Media and Cultural Industries Practices
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| CULT4048 | Cultural, Media and Visual Studies | 4 | 20 | Spring UK |
- Code
- CULT4048
- School
- Cultural, Media and Visual Studies
- Level
- 4
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Spring UK
Summary
The media, cultural and creative industries are composed of a broad range of sectors and offer a huge variety of areas of practice and future research and/or employment opportunities. However, these sectors often lack established entry routes and clear career paths, have distinctive and specific labour processes, and complex, dynamic sets of issues and challenges that can be difficult to navigate.
This module addresses this knowledge gap by providing students with i) the ability to investigate and analyse the contemporary media and cultural industries and ii) the opportunity for independent, detailed investigation of specific sectors and areas of practice. It provides students with skills and knowledges that will enhance their employability, and scaffold their learning towards future advanced research and enquiry.
Drawing upon the expertise in the Department of Culture, Film and Media, students will get a detailed insight into the different sectors and areas of practice that make up the media and cultural industries, and an understanding of the important challenges, issues and debates that they face. Through a combination of staff-led workshops, supervision and independent group work, students will be supported to explore and develop their own interests in a specific sector of the media and cultural industries that builds upon and applies the theoretical and historical grounding established in semester one.
Typical areas of focus include, but are not limited to, PR and advertising, tourism and heritage culture, film and television, visual arts, performing arts, craft cultures, music, publishing, video games, journalism, social and digital media. Key issues and debates include workforce diversity, inequality, precarity and internship culture, skills and education, digitisation, conglomeration, global integration, platformification.
Target Students
Only available to students on MSc Cultural Industries and Entrepreneurship and MA International Media and Communications Studies.
Classes
- One 3-hour workshop each week for 4 weeks
- One 3-hour workshop each week for 4 weeks
- One 30-minute tutorial each week for 3 weeks
Assessment
- 100% Coursework: Coursework - Portfolio of work including written work or equivalent not to exceed 4,000 words
Assessed by end of spring semester
Educational Aims
The module has three main aims:- To provide students with the advanced knowledge and skills to enable them to independently investigate specific sectors of the media and cultural industries;- To critically engage with key challenges, issues and debates in the contemporary media and cultural industries;- To enhance student employability by developing sector knowledge on labour markets and practices; and teamworking and presentation skills.Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and Understanding
Students completing the module will be able to:
- Deepen and apply existing theoretical and historical knowledge to a specific sector of the media and cultural industries.
- Map specific sector knowledge onto wider industry dynamics in terms of structure and organisation, workforce processes and practices, and policy.
- Relate specific concerns of one area of practice to professional issues, such as technological change, unionisation, legal representation, and socio-cultural debates, including equality, representation, gender bias, etc.
Intellectual Skills
Students completing the module will be able to:
- Independently select and apply relevant theory to contemporary media and cultural industries practices.
- Critically evaluate, synthesise and present different sources of knowledge and evidence on the media and cultural industries (e.g., academic research, industry research, practitioner accounts, media representations).
- Construct and effectively communicate arguments around important contemporary issues in the media and cultural industries.
- Employ appropriate electronic and other scholarly resources to produce research and facilitate debate.
Professional Practical Skills
Students completing the module will be able to:
- Identify entry routes and career paths in a specific sector of the media and cultural industries.
- Identify and assess key issues and debates effecting a specific sector of the media and cultural industries.
- Develop reflective approaches to team work, collaboration, and independent research.
- Effectively prepare and present an independently researched case study.