Pieter Boele Van Hensbroek

Cultural citizenship as a normative notion for activist practices

This paper explores the possibility of a notion of cultural citizenship that can function as an activist tool for formulating claims against cultural exclusion. It claims to have captured such a notion in the definition of cultural citizenship as the ability to co-author the cultural context in which one lives. The argument proceeds in several steps. First, it argues that the agenda of relevant cultural issues should go far beyond questions of cultural groups and recognition as posed in most contemporary literature. For instance, cultural exclusion on a global scale as well as exclusion within groups and exclusions effected by commercialisation of cultural processes should receive equal attention. Second, the article argues for a ‘stand-alone’ notion of cultural citizenship, i.e. defining cultural citizenship as citizenship in the cultural sphere rather than as concerning merely cultural aspects of political citizenship. Finally, it assesses the potentials of the proposed notion of cultural citizenship as...This paper explores the possibility of a notion of cultural citizenship that can function as an activist tool for formulating claims against cultural exclusion. It claims to have captured such a notion in the definition of cultural citizenship as the ability to co-author the cultural context in which one lives. The argument proceeds in several steps. First, it argues that the agenda of relevant cultural issues should go far beyond questions of cultural groups and recognition as posed in most contemporary literature. For instance, cultural exclusion on a global scale as well as exclusion within groups and exclusions effected by commercialisation of cultural processes should receive equal attention. Second, the article argues for a ‘stand-alone’ notion of cultural citizenship, i.e. defining cultural citizenship as citizenship in the cultural sphere rather than as concerning merely cultural aspects of political citizenship. Finally, it assesses the potentials of the proposed notion of cultural citizenship as compared to several competitors in the field, viz. Kymlickas liberal communalism, Sens idea of cultural liberty, and approaches focussing on cultural participation.

The agendas of cultural citizenship: a political-theoretical exercise

Cultural citizenship has been receiving quite some attention for over a decade now. The concept has appeared in fields like migration studies, media studies, arts education, museology, cultural policy, and at times in general cultural studies and sociology. One might even be tempted to speak of a new ‘cult on cit’, if one allows such American shorthand, but we will not be flippant. We think that the concept has elicited interesting debates, and has pertinent contributions to offer to the theory and practice of citizenship. This special issue will place the concept specifically within a politicalphilosophical context, which allows us to probe into a range of analytical as well as normative issues that the concept raises. The articles collected here elucidate how the concept fares in different political-philosophical milieus, among which the liberal, Marxist, Arendtian and (otherwise) republican ones. In this introduction, we reconstruct a brief history of the intellectual discussions that led up to the current, explicit concept. We will identify several pertinent questions and tensions in the debates. We will furthermore argue our own angle, pleading a politicaltheoretical approach beyond the, according to us, too narrow conceptualisation of cultural citizenship that ensued from its elaboration in a liberal theoretical framework. We finally explain how such an angle is illustrated by the various contributions to this special issue. To talk about cultural citizenship means to articulate some kind of link between culture and citizenship. The concept thus broaches a very general problematic, as it is not too difficult to bring several such links to mind. But it also broaches a very specific problematic. It brings citizenship into a new area of concerns, compared to its classic conceptualisations – it infers that citizenship has other than merely political connotations. Such an extended meaning constitutes a challenge for political philosophy. How do we deal with an originally typical political concept as citizenship suddenly going cultural? It is not self-evident that this would be an easy endeavour. Brian Turner (2001, p. 12) was aware of this challenge when he wrote: ‘The absence of a robust tradition of political theory on culture and citizenship is problematic.’ The articles in this issue, however, beg to differ. They evidence the ways in which various political theories and philosophies have reflected on some conception of cultural citizenship, if not the concept, and explore a number of angles – both historical and contemporary ones. What do the many conceivable links between culture and citizenship look like? From what debates and practices did the concept of cultural citizenship result? Let us survey the sundry options, as ‘cultural citizens’ actually appear in many guises. They may be citizens

Towards a capability approach to child growth: A theoretical framework

Abstract Child malnutrition is an important cause of under‐5 mortality and morbidity around the globe. Despite the partial success of (inter)national efforts to reduce child mortality, under‐5 mortality rates continue to be high. The multidimensional approaches of the Sustainable Development Goals may suggest new directions for rethinking strategies for reducing child mortality and malnutrition. We propose a theoretical framework for developing a “capability” approach to child growth. The current child growth monitoring practices are based on 2 assumptions: (a) that anthropometric and motor development measures are the appropriate indicators; and (b) that child growth can be assessed using a single universal standard that is applicable around the world. These practices may be further advanced by applying a capability approach to child growth, whereby growth is redefined as the achievement of certain capabilities (of society, parents, and children). This framework is similar to the multidimensional approach to societal development presented in the seminal work of Amartya Sen. To identify the dimensions of healthy child growth, we draw upon theories from the social sciences and evolutionary biology. Conceptually, we consider growth as a plural space and propose assessing growth by means of a child growth matrix in which the context is embedded in the assessment. This approach will better address the diversities and the inequalities in child growth. Such a multidimensional measure will have implications for interventions and policy, including prevention and counselling, and could have an impact on child malnutrition and mortality.

Screening for infectious diseases of asylum seekers upon arrival: the necessity of the moral principle of reciprocity

BackgroundWith a large number of forcibly displaced people seeking safety, the EU is facing a challenge in maintaining solidarity. Europe has seen millions of asylum seekers crossing European borders, the largest number of asylum seekers since the second world war. Endemic diseases and often failing health systems in their countries of origin, and arduous conditions during transit, raise questions around how to meet the health needs of this vulnerable population on arrival in terms of screening, vaccination, and access to timely and appropriate statutory health services. This paper explores the potential role of the principle of reciprocity, defined as the disposition ‘to return good in proportion to the good we receive, and to make reparations for the harm we have done’, as a mid-level principle in infectious disease screening policies.Main textMore than half of the European countries implemented screening programmes for newly arrived asylum seekers. Screening may serve to avoid potential infectious disease risks in the receiving countries as well as help identify health needs of asylum seekers. But screening may infringe upon basic rights of those screened, thus creating an ethical dilemma.The use of the principle of reciprocity can contribute to the identification of potential improvements for current screening programmes and emphasizes the importance of certain rights into guidelines for screening. It may create a two way moral obligation, upon asylum seekers to actively participate in the programme, and upon authorities to reciprocate the asylum seekers’ participation and the benefits for the control of public health.ConclusionThe authors argue that the reciprocity principle leads to a stronger ethical justification of screening programmes and help achieve a balance between justifiable rights claims of the host population and the asylum seekers. The principle deserves a further and more thorough exploration of its potential use in the field of screening, migration and infectious diseases.

Philosophy of Nationalism in Africa

Central to the endeavor of nationalist thought is the nineteenth-century idea of the nation as the primary political community, resulting in territorially bounded nation-states becoming the globally dominant model. In this chapter, Boele van Hensbroek identifies the imaginative intellectuals and leaders of African resistances who, during the struggle itself from the end of the nineteenth century onwards, conceived of how the unit of the Fatherland or Nation would be demarcated. Their struggles with local colonial authorities made colonial administrative units to become in most cases (but not all) units of nationalist imagination, while cosmopolitan inspirations were strongest in metropolitan intellectual circles, such as those of Negritude and Marxists in Paris, Pan-Africanism in the transatlantic link, and around Padmore in London. The chapter outlines the transformation of nationalism into a comprehensive vision of national development, leading the most prominent African leaders—Nkrumah, Nyerere, Kaunda, Senghor, etc.—to formulate a “national ideological philosophy” in order to frame their nation-building project, while linking ideologically to selected indigenous values and social practices. Boele van Hensbroek identifies important criticisms of nationalist thought ranging from Fanon to Blyden, and Cabral to Lamine Senghor and Nkrumah.

The agendas of cultural citizenship: a political-theoretical exercise: INTRODUCTION

Cultural citizenship has been receiving quite some attention for over a decade now. The concept has appeared in fields like migration studies, media studies, arts education, museology, cultural policy, and at times in general cultural studies and sociology. One might even be tempted to speak of a new ‘cult on cit’, if one allows such American shorthand, but we will not be flippant. We think that the concept has elicited interesting debates, and has pertinent contributions to offer to the theory and practice of citizenship. This special issue will place the concept specifically within a politicalphilosophical context, which allows us to probe into a range of analytical as well as normative issues that the concept raises. The articles collected here elucidate how the concept fares in different political-philosophical milieus, among which the liberal, Marxist, Arendtian and (otherwise) republican ones. In this introduction, we reconstruct a brief history of the intellectual discussions that led up to the current, explicit concept. We will identify several pertinent questions and tensions in the debates. We will furthermore argue our own angle, pleading a politicaltheoretical approach beyond the, according to us, too narrow conceptualisation of cultural citizenship that ensued from its elaboration in a liberal theoretical framework. We finally explain how such an angle is illustrated by the various contributions to this special issue. To talk about cultural citizenship means to articulate some kind of link between culture and citizenship. The concept thus broaches a very general problematic, as it is not too difficult to bring several such links to mind. But it also broaches a very specific problematic. It brings citizenship into a new area of concerns, compared to its classic conceptualisations – it infers that citizenship has other than merely political connotations. Such an extended meaning constitutes a challenge for political philosophy. How do we deal with an originally typical political concept as citizenship suddenly going cultural? It is not self-evident that this would be an easy endeavour. Brian Turner (2001, p. 12) was aware of this challenge when he wrote: ‘The absence of a robust tradition of political theory on culture and citizenship is problematic.’ The articles in this issue, however, beg to differ. They evidence the ways in which various political theories and philosophies have reflected on some conception of cultural citizenship, if not the concept, and explore a number of angles – both historical and contemporary ones. What do the many conceivable links between culture and citizenship look like? From what debates and practices did the concept of cultural citizenship result? Let us survey the sundry options, as ‘cultural citizens’ actually appear in many guises. They may be citizens

The agendas of cultural citizenship

Cultural citizenship has been receiving quite some attention for over a decade now. The concept has appeared in fields like migration studies, media studies, arts education, museology, cultural policy, and at times in general cultural studies and sociology. One might even be tempted to speak of a new ‘cult on cit’, if one allows such American shorthand, but we will not be flippant. We think that the concept has elicited interesting debates, and has pertinent contributions to offer to the theory and practice of citizenship. This special issue will place the concept specifically within a politicalphilosophical context, which allows us to probe into a range of analytical as well as normative issues that the concept raises. The articles collected here elucidate how the concept fares in different political-philosophical milieus, among which the liberal, Marxist, Arendtian and (otherwise) republican ones. In this introduction, we reconstruct a brief history of the intellectual discussions that led up to the current, explicit concept. We will identify several pertinent questions and tensions in the debates. We will furthermore argue our own angle, pleading a politicaltheoretical approach beyond the, according to us, too narrow conceptualisation of cultural citizenship that ensued from its elaboration in a liberal theoretical framework. We finally explain how such an angle is illustrated by the various contributions to this special issue. To talk about cultural citizenship means to articulate some kind of link between culture and citizenship. The concept thus broaches a very general problematic, as it is not too difficult to bring several such links to mind. But it also broaches a very specific problematic. It brings citizenship into a new area of concerns, compared to its classic conceptualisations – it infers that citizenship has other than merely political connotations. Such an extended meaning constitutes a challenge for political philosophy. How do we deal with an originally typical political concept as citizenship suddenly going cultural? It is not self-evident that this would be an easy endeavour. Brian Turner (2001, p. 12) was aware of this challenge when he wrote: ‘The absence of a robust tradition of political theory on culture and citizenship is problematic.’ The articles in this issue, however, beg to differ. They evidence the ways in which various political theories and philosophies have reflected on some conception of cultural citizenship, if not the concept, and explore a number of angles – both historical and contemporary ones. What do the many conceivable links between culture and citizenship look like? From what debates and practices did the concept of cultural citizenship result? Let us survey the sundry options, as ‘cultural citizens’ actually appear in many guises. They may be citizens