Cultural Policies in the US (Bachelor Year 3 / Spring)

This course is an introduction to the organization of political institutions in the USA which differs greatly from Europe. There is no equivalent to the French Ministry for Culture, and a large part of American cultural institutions is funded privately. The first part of the class will be dedicated to the creation of the first American museums, from the Peale Museum in the late 18th century by painter Charles Willson Peale, the foundation of the Smithsonian institution and the Barnum Museum in the first half of the 19th century. The history of international fairs from the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876 will be studied, especially their immense power of attraction and the representation of American culture that was then promoted.
In the 20th century, real cultural policies started pushed forward by the federal government during the period of the New deal as well as after the war with the Marshall Plan, and in the 1960s with the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for Humanities. The importance of philanthropy and patronage will be examined from the Robber barrons until today, as the functioning of Boards of trustees and the controversies which started with the origin of some American fortunes (for instance the Sackler family). Finally the class will look at the debates that have risen in the cultural spheres in the USA from the culture wars of the 1980s to Black Lives Matter today.