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National Cultural Canons as a Cultural Policy Response to Globalisation

Europe

Chapeau : The Council of Europe/ERICarts "Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe, 10th edition", 2009 is a web-based and permanently updated information and monitoring system of national cultural policies in Europe.

Source : Culture Europe International (http://www.culture-europe-international.org)
01 49 40 72 46 - contact@culture-europe-international.org
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Rubrique : Revue de presse

du 11/11/2009 00:00 au 11/02/2010 00:00
Paris 75007 France (Ile-de-France)



Texte : Par PETER DUELUND
The Cultural Policies Compendium
(extracts)

(...)Everywhere in the world people are protesting the de-territorialising effects of globalisation and call for a revitalisation of nationalism as a defence against a possible loss of identity.(...)

The national dimension of cultural policy has been strengthened in recent years. In Great Britain, the New Labour and political movements on the left proposed 'progressive nationalism' as a response to the cultural policies of Anglo-Saxon conservatives and their nationalist investments in social and cultural discussions. France gave birth to a new Ministry for Immigration and National Identity. Poland witnessed the creation of a new national self-awareness built on its Catholic faith. In Serbia, radical neo-nationalist movements have been nourished by myths and propelled by demands to legitimise the return of lost territories.

At the same time, the increasing importance of the link between identity and nation within defined borders has generated protests both in majority populations and in ethnic minority groups. In Turkey several hundred thousand people participated in protests because they fear a resuscitation of Islamic nationalism. 2006 saw one of the most severe crises in post-war Danish foreign policy when a newspaper published caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed causing violent reactions among the faithful.(...)

Against this background, national cultural canons are being introduced as a cultural policy response to globalisation, immigration, multiculturalism, cultural relativism and as a means to revitalise national identity and social cohesion.

For example, in April 2005, the Danish Minister of Culture, Brian Mikkelsen, appointed 7 canon committees corresponding to the 7 main art forms within the Ministry's remit: literature, music, performing arts, film, architecture, visual arts, design and crafts. These committees were responsible for selecting works to be included in the Danish Cultural Canon http://www.kum.dk/kulturkanon/english.

The Danish Cultural Canon was published and circulated by the Ministry in 2006- 2007. It was created as "a collection and presentation of the greatest, most important works of Denmark's cultural heritage". (...) In total, 175,000 copies have been printed, 150,000 of which will be distributed free to libraries, etc. (...)

In other countries, such as the Netherlands, the Dutch Cultural Canon (http://www.entoen.nu/) was launched in 2006, shedding many years of a predominantly multiculturalists perspective. The Canon project was initiated as a response to a charge that all segments of the population suffered from a lack of knowledge of the nation's history and culture. The Minister of Education, Culture and Science established the Van Oostrom Commission to provide advice on the shape and content of the Canon.

In the same year, the Dutch Service for International Cultural Activities (SICA) and the European Network of National Cultural Institutes (EUNIC) organised a discussion around the idea of creating a European Cultural Canon. The aim was to initiate a discussion on the cultural policy potential and implications of such a project, to address questions of whether it is desirable from a political and artistic point of view and to determine its consequences for Europe.

More recently, the Latvian Ministry of Culture launched a Cultural Canon project in 2008 to foster the establishment of common cultural values.

The rise of national cultural canons leads to a number of general as well as specific scientific and political issues relating to identity, nationalism and cultural policies in Europe that will require new theoretical and empirical frameworks of inquiry. Many questions arise as to the inclusiveness of these canons as well as the background of those who are building them. What will be the effects of such canons in the future? Are they a threat to diversity or a tool to promote cohesion?

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Date de publication : 11/11/2009


Période traitée : 2009-11-01
Mots-clés : National Cultural Canons, Cultural Policies Compendium, Peter Duelund, globalisation, nationalism, social cohesion, national cohesion, migration, multicultural challenges, progressive nationalism, Ministry for Immigration and National Identity, cultural relativism, Danish Minister of Culture, Brian Mikkelsen, Danish Cultural Canon, Latvian Cultural Canon, Dutch Cultural Canon, European Network of National Cultural Institutes, Dutch Service for International Cultural Activities, European Cultural Canon
Inséré le : 11/11/2009 09:59