Spearheading Debate

Overview

As South Africa’s democracy matures, this book raises pertinent questions: How does the state mediate between traditional tribal authority and constitutional law in matters such as initiation customs or the rights of women, children, and homosexuals? What are the limitations on artistic freedom in a society where sensitivities over colonial- and apartheid-era representations are acute? How does race open up discussions or close down dialogue? and What are the parameters of freedom of speech when minorities fear that hateful language may trigger actual violence against them? Examining disputes over South African art, music, media, editorial cartoons, history, public memory, and a variety of social practices, the culture wars' perspective is extended to new territory in this study, demonstrating its cross-cultural applicability and parsing critical debates within this vibrant society in formation.

Author Biography

Steven C. Dubin is a professor of arts administration at Columbia University and a research affiliate of Columbia University’s Institute of African Studies. He is the author of Arresting Images: Impolitic Art and Uncivil Actions, Bureaucratizing the Muse: Public Funds and the Cultural Worker, Displays of Power: Memory and Amnesia in the American Museum, and Transforming Museums: Mounting Queen Victoria in a Democratic South Africa. He is a former visiting professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the recipient of a Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship to South Africa. He lives in New York City.