Yudhishthir Raj Isar
Senior Lecturer
- Department: Communication, Media and Culture
- Graduate Program(s): Global Communications
Professor Isar straddles different domains of cultural theory and practice, notably cultural policy across the world. Since January 2017 he has been Education Director at the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.听 Isar joined The American University of Paris in 2002 and was a Jean Monnet professor from 2003 to 2008. He has also been a聽Ma卯tre de Conf茅rence聽at Sciences Po. In 2011-2013 he was an Eminent Research Visitor with the Institute for Culture and Society at Western Sydney University, Australia, and an adjunct professor 2014-2016. Isar was also the founding co-editor of the聽Cultures and Globalization Series聽(SAGE) and has authored many book chapters and articles in scholarly journals. In 2004-2008, he was president of the European arts and culture platform聽Culture Action Europe. He is a trustee of cultural organizations in Europe, Asia and North America and consultant to international organizations and foundations, as well as the European Commission. In 2013, he was the principal investigator and lead writer for the聽UN Creative Economy Report 2013.听Widening Local Development Pathways; the scientific coordinator of the European Union鈥檚 inquiry 鈥楥ulture in EU External Relations鈥 and the principal author of its 2014 report聽Engaging the World: Towards Global Cultural Citizenship. In 2015, he edited the monitoring report on the implementation of the 2005 cultural diversity Convention entitled聽Re|Shaping Cultural Policies聽and is currently Principal Editor of the 2017 edition. Earlier, at UNESCO, he was notably the executive secretary of the World Commission on Culture and Development, director of cultural policies and of the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture. In 1986-87, he served as the first executive director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and MIT.
Education/Degrees
- Formation 脿 la recherche en anthropologie sociale (1972), Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris
- Maitrise 猫s Lettres in Sociology (1971), University of Paris, Sorbonne
- Licence 猫s Lettres in Sociology (1971), University of Paris, Sorbonne
- BA (Hons)聽in Economics, St. Stephen鈥檚 College, Delhi University
Publications
- http://www.sagepub.com/productSearch.nav?siteId=sage-us&prodTypes=any&q=cultures+and+globalisation
Affiliations
- International Council of Museums聽(ICOM)
- Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage聽(INTACH)
Research Areas
cultural policy; cultural history; cultural diplomacy; intercultural dialogue; cultural and creative industries.