Context is everything. Very little in art or in history (or in life) happens in isolation, although works of art and events in history have been studied this way. This is especially true of the arts, which are so intrinsically connected to the cultures from which they emerge. This essential interconnectivity was also the premise behind the design…

Argues that, if higher education is serious about achieving sustained policy to support the arts, it must build consensus about the value of art, artists, and artistic freedom. Politically, more attention is given to tactics than to underlying philosophy. Trend data for National Endowment for the Arts funding and state arts funding in New England…