Intelligence Squared

Can Anyone Actually Own A Culture?

May 15, 2023

Martin Puchner, an acclaimed author and Harvard professor, discusses the blurred lines between cultural appreciation and appropriation. He argues that culture has always evolved through borrowing, and this should be celebrated rather than seen as ownership. Puchner explores historical moments of cultural transmission, the reinterpretation of artifacts like the bust of Nefertiti, and contemporary issues surrounding global phenomena such as BTS. He advocates for a model of engagement that promotes understanding and appreciation of diverse cultural practices.

43:14

Episode guests

Martin Puchner

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

Cultural Transmission Through Time

8min

The Dynamics of Cultural Transmission and Misinterpretation

5min

Navigating Historical Context and Modern Interpretation

4min

Cultural Ownership and Appropriation

21min

Cultural Ownership and Global Phenomena: The BTS Example

2min

In an age where the line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation seems ever more blurred, can anyone actually own a culture? In this conversation acclaimed author and public intellectual Martin Puchner explains that the history of mankind has always been a story of borrowing from one another and that this is something to be celebrated, not lamented. The idea of ownership implicit in debates about cultural appropriation, he argues, presents an insular tale about how culture evolves — flattening out the complicated textures of human history and, in the end, what truly makes us us. Our host for this discussion is Edward Wilson Lee, fellow and lecturer at Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge.

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