Introduction

This chapter presents the problem of valuing culture as a major social challenge for today’s European societies, which the UNCHARTED project sought to address in depth. This book summarizes the results of this project. To begin, the project is contextualized in relation to three classic views on this issue: those of David Throsby, Pierre Bourdieu, and John Holden. In contrast to these, the project then defines its own approach, which is pragmatic, based on a pluralistic view of value and a complex view of the dynamics of valuation, as well as being purely empirical and aimed at producing useful results for improving cultural management and policy. The logic of the project and its development are then explained. Finally, the organization of the book is described, the contents of the various chapters are outlined, and future challenges for continuing work in this area are identified.