AADM-Y559, Public Policy and the Arts, MW, 11:10am-12:25pm, PV 275, in-person

Course Description, Objectives, and Outcomes

What is “arts policy?” Before we dive into this, we must answer a few other questions: what is public policy? How do we define “arts and culture” within the policy sector? Where are policy decisions made? By whom? What tools are used? Who benefits? What does the future of the sector look like? In this course, we will develop an understanding of the relationship between public policy and the arts in the United States to unpack these questions in a way that will inform your work as an arts administrator and emerging leader. (NOTE: The context for this course is confined to the US and will occasionally focus on Indiana and the Midwest as well as international policies.)

Student arts administrators will:

• Examine the goals, problems, and solutions to common US policymaking as they affect arts and culture locally, regionally, and nationally.
• Review the history and central tensions of arts policy and funding in the US.
• Study and scrutinize policy areas articulated by Bill Ivey in his “Cultural Bill of Rights.”
• Increase arts policy literacy and currency.
• Compose policy documents that demonstrate professional research, analysis, visual literacy, writing, and presentation skills.

Required Textbooks

Ivey, Bill. Arts, Inc. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2010.

Rosenstein, Carole. Understanding Cultural Policy, 2^nd edition. London, UK: Routledge, 2024.

Grading Scale