Assessing cultural expertise in Portugal: challenges and opportunities

• Tipo: Capítulo ou Parte de Livro
• Data: 2019

Autores

Lopes, João Teixeira (Autor) FLUP; Leão, Anabela Costa (Autor) FDUP; Ferro, Ligia (Autor) FLUP

Livro

Título: Cultural expertise and socio-legal studies: special issue

Páginas: 57-74

ISBN: 978-1-78769-516-0

ISBN Eletrónico: 978-1-78769-515-3

Editora: Emerald Publishing

Indexação

Scopus - 2 Citações

Classificação Científica

CORDIS: Ciências Sociais

Outras Informações

ID Authenticus: P-00Q-PT3

DOI: 10.1108/S1059-433720190000078004

Abstract (EN): Cultural expertise can play a relevant role in countries where cultural diversity marks social life, as in the case of Portugal, a country where migration always characterized its past and continues to influence the present, and where the presence of ethnic and religious minorities must be noticed. In this chapter, we aim to survey the use of cultural mediation in Portuguese law, as well as case law and culture centered mediation out of courts, in order to understand whether the concept of cultural expertise, in a broad sense, might be useful. Although it is a “contested concept,” culture is understood, for the purposes of this chapter, in a dynamic and non-essentialist sense, as a valuable asset providing context and significance to people’s lives. Assuming that the State is not “culturally neutral” and that its institutions somehow reflect the established culture, issues of equality and demands for cultural recognition will necessarily arise. However, it is the duty of the State to respect and protect cultural identity. Even though cultural expertise may become relevant in several domains of the State, particular attention is given in this chapter to the role played by cultural arguments and cultural expertise in courts in Portugal. Cultural expertise is also very relevant for social intervention, and it is mobilized in the processes of cultural mediation. These processes have a low level of institutionalization in Portugal, since it is not routinely recognized in the implementation of public policies as an autonomous professional profile.

Idioma: Inglês

Tipo (Avaliação Docente): Científica

Notas: Part II. Sites of Cultural Expertise