Understanding Cultural Industries
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| CULT2010 | Cultural, Media and Visual Studies | 2 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- CULT2010
- School
- Cultural, Media and Visual Studies
- Level
- 2
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
We tend to think of films and television programmes in aesthetic and artistic terms: the way particular texts may tell us stories, present us with larger than life performers, or inform us about the world. However, films, television programmes and other kinds of popular media are produced, distributed and marketed using the techniques and strategies of modern industry: 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 Industries and the way that art and commerce intermingle. This module explores the complex way that cultural industries function, examining a series of dynamics that help us understand how media texts take the form they do. Specifically, it asks how modes of cultural production have changed in different contexts and periods. What role does advertising play in the life and design of film and TV products? How does market research shape the products that are made and the kinds of audience that are catered for? How do technological or legislative developments influence the way that products of the cultural industries are produced, distributed and consumed? This module will provide an introduction to these and other questions, drawing upon a range of case examples from the film and television industry, and offering students the chance to develop and pitch their own show.
A single coursework assessment will replace all failed assessment components at the reassessment stage.
Target Students
Only available to students in Film and Television Studies, International Media & Communication Studies and History of Art. Also available for CMVS Exchange students and Liberal Arts students.
Classes
- One 1-hour seminar each week for 11 weeks
- One 3-hour lecture each week for 11 weeks
The School of Cultures, Languages and Area Studies operates an attendance policy. The details of this policy can be found in the student handbook on Workspace and in module handbooks.
Assessment
- 100% Coursework: Coursework - 3,000 words portfolio of written work and equivalent
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
The module will introduce students to critical frameworks for understanding the dynamics and processes of the cultural industries. Students will become familiar with the nature of cultural industry production, specific industrial practices and relations; the construction of markets and audiences, the nature of media work, the influence of technologies and legal regimes on the creation and circulation of media property.Learning Outcomes
A: Knowledge and Understanding of: 1) the production, distribution and consumption of media texts 2) the organisation and operation of the culture industries 3) the links between conditions of production and textual meaning.
B: Intellectual skills: 1) thinking critically and imaginatively about the subject matter 2) interpreting primary and secondary sources about the subject matter 3) engaging with key problems relevant to the determinations of textual meaning 4) evaluating different modes of industrial creativity
C: Professional Practical Skills: 1) sifting and synthesising information from a range of sources 2) identifying, comparing and evaluating key arguments in these materials 3) presenting reasoned arguments using appropriate conventions
D: Transferable Skills: 1) managing a large body of information 2) the ability to communicate effectively in writing 3) increased confidence in oral communication 4) managing and taking responsibility for one's own time and learning 5) presenting written work in an appropriate manner.