Where cultural management meets the digital future: the first of two new concentrations within Arts and Cultural Heritage Management MA programme
In 2022, Lingnan University’s School of Graduate Studies (SGS) launched its Master of Arts in Arts and Cultural Heritage Management (MA ACHM) programme in partnership with the UK’s University of Lincoln. To build on the success of the MA ACHM and expand its scope, from September 2023 students will be offered the option of two new concentrations.
The first of these is a specialisation pathway in Cultural Management and Digital Future (CMDF). Hosted by Lingnan’s SGS in collaboration with its Department of Cultural Studies, the new concentration will focus both on innovative management in the cultural industries and on the opportunities and challenges posed by emerging digital technologies.
Recognising the key role of culture in human development and well-being, this concentration will teach students how to critically engage in socio-cultural affairs in the digital world. In the context of a number of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) - including Gender Equality, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Reduced Inequality, and Sustainable Cities and Communities - they will learn about approaches to community cultural engagement that lie beyond the limitations of market-driven capitalism.
Aims of the CMDF Concentration
Since its inception, the MA ACHM programme has had several goals. It aims to help students to develop an understanding of the cross-sector and interdisciplinary nature of cultural heritage organisations and of the state and the commercial infrastructure that supports them. It also offers opportunities to experience the working environment in relevant arts and heritage organisations, while also giving students the chance to critically analyse the ‘culture of the organisation’ as well as its management practices. Through group-based work with colleagues from a range of cultures and countries, the concentration seeks to inculcate an understanding of communication and leadership skills, and the ability to effectively practice them.
In addition to these and the other goals of the ‘parent’ MA ACHM programme, the curriculum of the CMDF concentration has been designed with a number of specific aims in mind. First, it will seek to equip students with theories of critical cultural governance and knowledge of the cutting-edge trends of co-creation processes. Second, it will provide students with the knowledge and skills to analyse cultural innovation so they can understand new developments in cultural management in various cultural sectors. Third, it intends to strengthen students’ critical awareness of the power of the new digital technologies which they use on a daily basis. Fourth, it aims to develop students’ ability to reflect on the relationship between communication technology and information-related rights, duties, and ethics. Finally, it has been devised to equip students with the ability to actively engage in participatory communities and create practical alternatives beyond those enabled by markets and government.
Structure
The CMDF concentration is a single degree programme offered in a one-year full-time mode. It will incorporate four existing courses from the MA ACHM programme: Critical Issues for Culture and Heritage Management; Cultural Policy and Practice; Arts Exhibition and Performance Management; and, History, Heritage and Regional Perspectives.
Four new required courses, that have both a theoretical and a practical focus, have been developed by the Department of Cultural Studies specifically for this concentration. Through lectures and seminars the New Trends of Cultural Management: Co-Creation Process of Culture, and the Inclusive Culture Management: Gender, Ethnicity and Youth Engagement, courses will provide students with important background knowledge on the innovative management, and the progressive development, of cultural projects. While the practical Everyday Culture of the Web, and the Digital Future: Platform and Open Co-operativism, courses will use seminars and case studies to introduce students to internet technologies and platform co-ops as tools to advance the UN SDGs.
In addition to the faculty members involved in the teaching of the existing MA ACHM programme, Lingnan’s Cultural Studies faculty will teach the courses in the Concentration. Some distinguished scholars from our partner institutions, along with industry professionals, will contribute to teaching where necessary.
Employment and other opportunities for graduates
The knowledge and understanding graduates from the CMDF Concentration will open up a wide range of career opportunities . The type of knowledge and skills they possess will be in demand in a variety of areas such as the civil service, journalism, community project management, art administration, private and public cultural assets management, non-government and non-profit organisations, the education sector, cooperatives and commons - including platform co-ops, digital commons and international organisations.
The programme will also prepare students for further studies in PhD and professional doctorate degree programmes, in fields such as Cultural Studies, Media and Communication Studies, Public Administration and Management.