Course Catalogue

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This course introduces students to cultural analysis as a critical and creative practice. Through a series of case studies we will discuss how 'culture' is constantly performed and renegotiated through the practices of everyday life as well as through the work of the creative industries. How can cultural activity contribute to problematic 'naturalisations' of certain stereotypes (about race, gender, class, disability and sexuality), and how can we work creatively and critically to counter-act such bias?

Lectures: 20 x 1hr over 10 weeks on Monday 12:00 & Thursday 12:00.

Tutorials: 10 x 1hr over 10 weeks as scheduled in MyCampus

Grade D3 or above in both Introduction to Creative Industries and Introduction to Creative Practice

None

Creative Labour

The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ Essay (2000 words) - 40%  

■ Recorded Presentation (7 minutes) - 40%  

■ Critical reflection (1000 words) - 20%   

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ There are no alternatives to the assessments, but extensions to the deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions) and assistance with the uploading of work. 

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

This course aims to:

■ introduce theories of and approaches to culture and cultural analysis

■ promote an understanding of the role of cultural analysis for creative practice and for work in the creative industries

■ develop an understanding of how stereotyping works and how creative practice may be used to critically analyse this process

■ interrogate how creative industries, in different historical and geographical contexts, are shaped by underlying assumptions about culture

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ critically appraise, through an appropriate theoretical lens, the politics of representation apparent in selected cultural practices/artefacts

■ evaluate the role of the creative industries in perpetuating and/or challenging cultural stereotypes

■ critique the representational practices of selected cultural artefacts through their creative reappropriation in a digital format, as well as through more traditional forms of academic writing and oral argumentation.