We will discuss a) the historical rationales for governmental intervention in culture; b) the objects of policing action (producers, distributors, consumers, products, practices. etc.); c) the objectives of policing; d) the tools of governmental policing (negative tools such as regulation, prohibition/censorship, etc., but also positive tools such as incentives, allocation of property rights; information); and d) the political economy of cultural policy (how does one measure the impact of a governmental action on institutions, artists, audiences, or art works?). We will focus on three very different efforts at policing: the National Endowment for the Humanities' programs; attempts to develop cultural districts; and initiatives to stem the looting of archaeological sites.
