Gendering cities of culture : city/capital of culture mega-events and the potential for gender equality

Grabher, Barbara

Abstract

In the context of the transformative ambitions of event-based, culture-led urban regeneration, this thesis interrogates the production of cultures of gender equality in City/ Capital of Culture mega-events. Inspired by Donostia/ San Sebastián as European Capital of Culture in 2016 and analysed in detail in Hull’s celebration of the UK City of Culture in 2017, the investigation seeks to understand the relevance of socio-cultural values in the celebration of art, culture and heritage in the urban context. The investigation analyses the City/ Capital of Culture mega-events through a conceptualisation of their socio-cultural significance, which is informed by liminal and carnivalesque event characteristics.

Relating to the politics, practices and perceptions of gender equality in mega-events, the research is based on an ethnographic study of six equality- themed events in the field sites of Hull and Donostia/ San Sebastián. The analysis develops from a relational reading of the two sites: due to its strong emphasis on negotiations of socio-cultural values, Donostia/ San Sebastián informs my research focus in Hull.

Through this study, I argue for an understanding of City/ Capital of Culture mega-events as ‘contested spaces’ (O’Callaghan, 2012: 201), in which socio-cultural values and, in particular, cultures of gender equality are negotiated. My analysis highlights that the investigated mega-events embrace the complexities of the production of cultures of gender equality as they give voice to different meanings. Rather than a singular notion of equality, cultures of gender equality are celebrated in their plurality through the City/ Capital of Culture framework. I also interrogate the role of audiences as crucial contributors to the meaning-making process of festivals, events and celebrations. Encounters and dynamics with equality are central to the negotiations of socio-cultural values in City/ Capital of Culture mega-events. Beyond audience engagements and content productions, my investigation explores how infrastructures frame the celebrations of equality and can determine the contested spaces of City/ Capital of Culture mega-events as sites for negotiations of socio-cultural values and productions of cultures of gender equality.

Citation

Grabher, B. (2019). Gendering cities of culture : city/capital of culture mega-events and the potential for gender equality. (Thesis). University of Hull. Retrieved from https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4223173

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: May 11, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2023
• Keywords: Gender studies
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4223173
• Additional Information: Department of Criminology and Sociology, The University of Hull
• Award Date: Dec 1, 2019