With registration for interterm and spring 2023 in full swing, sometimes it helps to have a good idea about the person teaching the course before you register. So we thought this was the perfect time to continue our "Professor Profiles" series, which features deep dives into our CCI faculty. This week I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Jamie Larkin to discuss his academic background, teaching philosophy and academic concentration within CCI, hopes for students after their time at Chapman, and more. Though you may already be familiar with him and his courses, there is so much more to know about Dr.Larkin’s work in and outside of Chapman. Keep reading for exclusive insight about Dr.Jamie Larkin and the great knowledge he brings to this department and the world of CCI as a whole.
AS: Can you tell me about yourself and your journey toward teaching
at Chapman?
JL: I started teaching here at Chapman in 2018. Before that, I had done my PHD at University College London where I looked at the commercialization museums and Heritage sites, which falls in the sphere of CCI. After that, I got a job working at another university in London doing a research project called “Mapping Museums” which involved looking at history museums and seeing how they developed over
time. At that point, I was still kind of working out whether I wanted it to go in the museum or academic sector. I wanted the option that would allow me to think about issues to do with historical buildings and the past in theoretical terms because it is really interesting to think about how the past is remembered and what past we choose to take forward.
Getting my MA was an academic achievement and a practical component of getting a job. For example, you could work in a museum, you could work at a heritage site, and apply your academic skills to real-world tasks. That was something I had always focused on and something I wanted to bring to Chapman. Ways of understanding CCI and the impact they have on society in a practical sense outside of the classroom. Though I had the opportunity to work in the field of museums, I eventually decided to work here at Chapman. I realized I could do fieldwork in terms of research and integrate it into the courses I teach at the University.
AS: What classes do you teach and what is your specific focus in CCI?
JL: I usually teach CCI 100, which is a class where I essentially try to introduce students to what CCI is. It is a foundational class that touches briefly on numerous different subjects such as copyright, social and economic impact, and defining CCIs. The idea is that it will be a foundational platform for classes such as Podcasting, Studies in Cultural Institutions: Fashion, and Cultural studies, which are normally taken after CCI 100. Hopefully students utilize the curriculum in their other classes. With that, we are trying to introduce a concept that has been developed in the UK and apply it to American society. In this class the goal is to promote thought on how we can systematically grow the Creative and Cultural industries.
I also teach a version of CCI 203 that focuses on CCI and sustainability. In that class we look at how sustainability impacts the Creative and Cultural Industries and how we use CCI to tell stories about the climate crisis, combat concerns in manufacturing, and tackle other issues and questions dealing with sustainability, such as: How can we ensure big companies like Nike and industries as a whole are employing sustainability measures to protect the environment?
The other class I teach regularly is Introduction to Museum Studies. I love to teach this class because we think about museums from different perspectives. We look at the economic and cultural impacts of museums and what a museum's role is in the 21st century. Increasingly, museums are assuming an incredibly central place in issues of social justice, climate crisis, and economic development. Currently, in Europe there are many activists who are staging protests in museums. That is a really interesting class because we look at the museum as a really important social actor. Those are the 3 main classes that are the ones I continue to teach and are my favorites.
AS: What can students expect from your courses and teaching philosophy?
JL: I think what I find interesting is the act of marrying together theory and practice. Thinking about the intellectual arguments about the value of museums and then seeing out how they work out in practice. If we can talk about museums being really important in terms of fostering identity, we need to see and measure how the theorizations play out. Field work and research can then be conducted. With my classes I like to try and do field trips that allow students to talk to curators, directors, and education staff. In this class I encourage my students to think critically about topics learned in class when they go out to work in these sectors and what are the social obligations of their own output as a whole. Asking these questions when producing academic work will help prepare them for work after University.
AS: What is the difference between Creative and Cultural Industries in the UK and the U.S.?
JL: There is a more defined set of things students need to know about the CCI context in the UK. Students have a more specific career path in which their academic endeavors in CCI propel them toward. The thing that is interesting about Chapman and the US is that CCI is not as well defined which means that students want to work in a much broader range of industries. What’s great about the CCI minor is that we have dance, business, and film students that share and incorporate their prospective interests and knowledge into their respective classes.
AS: What has been your favorite part about the program and what do you want your students to take away from your classes?
JL: I enjoy engaging with the students because they have a lot of enthusiasm. It is inspirational because a lot of CCI students have the passion to go out and make changes after their life at University. The idea of being global citizens is a good example. We hope that the CCI minor will produce students who think about the consequences of their actions when making decisions within their careers. That they can make a difference in society while still being self-sustainable financially. For example, when you go into the music industry, film industry, etc, it is important to think about the positive effects. If it has a negative impact, I want them to think: how can I change it around to have a positive one? All in all, I would hope they take away the idea that they are an active part of society and have social and civil responsibilities influential enough to make a change in the world.
I want to thank Dr. Larkin for taking the time to sit down and talk with me about his role in the Center for Creative and Cultural Industries and the courses he is passionate about. It is easy to see how Dr. Larkin contributes.so much knowledge to the department and provides students with valuable resources for their careers in the creative and cultural industries. His interdisciplinary research outside of the university environment has also been immensely important to understanding museum trends. In his classes, he encourages students to think critically about topics dealing with contemporary issues from all angles and perspectives. If you are interested in taking Dr.Larkin’s courses, be sure to take a look at the CCI course catalog for more information.
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