Kulturformidlingens udfordringer i det senmoderne ... - Forskning

Abstract: The challenges of cultural communication in late modern society
– between knowledge, experience and acknowledgement.
It is the overall aim of this thesis to analyze and discuss late modern quality criteria for
cultural communication and mediation. The hypothesis is that late modern circumstances have changed
the way we create, view and develop such concepts as knowledge, identity, institutions, communication,
aesthetic experience, acknowledgement, cultural communities, etc. These concepts are all very closely
linked to cultural communication and will be discussed in the theoretical part of the thesis. One of the most
used sociological explanations is Anthony Giddens’ radical reflexivity. It states that the truth of knowledge
has been made relative and that both collective and individual identity are no longer permanent and static,
but are considered to be a dynamic and reflective project. This affects the manner in which we organize
and produce cultural knowledge and identity. The message of cultural communication has also been
revised. There is no longer a conclusive cultural knowledge to present, and therefore the quality of cultural
products and processes are open for discussion.
The communicational situation of cultural mediation has also changed. The traditional
relationship between the sender, the message and the receiver has changed. Now the receiver is an active
participant in the interpretation and even creation of the cultural product. This implies a new and radical
acknowledgement of the cultural users’ participation.
Three cases have been included to bring the theoretical aspect into play. The cases represent
different levels, points and developments of cultural communication. They will also be used to analyze
which criteria for cultural communication are being used in actual cases. The first case deals with the
present political strategy for cultural institutions and communication. The second case analyzes how a
specific art institution copes with a transformation from being a modern to a late modern institution. The
last case discusses the concept of participatory culture, and how this concept offers new views of criteria
for cultural communication.
The final section of the thesis will go into a further discussion of criteria for cultural
communication with a focus on the potentials and limitations of different ways to consider and evaluate
cultural products and processes. This discussion will aspire to add new perspectives on how to view cultural
communication.
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