Cultural Appropriation and the Arts

by Young, James O.

• ISBN13: 9781405176569
• ISBN10: 1405176563
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-01-29
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Now, for the first time, a philosopher undertakes a systematic investigation of the moral and aesthetic issues to which cultural appropriation gives rise. Cultural appropriation is a pervasive feature of the contemporary world (the Parthenon Marbles remain in London; white musicians from Bix Beiderbeck to Eric Clapton have appropriated musical styles from African-American culture) Young offers the first systematic philosophical investigation of the moral and aesthetic issues to which cultural appropriation gives rise Tackles head on the thorny issues arising from the clash and integration of cultures and their artifacts Questions considered include: "Can cultural appropriation result in the production of aesthetically successful works of art?" and "Is cultural appropriation in the arts morally objectionable?" Part of the highly regarded New Directions in Aesthetics series

Author Biography

James O. Young is Professor and Head of the Department of Philosophy, University of Victoria. He has published extensively on philosophy of language and philosophy of art. His previous books include Global Anti-realism (1995) and Art and Knowledge (2001), and he is editor (with Conrad Brunk) of The Ethics of Cultural Appropriation (Blackwell, 2008).

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
What Is Cultural Appropriation?	p. 1
Art, Culture, and Appropriation	p. 1
Types of Cultural Appropriation	p. 5
What is a Culture?	p. 9
Objections to Cultural Appropriation	p. 18
In Praise of Cultural Appropriation	p. 27
The Aesthetics of Cultural Appropriation	p. 32
The Aesthetic Handicap Thesis	p. 32
The Cultural Experience Argument	p. 34
Aesthetic Properties and Cultural Context	p. 41
Authenticity and Appropriation	p. 44
Authentic Appropriation	p. 46
Cultural Experience and Subject Appropriation	p. 55
Appropriation and the Authentic Expression of a Culture	p. 60
Cultural Appropriation as Theft	p. 63
Harm by Theft	p. 63
Possible Owners of Artworks	p. 64
Cultures and Inheritance	p. 68
Lost and Abandoned Property	p. 70
Cultural Property and Traditional Law	p. 74
Collective Knowledge and Collective Property	p. 78
Ownership of Land and Ownership of Art	p. 85
Property and Value to a Culture	p. 88
Cultures and Intellectual Property	p. 93
Some Conclusions About Ownership and Appropriation	p. 97
The Rescue Argument	p. 102
Cultural Appropriation as Assault	p. 106
Other Forms of Harm	p. 106
Cultural Appropriation and Harmful Misrepresentation	p. 107
Harm and Accurate Representation	p. 113
Cultural Appropriation and Economic Opportunity	p. 114
Cultural Appropriation and Assimilation	p. 118
Art, Insignia, and Cultural Identity	p. 120
Cultural Appropriation and Privacy	p. 125
Profound Offence and Cultural Appropriation	p. 129
Harm, Offence, and Profound Offence	p. 129
Examples of Offensive Cultural Appropriation	p. 131
The Problem and the Key to its Solution	p. 134
Social Value and Offensive Art	p. 136
Freedom of Expression	p. 137
The Sacred and the Offensive	p. 141
Time and Place Restrictions	p. 143
Toleration of Offensive Art	p. 145
Reasonable and Unreasonable Offence	p. 147
Conclusion: Responding to Cultural Appropriation	p. 152
Summing Up	p. 152
Supporting Minority Artists	p. 154
Envoy	p. 157
Bibliography of Works Cited and Consulted	p. 159
Index	p. 166
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