Dr Daniel Ashton (Bath Spa University) blogs about his recent research seminar presentation:

Noting the ‘affective, risky, networked, creative turn’ in Media and Cultural Studies, this presentation explores how extending concepts of ‘employability’ present ways to locate ethical concerns as relevant for students. The aim is not to overlook or dismiss the investments and understandings that students hold, but to utilize the higher education experience to locate these alongside grounded accounts of the challenges of the their future cultural work contexts.

Focusing on the ‘Creative Contexts: Work placements, peer learning and professional practice in the creative industries’ (Higher Education Academy funded) project, this presentation explores how undergraduate students on courses relating to a range of media and creative industries can share their experiences and stories from work placements through creating ‘reflections films’.

The Creative Contexts website hosts short films through which students can share with each other experiences, insights, tips, and questions from their placements on areas including: Identifying and securing work placements; insights into working with others; activities undertaken; how work placement experiences connect together; challenges encountered and responses; and feelings and experiences of ‘fitting in’.

This presentation will introduce the project in relation to the wider context of work placements in higher education, and look to initiate discussion evaluating the ‘reflections films’ approach, and use themes and issues raised by students in the films (such as: best practice for placements, quality of learning opportunities, issues of pay and hours) to debate how higher education and students can engage with the unethical and amoral aspects of cultural work raised in critical scholarship and industry practice.

Creative Contexts from creativecontexts on Vimeo.