Cultural Appropriation and the Arts
New Directions in Aesthetics
1. Edition January 2010
182 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
Now, for the first time, a philosopher undertakes a systematic
investigation of the moral and aesthetic issues to which cultural
appropriation gives rise.
* Cultural appropriation is a pervasive feature of the
contemporary world (the Parthenon Marbles remain in London; white
musicians from Bix Beiderbeck to Eric Clapton have appropriated
musical styles from African-American culture)
* Young offers the first systematic philosophical investigation
of the moral and aesthetic issues to which cultural appropriation
gives rise
* Tackles head on the thorny issues arising from the clash and
integration of cultures and their artifacts
* Questions considered include: "Can cultural appropriation
result in the production of aesthetically successful works of
art?" and "Is cultural appropriation in the arts
morally objectionable?"
* Part of the highly regarded New Directions in Aesthetics
series
1 What Is Cultural Appropriation? 1
Art, Culture, and Appropriation 1
Types of Cultural Appropriation 5
What is a Culture? 9
Objections to Cultural Appropriation 18
In Praise of Cultural Appropriation 27
2 The Aesthetics of Cultural Appropriation 32
The Aesthetic Handicap Thesis 32
The Cultural Experience Argument 34
Aesthetic Properties and Cultural Context 41
Authenticity and Appropriation 44
Authentic Appropriation 46
Cultural Experience and Subject Appropriation 55
Appropriation and the Authentic Expression of a Culture 60
3 Cultural Appropriation as Theft 63
Harm by Theft 63
Possible Owners of Artworks 64
Cultures and Inheritance 68
Lost and Abandoned Property 70
Cultural Property and Traditional Law 74
Collective Knowledge and Collective Property 78
Ownership of Land and Ownership of Art 85
Property and Value to a Culture 88
Cultures and Intellectual Property 93
Some Conclusions About Ownership and Appropriation 97
The Rescue Argument 102
4 Cultural Appropriation as Assault 106
Other Forms of Harm 106
Cultural Appropriation and Harmful Misrepresentation 107
Harm and Accurate Representation 113
Cultural Appropriation and Economic Opportunity 114
Cultural Appropriation and Assimilation 118
Art, Insignia, and Cultural Identity 120
Cultural Appropriation and Privacy 125
5 Profound Offence and Cultural Appropriation 129
Harm, Offence, and Profound Offence 129
Examples of Offensive Cultural Appropriation 131
The Problem and the Key to its Solution 134
Social Value and Offensive Art 136
Freedom of Expression 137
The Sacred and the Offensive 141
Time and Place Restrictions 143
Toleration of Offensive Art 145
Reasonable and Unreasonable Offence 147
Conclusion: Responding to Cultural Appropriation 152
Summing Up 152
Supporting Minority Artists 154
Envoy 157
Bibliography of Works Cited and Consulted 159
Index 166
provides an analytical, comprehensive overview of ethical and
aesthetic issues concerning cultural appropriation."
(Journal of Cult Economy, 25 March 2011)
"Thank goodness for James O. Young! Finally someone has cut through
the cant associated with cultural appropriation, weighed the issues
with care and a keen eye for irony, and clarified the ethical
limits of intercultural borrowing. This concise, accessible book
will be a bracing tonic for anyone interested in the global art
market, cultural property, and dilemmas of social justice in a
world of disappearing borders."
-Michael F. Brown, Williams College, author of Who
Owns Native Culture?
"Young's offers a measured and sensitive analysis of the moral
and aesthetic issues raised by cultural appropriation. He praises
responsible cultural appropriation and distinguishes this from
cultural appropriation that amount to theft and assault or that
cause profound offense. An interesting contribution to a topic that
has not received the attention from aestheticians that it
deserves."
-Stephen Davies, The University of Auckland
"Here at last is a philosophical work that cuts through the
precious nonsense and rhetoric written about the kinds of
appropriation bound to occur when the arts of one people bump up
against the arts of another. James O. Young is acutely sensitive to
the political sentiments that cloud these issues, but completely
clear and rigorous in his analysis. In its incisiveness and
honesty, Cultural Appropriation and the Arts is a major
contribution to cross-cultural aesthetics."
-Dennis Dutton, University of Canterbury, New
Zealand
