Uses of civilising claims: Three moments in British theatre history

During the last ten years British cultural policy has seen a remarkable rise in the discourse of culture's civilising and governing powers, which are commonly called the ‘social impacts’ of culture. Existing analyses present two contrasting views that see this phenomenon as (a) the instrumentalisation of culture or (b) an example of culture's inherent governmentality. This article attempts to suggest an alternative analytical framework by pointing out historical intersections between the claims of culture's civilising function and the development of cultural field in Bourdieu's sense. For this purpose, the use of civilising claims at three moments in the British theatre history is investigated and the following is discussed. First, the claims’ implementation tended to be shaped primarily by professional and artistic intentions such as the pursuit of social respectability, aesthetic excellence and autonomy. Second, as powerful rhetoric, the claims justified new institutional arrangements, which led to the establishment of the theatre as non-commercial, subsidised and exclusive high art. It is concluded that the analysis of contemporary cultural policy should consider such historical consequences of culture's civilising claims, which now set an important context where the policy is perceived and implemented.