29 September 2005
Integrating cultural art and design projects into national security policy could help fight terrorism by addressing its root causes, Monash University academic Professor Bernard Hoffert will tell a national conference today.
Professor Hoffert, head of Monash's Department of Fine Arts, will present his paper 'Designing for Terror: Security through Culture' at the Australian Council of University Art and Design Schools ' national conference in Perth.
"The huge emphasis on security in the post-9-11 political environment provides new opportunities for art - and particularly design - to contribute to a secure world by supporting oppressed and potentially disenfranchised social groups," Professor Hoffert said.
He said projects such as working with sculptors in Africa, women artists in Iran and traditional puppet theatre in Cambodia, had provided cultural support for potentially disaffected groups through the projects' contributions to economic development, preserving cultural identity or social recognition.
"Much of the blame for terrorist activities is focused on cultural attitudes such as religious dogma and extreme fundamentalist interpretations of belief. While security analysts acknowledge this as a major cause, the underlying cause can be linked to social despair and a sense of hopelessness resulting from oppression, ignorance, poverty and injustice (perceived or actual)."
Professor Hoffert said this could lead to a sense of disaffection where groups felt culturally alienated and without hope. "It is these social conditions that can create an environment where fundamentalism can grow.
"The provision of visual cultural support projects in art or design can help overcome this sense of social disaffection.
"Such projects also help mitigate the potential for destructive political forces to exploit these situations and help remove the potential for future security issues as they support alienated social groups," he said.
For more information contact Professor Bernard Hoffert, on (03) 9903 2711 or Karen Stichtenoth, Media Communications, on (03) 9905 1253.
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