'David Looseley has charted in full and lucid detail the history of these extraordinary years.' The Literary Review 'The book's text matches up well to a fascinating and highly topical subject and the author has covered his ground in considerable depth, providing an important source book ... this book has provided considerable enlightenment and occasional moments of righteous envy.'The Times Higher Education Supplement'Looseley has produced an important book which sets new standards in the study of cultural policy, and which will be read with interest by policy makers and academics alike.'European Journal of Cultural Policy' ... a well-researched work with excellent references, bibliography, short chronology and index ... providing a fascinating insight into the types of debate that governments can engender if they are willing to be involved not just in the selling of franchises for television and the national lottery but in a holistic approach to the promotion of the n

This authoritative study considers contemporary policies for the arts in France and the cultural and political issues they have raised. The author concentrates particularly on the seminal Mitterrand years but also disentangles the various influences which marked them. Analyzing the role of the ever more powerful Ministry of Culture, he traces the gradual shift from the democratization of high culture, adopted as a quasi-religious crusade during the De Gaulle era, to the aesthetic relativism and 'fun' culture which became the trademark of the department during the 1980s and 1990s. He also examines wider debates about the relationship between culture, society and the state.
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This study considers contemporary policies for the arts in France and the cultural and political issues they have raised. In particular, the author focuses on the seminal Mitterand years, as well as the various influences which marked them.
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The precursors: the popular front, Vichy and the liberation; heritage, creation, democratization: the Malraux years; from Malraux to Mitterrand: creation and creativity; culture and the economy; policies for high culture; beyond high culture: pluralism and le tout-culturel; a certain idea of the city: the presidential grands projects; Lang and the politics of fun: politicizing the cultural debate, 1985-88; popularizing the past: Lang et leotard, meme combat?; culture and the Audiovisual; a l'Heure des bilans: the ministry in question.
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Also available in hardback, 9781859730133 GBP50.00 (August, 1995)
Also available in hardback, 9781859730133 £50.00 (August, 1995)

Product details

ISBN
9781859731536
Published
1997-05-01
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Height
216 mm
Width
138 mm
Thickness
13 mm
Age
G, 01
Language
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Number of pages
256

Biographical note

David L. Looseley Professor of Contemporary French Culture, University of Leeds