ZURn6203 Media and Cultural Industries

Faculty of Social Studies
Spring 2020
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 6 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Charles Michael Elavsky, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Charles Michael Elavsky, Ph.D.
Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Bc. Pavlína Brabcová
Supplier department: Department of Media Studies and Journalism – Faculty of Social Studies
Timetable
Thu 20. 2. 14:00–15:40 AVC, Thu 27. 2. 14:00–15:40 AVC, Thu 5. 3. 14:00–15:40 AVC, Thu 12. 3. 14:00–15:40 AVC, Thu 19. 3. 14:00–15:40 AVC, Thu 26. 3. 14:00–15:40 AVC, Thu 2. 4. 14:00–15:40 AVC, Thu 9. 4. 14:00–15:40 AVC, Thu 23. 4. 14:00–15:40 AVC, Thu 30. 4. 14:00–15:40 AVC, Thu 7. 5. 14:00–15:40 AVC, Thu 14. 5. 14:00–15:40 AVC
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
This course will provide an introduction to the scholarly study of the cultural industries, exploring how scholars have theoretically and methodologically engaged them as cultural entities/sites of practice/ideological constructs. As such, it seeks to parse out terms, concepts, and scholarship related to understanding the ideology/praxis nexus connected to creativity as sets of processes/negotiations under capitalist imperatives and dynamics. Critical to all of this is discerning the dialogic relationship between culture and these industries which operate in contextually-specific ways, as well as considerations of how theoretical conceptions of agency and structure (as they intersect in these sites) figure into understanding the outcomes of these mediations.
We will trace the historical development of theories related to analyzing the cultural industries dating from the early twentieth century to the present, considering how they form an emergent paradigm. In doing so, our goal is to consider, delineate, and compare what they each bring to the range of theoretical and critical approaches. As we move across the semester, our focus will center increasingly on the microsocial processes as they intersect macrosocial dynamics. We will conclude with several case studies and a consideration of future research concerns
Learning outcomes
Students will be able to:
- understand theoretical notion and history of cultural and media industries
- apply key concepts in their analysis of current issues and practice
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction(s), Syllabus, Course Parameters
  • 2. Framing
  • 3. Foundations (History/Overview)
  • 4. Industry Studies: Innovations
  • 5. Cultural Industries/Media Industries
  • 6. Cultural Economy/ Creative Industries-Economy
  • 7. Creative Labor
  • 8. Cultural Work
  • 9. Communities of Practice
  • 10. Corporate Cultures
  • 11. Case Studies
  • 12. The Future of Cultural Industries Research
Literature
  • DiMaggio, Paul. ‘ Market structure, the creative process and popular culture: towards an organizational reinterpretation of mass-culture theory.’ Journal of Popular Culture, 11: 436-52, 1977
  • Adorno, Theodor and Max Horkheimer (1977/1944). “The culture industry: enlightenment as mass deception” in James Curran, Michael Gurevitch and Janet Wollacott (eds), Mass Communication and Society. London: Edward Arnold. pp. 349-383.
  • HESMONDHALGH, David. The cultural industries. 3rd edition. Los Angeles: Sage, 2013, xx, 456. ISBN 9781446209264. info
  • HARTLEY, J. Creative Industries. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2005, 432 pp. ISBN 1-4051-0147-4. info
  • Cultural industries and the production of culture. Edited by Dominic Power - Allen John Scott. 1st pub. London: Routledge, 2004, xi, 268. ISBN 0415331013. info
  • MCCHESNEY, Robert Waterman. The problem of the media : U.S. communication politics in the twenty-first century. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2004, 367 s. ISBN 1583671056. info
  • Cultural work : understanding the cultural industries. Edited by Andrew Beck. New York: Routledge, 2002, xi, 196. ISBN 0415289521. info
  • Production of culture/culture of production. Edited by Paul Du Gay. 1st pub. London: SAGE Publications, 1997, 356 s. ISBN 0761954368. info
  • BOURDIEU, Pierre. The field of cultural production : essays on art and literature. Edited by Randal Johnson. Cambridge: Polity press, 1993, viii, 323. ISBN 9780745609867. info
Teaching methods
Lecture, seminar discussion, group presentations
Assessment methods
Each week, participants will be expected to have completed the assigned readings and be prepared to discuss the major arguments/positions of the author(s) as well as offering a critique of their work. Students’ synthesis, critical evaluation, and debate surrounding these readings in class comprise the most important aspect of this course/semester, so preparation, attendance, and participation are essential and constitute a percentage of the grade.

Additionally, students lead (in teams of 2-3) a portion of 2 class discussions between weeks 3-15 For these weeks, students outline the arguments/major points of the reading(s), relate them to the emerging course trajectory themes/parameters, offer a set of issues the readings particularly raise (i.e. questions related to the development of the trajectory/their own thinking) and posit a critique of these texts as well. The aforementioned will serve as the basis for the in-class discussion students lead, as well as the two 5-8 page response papers they submit as a complement to these sessions.

Finally, students propose and complete a 20-25 page research paper, which is carried out in the following stages
- A short proposal/problem statement (1-2 pages); due week 6
- A finished proposal/outline/bibliography (5 pages): week 10
- Final Paper (20-25 pages)
Language of instruction
English
Further Comments
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2020, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/spring2020/ZURn6203