Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine some of the benefits that Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) might bring to cultural policy and to discuss how the newspaper discourse on local holidays might promote some policies related to culture. Therefore, this paper makes an attempt to explore how the passive cultural participation—or consumption of this newspaper discourse—can promote both social cohesion and inclusion on one hand and reinforce the sense of local “uniqueness,” thus promoting cultural diversity, on the other. Both aspects might be considered beneficial by scholars of cultural policy and could be evaluated as recommendations when incorporating the mass media strategy into cultural policy strategy. The paper has been organized in the following way: It begins by introducing CDA as an analytical approach. Second, the important issues of cultural policy, such as the nexus between cultural participation and social cohesion and inclusion, will be introduced. The paper will then go on to evaluate celebrations as an important terrain for promotion of these issues. To conclude, the paper will illustrate, with the help of a case study, the incorporation of CDA expertise into cultural policy’s promotional mix.