Cultural Brokerage Revisited

Abstract:Cultural brokerage is a core concept and practice relating to all aspects of public folklore. An examination of how it is conceptualized and employed in various disciplines reveals key distinctive features and suggests new avenues for rethinking its application. Cultural brokers produce programming, apply expertise, engage advocacy, and facilitate access to resources for the communities and groups with which they work. Brokerage entails intervention and multiple mediations with long-term consequences that shape the identities of both broker and brokered. Self-interest and mutual interests are always present along with the interests of disciplines and institutions. Asymmetries of authority are accompanied by overarching framing by the broker. Public folklore cultural brokerage should be directed towards enabling communities and groups to represent their cultures on their own terms, which requires sharing and yielding authority, as well as recognition of the power dynamics within these relationships. Understanding how brokerage operates can foster greater reflexivity and more informed praxis regarding the authority, interests, impact, and appropriate roles of the public folklorist.