MCPS3015 Culture and Economy (5 cr)

Grading scale
0-5
Teaching languages
English

Learning outcomes

The course aims at giving student knowledge about the wide field of culture and economy, including cultural economy and creative industries. The course helps to analyze economic questions in the cultural sector, which are related (for example) to public funding of culture, cultural industry (movies, literature, theatre, festivals, computer games etc. etc.) and inter/transnational and inter/transcultural aspects of cultural economy. The course gives ability to build arguments for cultural politics and cultural economy. Student also learns how to critically analyze policies, processes and cases related to economization of culture.

Study methods

Lectures / reading groups / essays.

Content

The course provides an overview of cultural economics linked with the cultural sector, cultural industries, creative industries and cultural policy. The course deals with topics such as the market demand for arts and culture, the status of artists, art and culture as work, creative economy, commons, the determinants of participation in arts and culture, welfare economics, market failures such as externalities and public goods in the cultural sector, the non-market demand for arts and culture, cost-benefit analysis, production, productivity and the earning gap, the value of fine art and the economics of intellectual property.

Literature:

ISBN-number Author, year of publication, title, publisher
When completing the course with lectures, choose one book of the following for the essay. When completing the course only with essays, choose three books of the following:
1. Throsby, David (2010): The Economics of Cultural Policy
2. Smart, Barry (2003): Economy, Culture and Society. A Sociological Critique of Neo-Liberalism
3. Flew, Terry (2012): Creative Industries. Culture and Policy
4. Kong, Lily & Justin O’Connor (2009): Creative economies, Creative cities: Asian-European Perspectives
5. Towse, Ruth (2010): A Textbook of Cultural Economics
6. Hesmondhalgh, David (2007/2013): The Cultural Industries

Assessment criteria

Participating in lectures / reading groups. Writing an essay.