How much happiness does spending on the arts buy us? Which cultural pursuits are the most effective? And are these the questions the UK should be asking in formulating our arts policy?
As we publish episode four of the novel, the author defends his Skinback Fusiliers
A theatre director is stuck in Cairo waiting to hear if he and his partner have permission to enter Gaza. These letters capture ‘strange days’, as they are caught in stasis while extraordinary events unfold around them
We all know what our politicians think of Muslim women who wear the veil. But the women themselves are rarely asked to explain their decision. Now, as the veil is banned in France, a report is published giving 32 Muslim women in that country a chance to defend their choice.
In this response to Jean-Paul Gagnon on the nation-state, Michael Gardiner argues that cultural homogeneity is unnecessary as a property of nationhood. Rather, participatory citizenship is what is at stake. Resorting to the term 'country-state' would open the gates to half-formed ethnicism and eth
The use of the term "nation-state" confuses current debate around countries, states and nations. We need new rhetorical structures to help us make sense of this age of uncertainty, where the mass movement of individuals has caused the erosion of the homogenous cores around which nation-states arou
Being ‘caste-blind’ in economically shining India might be a wonderful way to fight caste-demarcations in urban mega-centres. But, being ‘culture-blind’ could prove very short-sighted in the long run. A reply to Rajeev Bhargava
Rupert Murdoch's News of the World has admitted that it illegally hacked into the phones of the famous and powerful, after years of denial. The really important story, however, is what this reveals about the corruption of state power in the United Kingdom by a global media conglomerate.
Is it 1981 all over again in the UK? If so, it may not be such a bad thing.
The House of Lords communications select committee is investigating the governance and regulation of the BBC. Changes since the election will increase the responsibilities of the BBC, with funding for
Well founded suspicion of ‘integration’ policies in civil society has let government off the hook, leaving a vacuum in national policy towards those arriving to live in the UK and public debate open to those who argue integration is solely the responsibility of migrants themselves, argues Sarah Sp
