participant: critical logics and discursive subject identities

Stevenson

2019

AAM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The existence of so-called non-participants is a cultural policy problem in the UK and beyond. Yet, the very notion of a cultural non-participant seems nonsensical against the palpable evidence of lived experience. The purpose of this paper is to understand “who” a cultural non-participant is by first comprehending “what” the cultural non-participant is and why it exists. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on primary data generated in the form of 40 in-depth qualitative interviews, this paper employs a discursive methodology to explore the critical logics (Howarth, 2010) that underlie the problem representation (Bacchi, 2009) of cultural non-participation and in particular the discursive subject identity of the cultural non-participant. Findings Beginning with a discussion about how cultural non-participants are represented as socially deprived and hard to reach, the paper moves on to highlight how they are also presumed to lack knowledge and understanding about what they are rejecting. Their supposed flawed subjectivity is then contrasted with the desirable model of agency claimed by the cultural professionals who seek to change the cultural participation patterns of others. The paper concludes with a consideration of how the existence of the cultural non-participant subject identity limits the extent to which those labelled as such can meaningfully contribute to the field of cultural policy and obscures the extent to which such individuals are culturally disenfranchised. Research limitations/implications Because of the chosen research approach and the geographical limitations to the data generation, the research makes no claim to generalisability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the discursive logics identified at alternative discursive sites. Practical implications This paper proposes a change in the language used by cultural professionals accompanied by changes in practice that abandoning the identity of the cultural non-participant would demand. Originality/value This paper challenges a taken for granted assumption that cultural non-participants exist “in the real”.

show abstract

Section: Searching For a Cultural Non-participantmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cultural non-participant: critical logics and discursive subject identities

Stevenson

2019

AAM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Bildung can thus be understood as human growth processes that are directed both towards people’s inner selves and at how they relate to their surroundings. It is important to stress that such a concept is key in a general education context, an arts education context (Illeris, 2010) and as a rationale behind the democratisation of the arts more generally (Bjørnsen, 2012). In one form, the growth processes contained in the term Bildung can be perceived to come about through a certain knowledge handed down by experts and educators who are sharing a canonised cultural heritage, very much in the spirit of Mathew Arnold’s ideas that have had a certain cultural policy influence in the UK (Arnold, 1935; Bennett, 2005).…”

Section: Bildung Pedagogy and Access To Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Clarke et al (2010), music education in England was originally initiated in response to what was seen as the “degenerate” influence of popular music (p. 151), and can thus be perceived to form part of what has been termed a civilising mission (Bennett, 1997; Bjørnsen, 2012). Consequently, music education focused on children leaving school with “knowledge of the ‘great’ composers, and the ability to sing in tune and read notation” (Clarke et al, 2010, p. 151).…”

Section: Manifestations Of Bildung In English Music Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Music in our lives: Using the concept of “Bildung” to understand the role of music education policy in England

Bjørnsen

Woddis

2019

Research Studies in Music Education

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article considers whether the German concept of “ Bildung”, meaning human personal growth—a term not often used in English debates about culture or education—can help in understanding differing pedagogical and philosophical approaches to recent music education policy in England. It explores connections between two conceptions of Bildung: “object-oriented” and “subject-oriented”; two key approaches to education: “traditional” and “progressive”; and two models of cultural policy: cultural democracy and democratisation of culture, in explaining one of the significant debates in music pedagogy about how to engage children and young people in music education. In considering these questions, the article examines recent developments in the provision of music education in the English school system, particularly the National Plan for Music Education, Music Education Hubs and the independent Musical Futures initiative. We conclude that recent government policies incorporate ideas of the authority of teachers and a musical canon, while other approaches give more priority to children’s own musical references and activity. Our three related theories shed light on this continuing debate about value and engagement in music education, and on the place of children and young people in their musical learning.

show abstract

“…Object-oriented bildung is based on the premise of the 'educational potential of legitimate/elite fine art' for children. In certain initiatives, culture is defined as something specifically related to a narrow interpretation of fine art (Bjørnsen, 2012). Thus, culture education is narrowed down to acting in a specific way: "being cultural".…”

Section: Two Approaches To Bildungmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Being Cultural’ Versus‘Cultural Beings’ –general design education

Digranes¹

2018

Proceedings of DRS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The design and design education professions-also known as the 'making professions'-have a short history of conducting research, which can be understood as the process by which they establish their professional identity. There seems to be a shift in both the content of design and studio practice from solely creating products to thinking about design as a step towards improving society as a whole. This change is also seen in design education in primary and secondary education. The design professions' justification of purpose, which is that design is a driving force in the development of an inclusive and sustainable society, is mirrored in the debate about the content and justification of design education in schools. However, schools across Europe outsource art and design education to external artists, which has led to culture and creativity programmes. The decision to utilise outsourcing can be questioned in terms of how research shows that it can erode the national repertoire of values and impact the evaluation criteria and collective considerations attained through the knowledge, skills and attitudes formed in teacher-led workshop practice in design.

show abstract

Norwegian cultural policy—A civilising mission? The Cultural Rucksack and abstract faith in the transforming powers of the arts

Cited by 28 publications

References 17 publications

The cultural non-participant: critical logics and discursive subject identities

The cultural non-participant: critical logics and discursive subject identities

Music in our lives: Using the concept of “Bildung” to understand the role of music education policy in England

‘Being Cultural’ Versus‘Cultural Beings’ –general design education

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About