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CCI30070

Academic Year 2026/2027

Work & Labour in Creative, Cultural and Media Industries (CCI30070)

Subject:
Creative & Cultural Industries
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Art History & Cultural Policy
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Benjamin Anderson
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

CCI30070 Work & Labour in Creative, Cultural and Media Industries introduces students to key issues faced by creative, cultural and media workers. Set against an interdisciplinary reading list drawn from sociology of work, critical political economy, labour geography, cultural economy and beyond, the module extends students previous studies in CCI by challenging them to critically examine the roles, responsibilities, and conditions of work in the cultural sector broadly defined. They will be challenged to think through challenges including precarious employment, gendered and racialised inequalities, overwork, and exploitation, as well as possible alternatives and correctives to these, particularly in the form of worker organising and collective action.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

-Develop critical understandings of key employment relations in the cultural sector.
-Examine challenges faced by cultural, creative and media workers.
-Apply critical labour studies literature to their own goals for sectoral employment.
-Interrogate the composition and conditions of the cultural workforce.

Indicative Module Content:

Students will be introduced to key literature and debates in critical labour studies, particularly as these apply to working life in the creative, cultural, and media industries. This will include units on precarious employment, workplace discrimination, self-exploitation, technology and the labour process, and worker organising and collective action.

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Advanced Beginner

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Advanced Beginner

Strategic

 The ability to collectively develop and implement innovative actions that further sustainability at the local level and further afield. Advanced Beginner

Integrated Problem Solving

 The overarching ability to apply different problem-solving frameworks to complex sustainability problems and develop viable, inclusive and equitable solution options that promote sustainable development, integrating the competencies in this list. Novice

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Advanced Beginner

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Advanced Beginner

Digital Literacy and Judgement

 The ability to access, evaluate, create and communicate information in digital environments; to engage critically, ethically and responsibly with digital technologies and digital information; to understand their opportunities, limitations, risks and impact on individual’s digital identities; and to exercise informed judgement in digital participation and decision-making. Novice

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Specified Learning Activities

38
Autonomous Student Learning

38
Total

100

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures, discussions, and applied learning activities comprise the primary approaches to this module.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Assignment(Including Essay): Application & Reflection Journal - To facilitate engagement with assigned readings, students will complete 10 in-class journals. These will apply assigned materials to in-class activities and prompts. Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No
50
 No
Group Work Assignment: Group class facilitation - To encourage collaborative problem solving, in Weeks 7-12, groups will facilitate a class discussion on an assigned case study related to the weekly theme. Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No
50
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

The instructor will provide individual and class-level feedback to the weekly journal activities. Students will be expected to self-assess and provide a group assessment for their group facilitation project. The instructor will also provide individual- and group-level feedback for the latter.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Mon 12:00 - 13:50
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