Rethinking the Social Impact of the Arts: a critical-historical review

This extended paper focuses on contemporary debates around the social\nimpacts of the arts and the problem of their measurement and evaluation.\nIt attempts to put forward a new framework for the understanding\nof the so-called `transformative powers' of the arts, by suggesting\nthat a historical-critical approach is needed to tackle this research\ntopic. The paper therefore presents a detailed critical analysis\nof the numerous claims that have been made in the West over time,\nfrom Classical Greece (V century BC) to the present day, for the\nways in which the arts can affect individuals and transform society.\nIt offers a taxonomy of these suggested impacts, both positive and\nnegative, with a view to establishing an appropriate conceptual basis\nfor the discussion and investigation of what the social impact of\nthe arts might mean. At the same time, the paper attempts to reconnect\ncontemporary policy debates with a complex intellectual history,\nfrom which these debates have become detached. It is suggested that\nthe impacts of the arts cannot be properly understood, measured or\nevaluated without reference to this history.