Aspects Of Canadian Cultural Policy

This book offers a comprehensive overview of Canadian cultural policy and research, at a time of transition and redefinition, to establish a dialogue between conventional and emerging foundations. Taking a historical view, the book informs insights on current trends in policy and explores global debates underpinning cultural policy studies within a local context. The book first acknowledges what Canadian cultural policy research conventionally recognizes and refers to in terms of institutions, values, and debates, before moving on to take stock of the transformations that are continuing to reshape Canadian cultural policy in terms of values, orientations, actors, and institutions. With a focus on all levels of government-- federal, provincial, and local -- the book also centers on Indigenous arts policies and practices. This systematic and inclusive volume will appeal to academic researchers, graduate students, managers of arts and culture programs and institutions, and in the areas of cultural policy, public administration, political science, cultural studies, film and media studies, theatre and performance, and museum studies.

How do Canadian provincial and territorial governments intervene in the cultural and artistic lives of their citizens? What changes and influences shaped the origin of these policies and their implementation? On what foundations were policies based, and on what foundations are they based today? How have governments defined the concepts of culture and of cultural policy over time? What are the objectives and outcomes of their policies, and what instruments do they use to pursue them? Answers to these questions are multiple and complex, partly as a result of the unique historical context of each province and territory, and partly because of the various objectives of successive governments, and the values and identities of their citizens. Cultural Policy: Origins, Evolution, and Implementation in Canada’s Provinces and Territories offers a comprehensive history of subnational cultural policies, including the institutionalization and instrumentalization of culture by provincial and territorial governments; government cultural objectives and outcomes; the role of departments, Crown corporations, other government organizations, and major public institutions in the cultural domain; and the development, dissemination, and impact of subnational cultural policy interventions. Published in English.

Many scholars, practitioners, and policy-makers in the cultural sector argue that Canadian cultural policy is at a crossroads: that the environment for cultural policy-making has evolved substantially and that traditional rationales for state intervention no longer apply. The concept of cultural citizenship is a relative newcomer to the cultural policy landscape, and offers a potentially compelling alternative rationale for government intervention in the cultural sector. Likewise, the articulation and use of cultural indicators and of governance concepts are also new arrivals, emerging as potentially powerful tools for policy and program development. Accounting for Culture is a unique collection of essays from leading Canadian and international scholars that critically examines cultural citizenship, cultural indicators, and governance in the context of evolving cultural practices and cultural policy-making. It will be of great interest to scholars of cultural policy, communications, cultural studies, and public administration alike.