Reading for Battle

Battle Readings is a regularly updated compilation of articles, essays, and opinion pieces relevant to the themes of the Battle of Ideas.

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Arts & Culture

We’re all equal here: singing together is the great leveller
It doesn’t matter how much you earn, what your job is, where you went to school or who you know. Just add your voice to the overall sound.
Chris Rowbury, From the front of the choir blog, 22 January 2012

Should art really be for its own sake alone?
If art museums are the new churches, perhaps they should end the veneration of ambiguity and start serving our inner needs
Alain de Botton, Guardian, 20 January 2012

David Hockney rebuffs 'greatest living artist' title
David Hockney has rebuffed claims that he is Britain's greatest living artist, calling the description "newspaper stuff".
David Hockney, BBC News, 13 January 2012

The Age of Creativity
We are at the dawn of a new age – where nations are increasingly turning to creativity and design to achieve growth and success.
Sir John Sorrell, Arup, 6 January 2012

Why should we fund the arts?
Publicly funded arts institutions are under more pressure than ever to quantify the social benefits they bring, as would be done for schools and hospitals. But isn't the crucial role of art to challenge the way society is run?
David Edgar, Guardian, 5 January 2012

Red and blue heavens
For those who already love medieval manuscripts the exhibition is unmissable. For those who don’t (yet), there is a wealth of treasures and surprises that constantly make you recalibrate your assumptions and understanding
Richard Swan, Culture Wars, 5 January 2012

The Politics of Culture: the case for universalism

In the twenty-first century, cultural policy is increasingly dominated by the politics of diversity. Cultural institutions lack confidence in their own intrinsic value and seek relevance by promoting diverse identities.

Munira Mirza, Palgrave Macmillan, 13 December 2011

Pop history: a poor substitute for real history
While society has become ever more estranged from the great events of the past, music has been on a lazy nostalgia trip of reunions, reissues, recycling and anniversaries.
Neil Davenport, spiked review of books, 1 December 2011

Creativity and curiosity: Do we make stuff up or find it out?
The world of music has much to contribute to debate around the nexus between discovery and invention.
Professor Colin Lawson, Independent, 9 November 2011

From the sublime to the ridiculous: can we measure the value of the arts?
In a world that is increasingly quantified, compared and assessed, it is perhaps only fair that a framework for measuring the value of the arts is put in place. But where would we begin?
Tom Hutchinson, Independent, 28 October 2011


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