6 ECTS credits
173 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 4023500FNR for all students in the 1st semester at a (F) Master - specialised level.
In this course we will discuss a topical ‘cultural debate’, that is, a polemical and burning societal issue which is high on the agenda’s of the cultural sector during that year.
Starting from actual cultural praxis, we will look into this debate from multiple perspectives. We will also consider underlying theoretical frameworks in order to gain a deeper understanding of culture and society.
The course starts from the premise that culture does not develop in isolation but is always interplaying with society. The questions that are of interest here, are:
How does this interplay happen?
Which cultural practices receive attention at a certain moment in time and which are left out?
How is the debate handled by stakeholders in cultural and civil society, and policymakers for that matter?
And what role do media play in this debate?
We will not restrict ourselves to the analysis of a cultural debate; we will also reflect upon the position and responsibilty that a communication scientist might have when dealing and handling these questions.
First, for the purpose of understanding the cultural debate and the interaction with society, we will have to tap into sociology, philosophy and communication sciences and learn about the theoretical insights of Max Weber, John Dewey, Pierre Bourdieu, Jean Baudrillard, Don Slater,Kevin Hetherington, Zygmunt Bauman, Ziauddin Sardar, Bambi Ceuppens, Anthony Appiah, Sarah Ahmed … We will also have to build bridges with a broad range of cultural sciences (history, art history/sciences and heritage studies).
Second, we will study the cultural field in which the debate occurs and map the main cultural actors and policy makers. Third, we will have a closer look at the role media take on in the process of creating, consolidating or revealing a cultural debate.
Examples of a cultural debate:
- The white cultural institution: what is the influence of an international movement such as Black Lives Matter on the ‘identity’ of a cultural organisation in Flanders?
- How does the pandemic influence the reproduction of social inequalities in cultural institutions?
- Nearly 100 % of the collections in museum repositories consists of work made by male, white artists. Is this situation changing due to the increasing attention for LGBTQI+ in society?
- In Flanders, for the past 10 years, a considerable number of artists and cultural workers have been collaborating with welfare workers for the purpose of supporting people with mental problems and/or dementia (and their caregivers). What are the effects, and what seem to be the blind spots?
Media courses are the focus of the Bachelor program Communication Sciences. Although consolidated in the Master program, the component ‘culture’ gains more weight in the pillar ‘Media and Culture’. It therefore seems critical to the department (vakgroep) to organise a course that explicitely addresses this pillar. In our experience, communication sciences students generally have little knowledge of the issues at stake in the cultural world. After graduating, however, this is a field they often start their professional lives in.
The course ‘Cultural debates’ will provide a solid introduction to this domain. We mindfully chose the methodology of the ‘debate’ and the practice of ‘questioning’ in order to scale up the students’ cultural knowledge using insights from academia and cultural practice. Starting from a current ‘cultural debate’ will enable us to make students acquainted with diverse aspects of the cultural world, with the ambition to give them insight and analysis on cultural theory, policy, practice and management.
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Oral Exam determines 60% of the final mark.
Practical Exam determines 30% of the final mark.
Other Exam determines 10% of the final mark.
Within the Oral Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
Within the Practical Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
Within the Other Exam category, the following assignments need to be completed:
In the process of assessment, several components are important: interaction during classes, the intermediary assignment and the oral exam.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Communication Studies: Media and Culture (only offered in Dutch)
Master of Communication Studies: Media, Journalism and Politics (only offered in Dutch)