Hi Michelle
It's available in full on the personal web page of the academic who wrote
it:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/theatre_s/cp/staff/belfiore/belfiore_on_b
ullshit_latest.pdf
It does make a good read.
Best
Simon
On 28/03/2011 23:54, "Michelle Kasprzak" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I just wanted to share that I found "On bullshit in cultural policy
> practice & research" a very funny title, considering the article can
> only be obtained through the bullshit system of academic publishing,
> wherein people who are not "in the system" have to pay exorbitant fees
> to access this knowledge.
>
> A real boost for the "big society" would be someone having the cojones
> to dismantle this corrupt system that exists to keep information out
> of people's hands.
>
> Guess I'll have to go without this particular article on bullshit, as
> I am unwilling to pay 34 clams for a single article, when that could
> buy me an entire book, a year-long magazine subscription, a few
> tickets at my local independent cinema, et cetera. Maybe someone wants
> to post it on aaaarg.org?
> Best,
> MK
>
>
> On Mon, Mar 28, 2011 at 7:51 PM, Variant <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> It would be less worrying if AHRC were to acknowledge coersion, as the
>> seemingly interchangable government-facing euphemisms of 'connected
>> communities', 'creative economy', 'communities and civic values', 'enhancing
>> our quality of life', are not the intangible effects of pixie dust either...:
>>
>> Evaluating the social impact of participation in arts activities: A critical
>> review of François Matarasso¹s 'Use or Ornament?¹
>> Paola Merli, Variant, issue 19, Spring 2004
>> "ŠIn the first part of this paper I will concentrate on analysing the quality
>> of Matarasso's research. My critique will focus on methodological issues and
>> will try to show that the research project is flawed in its design, execution
>> and conceptual basis. I will then deal with political issues such as whether
>> using participatory arts as a form of governance, under the heading of
>> promoting social cohesion, is actually worthwhile and desirable. Finally, I
>> will frame some suggestions for possible future research."
>> http://www.variant.org.uk/19texts/socinc19.html
>>
>> On bullshit in cultural policy practice & research
>> Eleonora Belfiore, International Journal of Cultural Policy, Volume 15, Issue
>> 3, August 2009
>> Taking Harry G. Frankfurt's essay 'On Bullshit ' as its starting point,
>> Belfiore explores the analysis of bullshit and the prevalence of bullshitting
>> in the contemporary public sphere. Frankfurt's short essay provides an
>> intellectual framework to interpret and understand contemporary rhetoric and
>> practice in the cultural policy field, as well as recent trends in cultural
>> policy research. Through a discussion of selected UK cultural policy
>> documents, the article aims to show that many of the key actors in the
>> cultural policy debate indeed display the 'indifference to how things really
>> are' and the cultivation of vested interests which Frankfurt attributes to
>> the activity of bullshitting. In conclusion, Belfiore spells out the
>> implications of the present status quo for 'critical' cultural policy
>> research.
>> PDF: http://www.informaworld.com/index/914860742.pdf
>>
>> All best,
>> Leigh
>>
>>
>>
>> On 28 Mar 2011, at 17:31, Simon Biggs wrote:
>>
>>> Here's the AHRC's official statement on the Observer piece published
>>> yesterday. They refute it in full.
>>>
>>> Best
>>>
>>> Simon
>>>
>>> Simon Biggs
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> http://www.littlepig.org.uk/
>>>
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> http://www.elmcip.net/
>>> http://www.eca.ac.uk/circle/
>>>
>>> ------ Forwarded Message
>>>
>>> Important Statement
>>>
>>> The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) unconditionally and
>>> absolutely refutes the allegations reported in the Observer ('Academic Fury
>>> over order to study the big society', 27 March). We did NOT receive our
>>> funding settlement on condition that we supported the 'Big Society', and we
>>> were NOT instructed, pressured or otherwise coerced by BIS or anyone else
>>> into support for this initiative.
>>>
>>> The AHRC has been working for over two years, since 2008, with four other
>>> research councils, on the Connected Communities Research Programme which has
>>> been developed through extensive - and continuing - consultation with
>>> researchers. At the core of this Programme is research to understand the
>>> changing nature of communities in their historical and cultural contexts,
>>> and the value of communities in sustaining and enhancing our quality of
>>> life. These issues are serious and of major concern. They also happen to be
>>> relevant to debates about the 'Big Society' which came two years later. To
>>> imply that these important areas for investigation constitute a
>>> government-directed research programme is false.
>>>
>>> There are further inaccuracies in the Observer article that rest on rumour
>>> and misrepresentation.
>>>
>>> First, specific research applications are funded on the basis of academic
>>> peer review, not government command. If academic peer reviewers do not feel
>>> the research is excellent, and of sufficient importance and value for money,
>>> it does not get funded.
>>>
>>> Second, the Observer article implies that 'significant' funding will be put
>>> exclusively into 'Big Society' projects. What the document quoted actually
>>> says is that 'significant' funding will be put into SIX (not one) 'strategic
>>> research areas'. These are language-based disciplines, the creative economy,
>>> interdisciplinary collaborations, and cultural heritage as well as issues
>>> related to communities and civic values. This will occur as part of an
>>> extensive portfolio of funding covering many different types of research
>>> which, once again, was developed through extensive consultation with
>>> researchers over a two year period.
>>>
>>> Third, it is reported that the AHRC 'was forced to accept the change by
>>> officials working for the minister for higher education, David Willetts.'
>>> There is a confusing subsidiary allegation that 'the word is that it has
>>> come down from the secretary of state, Vince Cable'. Neither is true. If
>>> there is evidence to demonstrate these allegations (as distinct from relying
>>> on phrases like 'the word is') then it should be revealed. But there is no
>>> such evidence because it did not happen.
>>>
>>> ------ End of Forwarded Message
>>>
>>>
>>> Simon Biggs
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> http://www.littlepig.org.uk/
>>>
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> http://www.elmcip.net/
>>> http://www.eca.ac.uk/circle/
>>
>>
>> -------------------------------------------
>> Variant
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>> broader social, political & cultural issues.
>>
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>>
>
>
Simon Biggs
[log in to unmask]
http://www.littlepig.org.uk/
[log in to unmask]
http://www.elmcip.net/
http://www.eca.ac.uk/circle/
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