Louise Ejgod Hansen – författare

As any devoted theatregoer will attest, watching a performance is a unique experience, as the social setting, rules, and standards of theatre often combine to create a feeling of liberation from the everyday world. This book explores the phenomenon of theatre as simultaneously distinct from and yet connected to society as a whole. Combining theoretical reflections with materials from European case studies, the authors offer intriguing new methods for the sociological study of theatre while contributing equally to theatre and performance studies.

This book offers an up-to-date account of the current conditions and challenges of Nordic cultural policy model. Combining a detailed picture of the current situation in each Nordic country with their similarities and differences across borders, the book serves the knowledge needs of cultural policy researchers, policymakers and practitioners in the Nordic region and beyond. Each chapter of the book tackles the question about whether the national welfare state cultural policy, with its core values and practices, has withstood the pressures for change in recent years. Country-based chapters deal with the themes that have been previously recognized as central to Nordic welfare state cultural policy, such as comprehensive public funding and possession of institutions, strive for social equality in participation and access, and transnational mutual learning. The chapters observe the major international or national factors of change, which have recently tested the sustainability of the model. After reading this book, one will understand how the marketization of culture, new forms of instrumentalization of arts, and broader trends in governance have changed Nordic cultural policies.