Published 29 October 200929 October 2009 · Main Posts creativity and commodification Jeff Sparrow This appeared as a blog comment but seemed important enough to have its own thread. It’s from Malcolm King: I’m interested in comments from Overland readers about my article in the Australian on creativity and the commodification of academic programs. I was really targetting those unis who use the creative industries model. The creative industries model allows students to pick and choose their subjects in the arts and humanities. So for example, students would take a photography major and concurrently study a range of subjects such as multimedia and creative writing and try import these ideas in to a new creative product. This is the consumer model of education in action. The core idea is to lock the student in to years of questionable study across the credential spectrum and hope they get a job. I used RMIT as an example as it went down the same path recently with bachelor and masters degrees in the creative industries. The only reason I cite RMIT is that I am familiar with their programs as I am with many other universities. It’s part of my job. Most tier two or middle level universities in Australia offer similar programs at similar prices. The current head of the RMIT creative writing programs, Professor Catherine Cole was peeved in a recent letter to the Australian after this article appeared. She took exception to me simply stating facts obtained from the RMIT Office of Prospective Students. No one likes to talk about the money. That’s just the point! In 2010 prospective students will pay $22,000 for a three semester program for a Master of Creative Media, $51,840 for a three year Bachelor of Arts in Graphics Games Design and $48,960 for a three year Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing. Of course students won’t have to pay up front, but when and if they get a job, that’s the type of money they will part with via the tax system. Do creative writing or ‘creative media’ programs teach creativity? I suggest not. That’s a lot of money for not getting much insight in to the creative process. What we’re talking about here is another “C” word — commodification. So what do people think? Jeff Sparrow Jeff Sparrow is a Walkley Award-winning writer, broadcaster and former editor of Overland. More by Jeff Sparrow › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays First published in Overland Issue 228 28 March 202428 March 2024 · Main Posts Why we should value not only lived experience, but also lived expertise Sukhmani Khorana In the wake of this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, I want to extend the central idea of El Gibbs’s 2022 essay on 'lived expertise' and argue that in media accounts of racism, analytical expertise and lived experience ought to be valued together and even in the same body. First published in Overland Issue 228 5 March 2024 · Main Posts Andrew Charlton’s school assignment Alex McKinnon Australia's Pivot to India exists for three reasons: so that when Andrew Charlton is interviewed on the radio or introduced on Q+A, his bio includes the phrase "he has written a book about Indian-Australian relations"; to fend off accusations that he is another Kristina Keneally engaging in electoral colonialism in western Sydney; and to help the Albanese government strengthen economic and military ties with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.