Arts, Culture and Commodification: Themes in the Global Creative and Cultural Industries

Key information

Start date
End date
Year of study
Year 2, Year 3 or Year 4
Duration
Term 2
Module code
158100001
FHEQ Level
5
Credits
15
Department
School of Arts & Centre for Creative Industries, Media and Screen Studies

Module overview

The module is designed to explore themes – around the emergence of the cultural industries, the commodification of art and culture and the potentialities of digital culture – that are relevant across Media, Music and Arts and Archaeology, and to bring together expertise from each department in a team-taught module.

It will give students an overview of the history and scale of the global cultural industries and how they intersect with politics, the economy, and ideas of the self and of community. It will use case studies drawn from across SOAS regions to ground the module in specific examples that address transnational and localised framings.

The module is designed to bring together theoretical perspectives and practical examples and to raise questions around work and careers in the cultural industries that will enable students to consider the connections between their undergraduate studies and their future careers. It will also serve as an on-ramp and taster for students considering postgraduate study at SOAS, since it features introductions to themes and teaching staff who offer more detailed modules at postgraduate level (including MA in Global Creative and Cultural Industries).

Objectives and learning outcomes of the module

On successful completion of this module students will be able to

  • Have an understanding of key concepts applicable to the creative industries and how to apply these key concepts to analyse critically various elements of the creative industries
  • Have an understanding of the role of the digital technologies and how to apply these within music, media and the arts
  • Have an understanding of the inter-relationships between the globalisations of new media and the localised

Workload

2 hours per week

Method of assessment

  • 1,000-word book or article review (worth 25% of marks)
  • Group projects, to be completed before end of course (worth 25%)
  • 2,500-word assignment (worth 50%)

Suggested reading

  • De Beukelaer, Christiaan. 2015. Developing Cultural Industries: Learning from the palimpsest of practice. Brussels: European Cultural Foundation
  • Hesmondhalgh, David. 2013. The Cultural Industries (3rd edition), London: Sage
  • McRobbie, Angela. 2016. Be creative: Making a living in the new cultural industries. Cambridge: Polity
  • Oakley, Kate and Justin O’Conner. 2015. The Routledge Companion to the Cultural Industries. London: Routledge
  • Phillips, Whitney. 2015. This is why we can't have nice things: mapping the relationship between online trolling and mainstream culture.

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules