Should Controversial Art Receive Government Funding?

An important recent debate in the humanities asks: Should government funding for the arts be available to all artists, no matter their subject matter? Should "indecent" or "obscene" art receive government funding?

This debate involves the First Amendment to the Constitution and how it is applied: Does our First Amendment-guaranteed freedom of expression mean that all artists, no matter how controversial, should be eligible for government grants?

View an overview and summary of the debate at EBSCOHost Points of View Reference Center: Arts Funding. The box on this page titled "Related Items" contains a "Point" and "Counterpoint," each one arguing a different opinion on this topic.

With summarizing the article with your own unique explanation. Summarize means to re-state the main ideas of the article but without copying any of the article's sentences or exact wording.

After your summary, state whether you agree or disagree with the viewpoint(s) presented in the article and explain why.