Controversy, Art, and Power

Richard Howells, Reader in Cultural and Creative Industries, King's College London; former Distinguished Visiting Professor, CAS

Thursday, March 25; 4:30 PM, Adamson Wing (Baker Hall 136A)

Cultural sociologist Richard Howells will argue that controversies in the arts are rarely only about the arts. They do not happen within an aesthetic vacuum. While he agrees that some controversies are deliberately created for publicity and commercial reasons, Howells stresses the greater importance of the power dynamic in both the making and the understanding of controversy. Case studies range from punk rock to theatre and the fine arts.