Core modules
Culture in Development
This module examines the global policy frameworks for culture, arts and development: the ideas, aspirations, ethics and policy strategies for using the arts, culture and creative industries within human, social and urban development.
We will explore the place of culture, art and creative enterprise within the global discourses of Sustainable Development. We will assess how development projects have always had a ‘cultural’ dimension, whether this has been acknowledged or not. We use case studies to look at how global ideas and policies are interpreted "on the ground" — using business enterprise, arts curating and administration, project management and political protest.
Arts, Community and Enterprise
The core module Arts, Community and Enterprise considers the global policy contexts of the arts and culture in International Development. In this module we will focus on practice and local realities. How does enterprise work? What is creativity in practice?
To do this the module will tackle the questions of why have arts enterprise and culture been proposed as a solution to ‘development’ problems? What does this type of creativity offer that mainstream development strategy does not? What can the creative economy do that the mainstream economy cannot?
We will explore what creative/arts and/or cultural models of development have to offer whilst examining the limitations of the theories, policies and practices. The central purpose of this module then is to critically explore the tensions and contradictions in the use of economic models, models of business enterprise and entrepreneurialism for social, local and community development. You will be encouraged to develop both your theoretical knowledge and practical skills in order to understand the complexities involved with engaging the arts in community development problems.
Project Management for Cultural Enterprise
In this module, the student group will engage in collaborative practical work and 'apply' the theoretical or academic learning of the MA course. The subject of this module is Project Management (PM) as an established range of methods and tools, but here applied to a cultural event. The event will be situated either on the Warwick campus or the City of Coventry, and will afford the students a practical opportunity in (a) devising a PM methodology appropriate to the cultural industries (a creative process as well as experience), and (b) learning the skills required to apply their methodology — reflexively and in dialogue with a tutor(s), who will open the module with a series of coordinated lectures and seminars on PM and the challenges of cultural enterprise.
Research Design
This module aims to prepare you for your Major Project, which is a substantial piece of independent research on a topic of your choice. The module will equip you with a broad understanding of relevant research methods from which to select an appropriate approach for your own project. It will introduce you to ethical dimensions of research. It will provide you with the skills to write an effective proposal (including research questions, rationale, explanation and justification of research methods, identifying relevant literature and data sources).
By the end of the module, you should be ready to submit your proposal and have a broad understanding of research methods in the cultural, creative and media industries field.
Plus the following:
Major Project
The Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies is an interdisciplinary centre for teaching and research in the fields of cultural and media policy and the creative industries. The commitment to interdisciplinarity is reflected in our Major Projects, where you will be encouraged to draw on approaches from across the humanities and social sciences in producing your work. Successful projects can emerge from creative engagement with scholarly debates, from the design and analysis of original empirical work, or from some combination of these. This openness of approach is also reflected in how Major Project research can be represented.
Optional modules
Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:
- Cultural Entrepreneurship
- Developing Audiences for Cultural Organisations
- Marketing and Markets
- Media, Policy and Markets
- Managing Creativity for Sustainable Development
All students will take one optional module. There are four core modules, one of which is a course specific applied management module. The bespoke applied management module for this MA is called ‘Project Management for Cultural Enterprise’ (see above), which gives you the opportunity to apply your learning in practice- or industry-related contexts.
Read more about the MA in Arts, Enterprise and Development on the Centre's website.Link opens in a new window
