Hesmondhalgh, DJ (2014) The menace of instrumentalism in media industries research. Media Industries Journal, 1 (1). ISSN 2373-9037
Abstract
Media industries research and education are booming. But they face a problem of instrumentalism. Most media industries research takes place outside universities and is commissioned and bought by media companies. Most university media industries research has not been of this kind, but instead claims to be 'critical'. But the pressures towards instrumentalism in the sub-field are growing. This essay explores these pressures and the difficulties facing critical media industries research and education, including 'vocationalism' among students. It argues for the importance of distinguishing between knowledge that serves more general flourishing and emancipation, and that which does not. It suggests that research and education oriented primarily to boosting the dividends of shareholders or the salaries of individuals might be less socially valuable than 'critical' research, and it advocates collaboration between media industries academics and media workers who understand the value of critical, independent research.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2014, Hesmondhalgh, DJ. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial No Derivates (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) licence, which permits others to download this work and share it with others, provided the original work is unchanged, properly cited and the use is non-commercial. |
Keywords: | Education; Research methods; Scholarly independence |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Media & Communication (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 29 Oct 2014 11:02 |
Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2018 22:45 |
Published Version: | http://www.mediaindustriesjournal.org/index.php/mi... |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Media Industries Editorial Collective |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:80975 |