Understanding the Creative Industries (464-0-20)
Instructors
Thomas Lamar Bradshaw
Meeting Info
Louis Hall 119: Mon 2:00PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
We tend to think of creative works in aesthetic or artistic terms: the way they tell us stories, present us with larger-than-life performers, fill our daily lives with music, or inform us about the world. However, the films, television shows, videogames, and popular recordings that we enjoy are produced, distributed, and marketed using the techniques and strategies of modern industry: that is, show business is just as much about the business as it is the show. This combination of art and industry has long sparked debate about the status of the cultural or creative industries, and the ways in which they intermingle art and commerce. What makes an "authentic" expression within this context? Where does the creativity lie in the complex and collaborative productions of the creative industries? What role do advertising and market research play in shaping creative products? To what degree can audiences take an active role in their experience of creative works? How have technological or legislative developments influenced the way in which creative products are produced, distributed and consumed? What is the culture of work in the creative industries, and how can it be made to be more diverse and inclusive? How can media products be made so that they cross cultural or national boundaries?
This course will address these and other questions through an engagement with scholarship on a range of creative industries including film, radio and television broadcasting, popular music, advertising, animation, and digital gaming. The course is designed to provide a historical and theoretical introduction to the creative industries and to allow students to apply that knowledge to a range of industrial contexts.
Learning Objectives
*To develop a vocabulary for describing and critiquing the creative industries;
*To become acclimated to the academic field of creative/media industry studies;
*To situate a personal engagement with the creative industries within a broad historical and theoretical context;
*To develop a critical understanding of key debates and case studies in the creative industries;
*To apply theoretical and historical knowledge towards the development of original arguments, research plans and business strategies in creative fields.
Class Attributes
Face to face: In person, in campus space
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Registration is reserved for students in the MSLCE students only.
Add Consent: Department Consent Required