Theme 3 Key Questions
In examining the role that culture plays in liberal practices of government, the theme focuses principally on the following research issues:
1. Material culture
The cultural assumptions and meanings that are embedded in the material infrastructures of modern states and cities, with distinctive consequences for the ways in which individuals and groups are interconnected and the forms of action and interaction that are possible between them.
2. Knowledge, governance and change
The part played by different forms of knowledge (aesthetics, art history, genomics, archaeology, heritage, anthropology) in the practices of cultural institutions (museums, art galleries, libraries) which aim to manage and regulate social change.
3. Culture and policy
The part played by different forms of knowledge in programmes of social and cultural management operating at the interfaces of cultural and social policies in connection with current policy agendas of cultural diversity and social inclusion.
4. The shaping of expertise
The distinctive technical and ethical characteristics and competencies informing the education and training of specific types of cultural 'experts', professionals, leaders and administrators.
5. Negotiating culture
The relationship between the forms of cultural knowledge that inform liberal practices of government and the lay knowledges which circulate among particular social groups, and the implications of these for the ways in which government programmes are negotiated with consequences for social change that are often different from those envisaged by planners and administrators.
6. The limits of liberal government
The social, historical and geographical boundaries of liberal government and the implications of these for the more directive ways in which culture is caught up in the more coercive forms of rule directed at non-citizens.
Interdisciplinary ambit
In pursuing these concerns, the theme will draw on the perspectives of anthropology, cultural history, sociology, the history of science, technology and medicine, cultural studies, cultural geography, material culture studies, and museum and gallery studies.
Policy relevance
The main contributions to the interests of research users will be developed around the relevance of the research to urban policies and planning, cultural and sports policies, and museum and gallery policies.
Theme organisation
The work of the theme will be developed via two main projects, each of which will comprise a number of inquiries, with an integrative project examining common concerns across the two main projects. Follow the links on the left to see a summary of each of these projects.