Lecture 5.2 Conclusions: Coalition Cultural Policy
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The conclusion to the course is a discussion of Coalition cultural policy. Coalition policy is compared with New Labour’s approach and similarities and differences are suggested. The need to deal with the financial crisis is show to be the dominant frame for Coalition policy, creating the backdrop for strategic priorities around the Olympics, digital provision and innovation and new forms of funding for cultural organisations. The successes and failures of the early phase of Coalition cultural policy are discussed, including the abolition of various quangos, museums policy, cultural education and the move from Public Service Agreement targets to departmental milestones and business plans. Areas of continuity between New Labour and the Coalition are a major point of discussion, as the lecture suggests the issues explored in lecture one, of identity, governance and administration in modernity, remain the same for both New Labour and the Coalition. The lecture concludes by considering what areas have remained unexplored on the course and by suggesting the importance of engaging with cultural policy to offer a critique of the market failure model that dominates contemporary UK public administration.
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Background information, lecture schedules, assignment details and reading lists for Dr O'Brien's 2011-12 module in Contemporary UK Cultural Policy.
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The concluding lecture begins with a case study of the BBC as an example of the themes of the course. The lecture begins by exploring the critiques and defences of the BBC’s part in contemporary British culture, before moving to analyse the BBC’s role in urban regeneration and management reform...
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