Responding to the creative economy's status as an industry, education and government priority, this edited volume brings together original contributions to examine the experiences and realities of working within a number of creative sectors and addresses how higher education can both enable students to pursue and critically examine work in the cultural industries. Debates on cultural work are garnering more interest than ever before and this volume presents critical discussion based on research findings from academics and policy-makers in the fields of media and cultural studies, enterprise, employability, psychology, and education. The volume addresses: what cultural work is and how higher education is connected with its growth as a sector; educational initiatives that see students gaining ever more detailed experiences and insights; the ways in which students and cultural workers position their identities; and the politics of access and issues of exclusion as they relate to industry networks, race and gender.
Kim Allen, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK Daniel Ashton, Bath Spa University, UK Richard Berger, Bournemouth University, UK David Lee, University of Leeds, UK Karen Littleton, Open University, UK Susan Luckman, University of South Australia, Australia Annette Naudin, University of Warwick, UK Caitriona Noonan, University of Glamorgan, UK Kate Oakley, University of Leeds, UK Emma Pollard, Institute for Employment Studies, UK Anamik Saha, University of Leeds, UK Stephanie Taylor, Open University, UK Jonathan Wardle, National Film and Television School, UK Marketa Zezulkova, Bournemouth University, UK
"This is a valuable and timely book that addresses a clear gap in an expanding scholarly field. It makes a strong contribution to the growing literature, exploring what is at stake in the relationship between higher education and the cultural industries, interrogating some of the current challenges and problematic aspects of creative work." - Paul Long, Reader in Media and Cultural History, Birmingham City University, UK
"Ashton and Noonan have assembled an impressive array of perspectives that deftly explore the relationships between higher education and the cultural industries workplace. As universities further adapt to market pressures, this book reiterates what remains a fundamentally important question - what is an education in arts and culture really for?" - Mark Banks, Reader in Sociology, The Open University, UK
"Universities are increasingly pushed by governments to produce compliant working subjects, and this is increasingly true in the arts and creative industries. This excellent book provides hugely valuable critical perspectives on the implications for cultural workers, for universities, and for us all." - David Hesmondhalgh, Head of the Institute of Communications Studies and Professor of Media and Music Industries, University of Leeds, UK
