Project Details
Projekt
What kind of theatre? Comparative analysis of government funded theatre in Germany, Austria and Switzerland - a study of cultural and corporate governance
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Annette Zimmer
Subject Area
Theatre and Media Studies
Empirical Social Research
Empirical Social Research
Term
since 2017
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 387849349
TP7 “What kind of theatre” aims for a comparative analysis of the cultural and corporate governance of government financed theatres in Germany, Austria and Switzerland (German-speaking area) with a particular focus on gender equality for the theatre personnel. “What kind of theatre” ties in with the initial project phase that, with a special eye on employment and working conditions from the shop floor level to the top-management, researched the consequences on the in-depth crisis (cultural, financial and of legitimacy) affecting municipal theatres in non-metropolitan areas in Germany. The follow-up project aims at investigating whether, due to a lack of resources and unfavourable locations, the legitimacy crises is restricted to municipal theatres in Germany; or on the contrary, is there a general crisis of government financed theatres. Do also in the neighbouring countries – in Austria and in the German speaking parts of Switzerland – so-called public theatres suffer from a loss of prestige and relevance in the area of cultural politics. Hence, does delegitimisation constitute a general phenomenon in the world of government funded theatres? And moreover, are there not only municipal theatres losing legitimacy in the cultural policy domain but also the theatres funded by the national and state governments that operate in the state capitals and in metropolitan areas of Austria, Germany and Switzerland? Furthermore, “What kind of theatre” aims at stocktaking of the administrative reforms that inspired by new public management were put-in place throughout the three countries with a deep impact on the governance of government financed theatres that used to be government run institutions, thoroughly integrated into the local, regional or national public administration. Again, with a special eye on gender issues, the project will investigate the impact of the change of corporate governance on the management and shop floor level of the theatres after the administrative reforms inspired by new public management. Amongst the topics that will be covered are the change of working conditions and industrial relation as well as career opportunities and obstacles, particularly for women. In detail, the goals of TP7 are:- to investigate comparatively within the multi-level governance systems of the federalized countries Austria, Germany and Switzerland and against the background of the current social and political developments that are partly triggered and intensified through the corona crisis, the relevance, prestige and political backing of government funded theatres in the domain of cultural policy and politics (cultural governance)- to research and work-out, based on a comparative analysis of selected number of case studies of theatres in the three countries, a corporate governance model that is compatible with the complexity of the theatre as amultipurpose organization and that in particular opens up career possibilities for women.
DFG Programme
Research Units
