Making Media Studies: The Creativity Turn in Media and Communications Studies

Description

In Making Media Studies, David Gauntlett turns media and communications studies on its head. He proposes a vision of media studies based around doing and making – not about the acquisition of skills, as such, but an experience of building knowledge and understanding through creative hands-on engagement with all kinds of media. Gauntlett suggests that media studies scholars have failed to recognise the significance of everyday creativity – the vital drive of people to make, exchange, and learn together, supported by online networks. He argues that we should think about media in terms of conversations, inspirations, and making things happen. Media studies can be about genuine social change, if we recognise the significance of everyday creativity, work to transform our tools, and learn to use them wisely. Making Media Studies is a lively, readable, and heartfelt manifesto from the author of Making is Connecting. Cover Contents Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Introduction Unpacking ‘Making Media Studies’ An aspirational media studies Origins of this book Media as triggers for experiences and making things happen What this means in practice A note on hacking and making Outline of this book Part 1: On Media Studies Chapter 2: Media Studies 2.0 Original Article (2007) Outline of Media Studies 1.0 Outline of Media Studies 2.0 History and emergence of ‘Media Studies 2.0’ Chapter 3: Further Reflections on Media Studies 2.0 ‘Media’ expands Media studies, quietly frustrated Avoiding a proper engagement Some alternatives Part 2: Making Conversations Chapter 4: Creativity and Participatory Culture: A Conversation with Henry Jenkins Chapter 5: On Making Media Studies—A Crowdsourced Interview On ‘making media studies’ and the ‘creativity turn’ On optimism, pessimism, and exploitation On creativity and digital media On teaching and learning On social institutions And here’s some for you Part 3: Making Collaborations Chapter 6: Academia–Industry Collaboration and Innovation: Three Case Studies, and Eight Principles, for Fostering People’s Creativity on Digital Platforms Introduction Case #1: The BBC 1. The organisation and its engagement with user creativity 2. The particular project 3. On the organisation’s collaboration style Case #2: S4C 1. The organisation and its engagement with user creativity 2. The particular project 3. On the organisation’s collaboration style Case #3: The LEGO Group 1. The organisation and its engagement with user creativity 2. The particular project 3. On the organisation’s collaboration style Looking across the three organisations On collaboration and innovation On designing platforms for creative expression 1. Embrace ‘because we want to’ 2. Set no limits on participation 3. Celebrate participants, not the platform 4. Support storytelling 5. Some gifts, some theatre, some recognition 6. Online to offline is a continuum 7. Reinvent learning 8. Foster genuine communities Conclusion Chapter 7: The Lego System as a Tool for Thinking, Creativity, and Changing the World The LEGO System A tool for thinking A cultural model—applied to LEGO cultures The cultural model—applied more broadly Uniting individual and collaborative creativity … And changing the world Part 4: More Thinking About Making Chapter 8: Creativity and Digital Innovation Case #1: Everyday creativity Case #2: Academic critique Case #3: Everyday arts and humanities research Conclusion Chapter 9: The Internet is Ancient, Small Steps are Important, and Four Other Theses About Making Things in a Digital World 1. The internet is ancient (in other words: the internet has affordances which connect with ancient, great aspects of humanity) 2. A world with lots of interesting, creative things is always better than a world which offers a small number of popular, smartly-finished things 3. People doing things because they want to is always better than people watching things because they are there 4. The distribution and funding possibilities of the internet are better than the traditional models 5. Small steps into a changed world are better than no steps 6. The digital internet is good, but hands-on physical things are good too Conclusion Chapter 10: Conclusion A significantly different era, and a changed ecosystem Media as triggers for experiences and making things happen – revisited People doing and making because it’s what they want to do Making and thinking, and ‘critical making’ Millions of little things make a big difference Make it happen References About the Author Index