Minor Arts and Heritage

Arts and Culture: Policy and Politics Course 

Code: ACU3005 
Course period: 1 
ECTS credits of this course: 12 
Coordinator: Guido Goossens

This is a joint course with the interfaculty minor Art, Law and Policy Making.

Full course description

What is art? What makes good art? Who decides what is good art? Is taste in art strictly subjective? Why and how should the government support or not support art and culture: which art, whose culture? How about cultural participation? Is art for the elite or for everyone? What are values of art and culture? Can art be used as an instrument, for instance to enhance social inclusion? What are possible economic benefits for governments of supporting arts and culture?

These are some of the questions tackled in this introductory course in Cultural Politics, that is the public policy field covering the arts and heritage. Highly distinctive is the mix between need to-know cultural theory, such as Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological theory on taste or Richard Florida’s theory of the creative city, and practice-based encounters with professionals from the cultural sector during workshop-like lectures and fieldtrips. The course includes both in-class and in-situ tutorials, and together with a team of fellow students you will work on a practice-based research project.

Course objectives

At the end of this course you will be able to: 

• demonstrate knowledge of basic theories and concepts in cultural politics; 
• apply these theories and concepts to practical cases from the cultural sector;
• write an academic paper in which you critically reflect on these theories and concepts and their application in professional cultural practice; 
• work together in a team on a practice-based research project.

Teaching methods: lectures, tutorials, fieldtrips

Assessment: individual paper, group paper, presentation, participation

Keywords: art, culture, cultural policy, cultural theory, art theory, art economy, museums, heritage, cultural sector

Prerequisites: n/a

A maximum number of 60 students will be admitted.

Wicked problems: current issues in Policy, Art and Law

Course code: ACU3910 
Course period: 3 ECTS 
Credits of this course: 6 
Coordinator: Denise Petzold, FASoS (tentative)

This is a joint course with the interfaculty minor Art, Law and Policy Making.

Full course description 
Cultural institutions today are at the heart of social, political, ethical and legal issues. How to deal with objects that were taken from communities or individual owners under circumstances that we currently find unacceptable? This question includes objects from former colonies, dependencies and territories under foreign occupation. When and to whom should objects be returned that came from former colonies and territories under foreign occupation (post-colonial challenges)? What to do with museum objects that have been taken from their owners in suspect or even unacceptable circumstances (looting by the Soviets and Nazis)? What to do with human remains (including objects made from human remains) that have entered museum collections? What is reparation, restitution and repatriation, and whose responsibility is it to implement it? How to respond to the call for cultural institutions to take a leading role in social justice matters? What is the role of ICOM in this case, and what is the role of governments in the case of government controlled museums?

This course focuses on three core wicked problems in the policy, art and law field. We question exhibitions in situations of coloniality, provenance research and restitution. These topics will be explored in relation to a particular case study. The course takes an interdisciplinary approach and builds on perspectives coming from academic fields such as (art) history, sociology, pedagogy, philosophy, law and critical museology as well as professional practices such as conservation, curatorship, policy, and education.

Course objectives

At the end of the course you will be able to:

• Demonstrate advanced knowledge of and insight into important issues in the fields of policy, politics of arts and heritage, museum studies, cultural education or curatorship related to the themes of the course; 
• Identify relevant stakeholders, actors and factors in diverse practices related to arts and heritage research; 
• Apply the knowledge gained on a practical case study.

Teaching methods: Lectures, workshops, fieldtrip

Assessment: participation, the students create a podcast critically reflecting on a given case study from the three perspectives (art, law, policy)

Keywords: museums and coloniality, dissonant heritage, reparation, restitution, repatriation, decolonizing the museum

Prerequisites 
Registration for ACU3910 is only allowed together with registration for modules ACU3005 in period 1 and ACU3004 (minor Arts & Heritage) or IER3004+MIN0002 (Interfaculty minor Art, Law and Policy Making) in period 2 or for MA AC Premaster students. The course is also open for students of the minor program ‘Erfgoed en Publiek’ of the Radboud University Nijmegen. A maximum number of 60 students will be admitted.