Culture at the crossroads : culture and cultural institutions at the beginning of the 21st Century / by Marc Pachter and Charles Landry

This short book is not a manifesto nor a blueprint for action, instead it seeks to open a lively debate. It does so by unpacking assumptions, by asking difficult questions, such as "what is the difference between the real and fake" in the assertion of cultural value or "what do we mean by serious art?" It suggests the merit and danger of borrowing from other worlds such as the commercial. In so doing it tries to be pragmatic responding to how life is lived rather than asserting how it should be lived. It encourages us to revisit issues such as high quality experience or beauty or relevance. It is, in the end, an advocacy document, challenging the cultural world and cultural institutions to stand back in order to stand up for themselves as vital participants in the modern world. (Font: Prefaci)

Opening the debate -- A shifting landscape -- Dilemmas or distractions -- Expectations for culture -- Culture and confidence -- References