Art, Culture and International Development: Humanizing social transformation
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The book shows how the arts and development are related in very practical ways – as means to achieve development goals through visual, dramatic, filmic and craft-inspired ways. It advocates not so much culture and development, but rather for the development of culture. Without a cultural content to economic and social transformation the problems found in much development – up-rooting of cultures, loss of art forms, languages and modes of expression and performance – may only accelerate. Paying attention to the development of the arts as the content of development helps to amend this culturally destructive process. Finally, the book argues for the value of the arts in attaining sustainable cultures, promoting poverty alleviation, encouraging self-empowerment, stimulating creativity and the social imagination, which in turn flow back into wider processes of social transformation. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book ideal to help foster further thinking and debate.
This book is an inspiring read for postgraduate students and researchers in the fields of development studies, cultural studies and sociology of development.
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John Clammer is Visiting Professor of Development Sociology at the United Nations University, Tokyo where he also runs the film and art programmes, and is Adjunct professor of Art and Society at Kanda University of International Studies and the International University of Japan.
