Ahearne, Jeremy (2001) Questions of cultural policy in the thought of Michel de Certeau (1968-1972). South Atlantic Quarterly, 100 (2). pp. 447-463. doi:DOI: 10.1215/00382876-100-2-447

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Abstract

Michel de Certeau's ongoing engagement with the issues raised by the vicissitudes of French cultural policy shaped the development of his reflection on the forms of contemporary cultural practice. Indeed, the circumstances under which his writings in this area were produced indicate that his reflection was, to some extent, generated by this engagement. Having established his reputation as a cultural analyst with the publication in 1968 of La prise de parole, Certeau was asked to write a preparatory report and an introductory presentation for a colloquium on the future of cultural development held at Arc-et-Senans in April 1972.1 The work for this colloquium, organized by French and European governmental bodies in order to help generate strategies for cultural development, constituted "a decisive stage in the crystallization of his reflection on cultural practices."2 The very problems thrown up at this colloquium—in particular the hazily conceived but insistently felt rift between official cultural policy and most people's cultural experience—provided the impetus for further elucidation. Hence Augustin Girard, present at the colloquium and head of the research department [End Page 447] at the Ministry for Cultural Affairs, was able to secure funding, in the context of preparations for the Seventh Plan, for a research project in which Certeau would explore more probingly some of the key questions raised at Arc-et-Senans. The report he finally produced on what became a three-year research project (1974–77) comprises the two volumes of L'invention du quotidien. Following from this, Certeau and Luce Giard were asked in 1982 to direct a working group on the "contents and tools of communication" and to write a report on it that was expected to inform the then inchoate cultural policy of France's new Socialist government.3

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Arts > School of Modern Languages and Cultures
Journal or Publication Title:	South Atlantic Quarterly
Publisher:	Duke University Press
ISSN:	0038-2876
Official Date:	2001
Dates:	Date Event 2001 Published
Volume:	100
Number:	2
Number of Pages:	17
Page Range:	pp. 447-463
DOI:	DOI: 10.1215/00382876-100-2-447
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Restricted or Subscription Access

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