A Case Study in Discourse Analysis of "Community Arts" in Cultural Policy and the Press

In their article "Community Arts, Rhetoric and Discourse Analysis" An De bisschop, Kris Rutten, and Ronald Soetaert explore theoretical and applied aspects of the phenomenon of community arts. Community arts in Flanders have developed into a professional practice during the past few years and have received increased recognition from policy makers, scholars, and critics. This attention has caused a growing need to define the nature of a practice diverse in form, goal and process: for example, as a form of art that emphasizes the relationship between art and social context, as a form of social work that emphasizes the social functions of art, and as a form of empowerment that gives voice to those who are excluded from mainstream society. De bisschop, Rutten, and Soetaert discuss the problematics of community art projects and introduce comparative discourse analysis to interpret "situated" meanings in the practice of community arts, thereby shifting the question from "what is community arts?" to "how is meaning constructed about the notion and practice of community arts?" Further, the authors compare two geographical contexts (Flanders, Belgium and Western Cape, South Africa) and two institutional contexts (policy and press). From a methodological perspective, De bisschop, Rutten, and Soetaert operationalize the concept of "interpretative repertoires" for analyzing the different positions within these discourses, contextualize these different positions, and elaborate on the concept of "comparative consciousness."