Learning outcome

After successfully completing the course, the candidate will have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence.

Knowledge

The candidate has knowledge of:

• The concept of culture and the relationship between politics and culture
• Key developments in Norwegian cultural policy and different areas of cultural policy
• The organization of cultural life in the public, private and voluntary sectors
• The relationship between culture and business and industry, and the development of cultural and creative industries
• Central cultural policy challenges and issues

Skills

The candidate can:

• Identify and problematize various cultural policy objectives
• Understand the connections between social characteristics and the design of cultural policies

Course Description

This course gives students a contemporary perspective on the societal role of culture in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Students gain an overview of the conceptual significance of culture and of the role of cultural policy in the development of the Norwegian welfare state. We examine how Norwegian cultural policy has evolved from its beginnings as a means of improving social welfare to become an instrument for economic development. We also examine the development of a separate cultural policy aimed at children and young people, and at cultural policy in relation to Norway as a multicultural society. The course focuses on present-day cultural life, and in particular on the recent trend to view culture as a resource or means for business and/or social development. Nowadays culture is understood and valued in a range of different value contexts, and the course will enable students to understand these different value contexts and how they interrelate (e.g., artistic quality vs. financial value). The course also examines the importance of cultural life for civil society (including the relevance of the voluntary sector), but the main emphasis of the course is on the key challenges for cultural policy today.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Lectures, seminars and group work.

Assessment Methods

Written group assignment, which counts for 40 % of the final grade.
Individual written examination with invigilation which counts for 60 % of the final grade.

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean