What is Cultural Policy?

What is cultural policy?  That is a great question, and a very pertinent one for a cultural and public policy class.  However, culture and policy can be difficult to define.  In attempts to better understand, I did some research.  I read a very interesting article by Caron Atlas discussing what cultural policy is.  She brought up some interesting points.  Cultural policy doesn’t always operate in the public realm, though public and cultural policy often go together.  She defines cultural policy as “both a product and a process, a framework for making rules and decisions that are informed by social relationships and values.”  I think this is a great definition.  However, to fully understand what is cultural policy, I think there needs to be an understanding of the basic key words culture, public, and policy.

According to the Conjecture Corporation, as published on wiseGeek.com,  public policy is "an attempt by the government to address a public issue.  The government, whether it is city, state, or federal, develops public policy in terms of laws, regulations, decisions, and actions."  To simplify this even further, there's a problem and a governing body does something to change or fix it.  According to thefreedictionary.com, public can be defined as "of, concerning, or affecting the community or the people."  I think public policy can be applied to any group, such as a school or a business.  As long as there is a group being affected by some sort of governing body's actions, there is public policy.  To bottom line this concept:  community action.

Now, the more difficult concept to define is culture.  One really needs to know the scope for which the concept is being defined – the frame of reference, if you will.  Is it culture as it relates to anthropology, the standard connotation of art, or perhaps it pertains to the medical and scientific fields?  As I am pursuing a master’s degree in Arts Administration, I can safely assume we are not using the last frame.  That still leaves culture in an anthropological sense or as it pertains to the arts. According to English anthropologist, Edward Tylor, culture, or civilization, includes “knowledge, belief, art, morals, laws, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society.”  Based on this definition, anything within a society, or community, can be considered culture.  That opens a lot of door in terms of policy discussions.  However, as a member of the arts community, I know culture can be considered a community's foundation in the fine arts, such as theatre, art, dance, music.  If we take this more narrow focus, cultural policy would cover anything relating to art.

In summary a policy is something that addresses a problem and is enacted by a governing body.  A public is a group of people.  As we've discovered, culture can mean different things, but I believe in the context of the class I'm taking culture means relating to the arts.  After learning the definitions, Ms. Atlas' definition makes much more sense.