State government spending on the arts is minimal-and may be losing ground relative to other state expenditures. The authors examine efforts made by state arts agencies, or SAAs, to address a changing political and fiscal environment and present their findings on the risks and rewards of bringing the arts and political worlds closer together.
Collecting essays about thirteen different countries, including the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Japan, this book presents a global overview of recent government policies in relation to the arts. The debates surrounding government support of the arts in each country are analyzed, as well as the forms and levels of support, the organizational structure of arts support programs, the policy choices made, and much more.
This book is a volume in the Penn Press Anniversary Collection. To mark its 125th anniversary in 2015, the University of Pennsylvania Press rereleased more than 1,100 titles from Penn Press's distinguished backlist from 1899-1999 that had fallen out of print. Spanning an entire century, the Anniversary Collection offers peer-reviewed scholarship in a wide range of subject areas.
A guide through history for those perplexed about the fate of democracy and the government of diverse societies. In war and in peace, amid disruptive change and during reconstruction, a government of people and events will always be called for. But in this age of anxiety and uncertainty, people on the left and the right are losing confidence in governments, elections and politicians. Many ask whether democracy has failed, and ponder alternatives. Knowing how to govern, and how to be governed, are necessary for solving collectively our pressing social and ecological problems. This book rediscovers diverse models of government, including the successful statecraft and drastic mistakes of past rulers and their advisers. From ancient to modern times, what methods of government have arisen and succeeded, or what were their fatal flaws? What ethical and political ideas informed the rulers and the ruled? How have states dealt with unexpected calamities or with cultural and religious differences? And what kept things (more or less) running smoothly? Amid rapid change and political dissent, it's timely to re-examine the ideas and practices that governed large populations and guided their rulers. In an age of political distrust, disruptive populism and global crises, we need to rearm ourselves with knowledge of history and diverse political ideas, the better to address contemporary problems. This book will appeal to students in political theory, political history, or history of government and public policy.
Considers legislation to authorize Federal grants to states for arts promotion, to establish a Federal Advisory Council on the Arts, and to establish a U.S. Arts Foundation.
Considers legislation to authorize Federal grants to states for arts promotion, to establish a Federal Advisory Council on the Arts, and to establish a U.S. Arts Foundation.
The Trump administration wants to end federal funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and other cultural agencies. While those agencies receive only a fraction of the federal budget, the administration says other needs are more pressing and that government arts spending represents a wealth transfer from poorer to richer citizens. The proposal has revived an argument that raged during the “culture wars” of the 1980s and '90s, when conservatives and liberals sparred over whether the government has a role in supporting the arts and whether federal money should help pay for art that some deem offensive. Funding advocates say exposure to the arts helps students perform better in school and that theaters, symphonies, and museums help bolster local economies. The arts continue to have powerful supporters, including local politicians and civic leaders who serve on arts boards in nearly every congressional district. Nonetheless, some cash-strapped state and local governments are cutting school and public arts programs.
