MP5032 - The Creative Industries

What will I learn on this module?

This module will introduce you to the creative industries in the UK and consider them in an international context. As a part of this module, you will examine the contemporary creative industries in light of contemporary practices, trends, developments, and trajectories. The module takes a distinctive pedagogic approach in that the core of the module consists of team-taught and research-led ‘symposiums’ that address a specific debate, development or controversy within the cultural industries and enable you to acquire a critical, multi-perspective, and evaluative grounding in the issues shaping such industries. Complementing and reinforcing the Media staff-led symposiums will be a series of lectures provided by industry guest speakers (from the creative industries) that will provide practical and state-of-the-art insights into key issues underpinning creative industries’ operations and developments. You will acquire the skills, knowledge, and foresight that employers and investors are seeking.

How will I learn on this module?

The module is taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. The taught component of the module will consist of two-hour lecture slots accompanied by one-hour seminar slots across the year. Every lecture will have a corresponding seminar in which the issues will be explored in greater depth. The lectures will mainly introduce key theoretical contentions, historical/political/social/economic contexts, and issues. The lecture slot is long as to allow space for the tutor to: a) introduce theoretical, industrial and practical ideas; b) demonstrate the ways in which these examples can be understood in relation to theories of media and communication; and c) delineate areas of contention raised by the examples. The connections between the theoretical ideas and the issue at hand will be explored further in the seminars. The module includes a significant time allowance for self-directed study. During this time, you will be expected to engage in seminar preparation (for example, by engaging with relevant scholarship). You will be expected to attend the seminars prepared (i.e. having attended the lecture and conducted independent preparatory reading). The major theoretical texts are available from the campus library and electronic library, thereby ensuring that you can access the literature required for seminar work and assessment preparation. You are encouraged to read extensively beyond the taught components of the module.

How will I be supported academically on this module?

The module tutor has weekly office hours during which you can drop in for academic support. All students are also provided with an academic tutor who also has hours to support student learning. The seminars will allow you to engage in group discussion and problem-solving with the module tutor and your peers, thus developing a constructive support network. The delivery of the module will be supported with learning and lecture materials that are accessible via the e-learning portal.

What will I be expected to read on this module?

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

What will I be expected to achieve?

Knowledge & Understanding:
• KU1: Develop a detailed understanding of the methods, approaches and practices that characterise contemporary creative industries
• KU2: Develop a detailed understanding of the impacts that technological and cultural transformations have on contemporary creative industries

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
• IPSA1: Reflect on and develop your ability to critically evaluate debates relating to creative industries, both independently and in group discussion

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
• PVA1: Develop a detailed understanding of the creative industries landscape, accounting for social, political and cultural considerations that have led to the development of contemporary creative industries.

How will I be assessed?

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
To prepare you successfully to undertake the summative assessment(s) on this module, formative assessments will be set by the module team. These may take the form of in-class tasks or projects, developmental activities undertaken between classes, or learning exercises/activities set over a longer period. Feedback (written and/or oral) will be provided to help you learn from, reflect on, and develop in light of these formative assessments.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
A a 3000-word essay in which you are expected to engage critically and reflectively with the work you have studied on the module and that you have independently explored.

The assessment strategy with respect to this module is designed to develop:

• The ability to present a well-organised, well-supported academic discussion on the chosen topic following all the academic conventions for example referencing.
• The ability to engage critically with the knowledge and understanding acquired
• The ability to communicate effectively complex information in a variety of different formats
• Independent research skills in information retrieval and organization

Pre-requisite(s)

N/A

Co-requisite(s)

N/A

Module abstract

Creative Industries combines conceptual thinking, practice-informed debate, and experiential learning into a distinctive and innovative matrix that will enable you to obtain a fully rounded critical understanding of the ways in which media and creative industries function and the challenges and opportunities that face them in the immediate future. The goal is to establish what we mean by creative industries while illuminating new practices through theories of production and consumption. This module will invite you to critically interact with historical and current concerns in the creative industries. Creative Industries will prepare you to talk about the local, national, and international markets for creative media. In this module, you will acquire skills to critically evaluate changes in the media and cultural industries and their economic and political significance. Creative Industries will shed light on the digital revolution and how it impacts the creative industries' production, dissemination, and consumption.

Course info

UCAS Code P305

Credits 20

Level of Study Undergraduate

Mode of Study 3 years Full Time or 4 years with a placement (sandwich)/study abroad

Department Northumbria School of Design, Arts and Creative Industries, Arts

Location City Campus, Northumbria University

City Newcastle

Start September 2025

Fee Information

Module Information

All information is accurate at the time of sharing. 

Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.  

Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

 

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