Overview

This collection explores a variety of contemporary and historical issues related to the trade in cultural commodities between cultures, countries and continents. The contributors write from a variety of perspectives within the fields of film, television and cultural studies, and all touch upon the distinctiveness of cultural expression and the effects of the migration of cultural commodities across national boundaries. In UNESCO's language of international diplomacy, the promotion of cultural diversity has emerged, along with biodiversity, as a new ethical imperative. In 2005 its General Council - with the dissent of only two member states - supported the creation of a new international treaty, the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. In exploring some of the links between cultural and economic power, this book echoes the concerns of the Convention - that the neo-liberal international trading regime may have the consequence of reducing the public expression of cultural differences. However, the contributors reveal some of the complexities and contradictions of international trade and cultural exchange whether in the growing cultural markets of China, Brazil and India or in the two-way flows of largely Anglo-Saxon north Atlantic exchanges. And behind these investigations lie some larger questions about the links between cultural expression, cultural suppression and political violence.

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9780861966691

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Reviews

[A]n eclectic mix of arguments... a strength in terms of the array of different positions and ideas explored, from Des Freeman's overview of the ins and outs of the negotiations over the trade in services at the World Trade Organization, to Andrew Higson's work on the exportation of British heritage films... and there is, of course, a strong thread of common interest running throughout the book, with each of these chapters (or papers) exploring an aspect of trading culture, often in very different ways... I found the mix and blend of papers provided an interesting and well-rounded overview of the complex debates in this area...This is an interesting compilation of papers, which, while eclectic in nature, provides a good introduction to the debates around the trade in Culture... the papers are short, necessarily providing a brief overview of their area... one is never bored; a new subject will soon come along... this is an interesting and informative read. Paul Rixon, Screen 2008, issue 49

Author Information

Sylvia Harvey is Professor of Broadcasting Policy and Co-director of the Centre for Media Policy, Regulation, and Ethics at the University of Lincoln, U.K. Her recent publications are on film and broadcasting policy in the journals Screen and Political Quarterly.

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