I was speaking at the Scottish Doctoral Management Conference in St. Andrews on 28th May, to a room full of prospective PhD'ers interested in studying the processes of the Creative Industries (the main organisation there is called The Institute for Capitalising on Creativity, run by Barbara Townley). And frankly, with a few hours to go, I was wracking my brain to think of what to say to them that might be of value.
Facing a blank Powerpoint screen, I came up with an idea: I would present myself to them as a one-man object of ethnographic study. And I would speak about the relationship between my love of social and cultural theory, and my actual practise as a cultural and civic entrepreneur over the last nearly 30 years, from studenthood to media company partner.
Once I started doing it, an onrush of stuff came out - simply going through Google Images and finding the covers of books I remember, in order to illustrate the presentation, heaved up all manner of ideas (and selves) that I had forgotten meant so much to me. It almost felt like an exercise in play-therapy - a rather joyful opening-up of some old chasms inside me. For anyone of A Certain Age who's made their life by ideas and projects, I'd recommend it.
I finished it with minutes to spare, and at times I'm not sure what the collective high-cognitive masses in front of me knew what was hitting them. Anyway, many thanks to all there for the invite, and here's the Slidecast presentation below.
Pat Kane: Seduced, Abandoned...& Theorised - A Brief Intellectual History of a Creative CareerView more presentations from theplayethic.
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