Date:
Location:
"The Politics of Culture and the Political Role of Cultural Institutions"
Speakers:
Martha Tedeschi, Director, Harvard Art Museums.
Frederick Wherry, Professor of Sociology, Yale University.
Michael Kennedy, Professor of Sociology and International and Public Affairs, Brown University.
Co-sponsored by the Harvard Culture and Social Analysis Workshop.
Contact:
John Arroyo
arroyojc@mit.edu
Moderator:
Peggy Levitt, Associate. Chair; Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, Wellesley College.
Chairs:
Peggy Levitt, Associate. Chair; Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, Wellesley College.
Jocelyn Viterna, Faculty Associate. Associate Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, Harvard University.
Abstract:
The nexus between politics and culture is fertile ground. Cultural institutions profoundly shape how we imagine the world; the structures, institutions, and inequalities that organize it; and the ways in which we mobilize for social change. At the same time, cultural institutions are shaped by politics—countries occupy different positions in a cultural hierarchy of value, political factors shape cultural diffusion, and culture is used as a diplomatic tool. Our panelists will engage broadly with these questions, exploring the ways in which the encounter between culture and politics influences theory and practice.