Many thanks to those of you who responded here or via email to my query, “What to Read?” With just seven sessions, it is especially challenging to decide what to read in a short one-credit course focused on arts policy and even more challenging to decide what can be left out.  So far, the readings seem to lean more toward economics; perhaps next year we will focus more on the arts as a tool for civic engagement.  Although still very much a work in progress, I share my current thinking about the seven sessions and the themes they will address:

1. Overview:  Cherbo, Stewart, Wyszomirski (2008)  Understanding the Arts and Creative Sector
2. Policy history and economics: Selections from Lowry (The Arts and Public Policy in the United States), Baumol (Performing Arts – The Economic Dilemma), Netzer (The Subsidized Muse),  Rand Foundation Gifts of the Muse (entire document)
3. Policy tools and policy targets: Cowen, Good and Plenty; selections from Schneider, Policy Design for Democracy
4. Art and Money: Garber, Patronizing the Arts; selection from Abbing, Why are Artists Poor?; (on Blackboard)
5. In coordination with the third biennial Pave Symposium on Entrepreneurship, the Arts, and Creative Placemaking:  Markusen and Gadwa, Creative Placemaking; Bedoya, Creative Placemaking and the Politics of Belonging and Dis-Belonging;
6. Art and conflict: Tepper, Not Here, Not Now, Not That; various newspaper articles
7. Art, Money, and Advocacy, or how we talk about the arts: Americans for the Arts, Arts and Economic Prosperity IV; ArtsWave, The Arts Ripple Effect; special guest from the Arizona Commission on the Arts

There is so much that is not in this list and the arts policy landscape is forever changing; hopefully we’ll catch some of what we miss in a subsequent course. In the meantime, your feedback continues to be welcome.