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Category: Faculty + Courses

How Networks Play a Pivotal Role in Creative Industries

Creativity rarely happens in a silo, says Noshir Contractor, a professor of behavioral science at Northwestern. While that notion may have been true in the past, collaboration and networks are now the fuel that power creative success.    This concept is what he’s teaching in his Leveraging Networks in Creative Industries course as part of

Faculty Helps Artists Become Profitable Entrepreneurs

From drawing and singing to writing and performing music, Adjunct Professor PJ Loughran developed an early love for the creative arts.   “All I wanted to do was find a way to have a life doing those things,” he says. “I was fortunate to come from a family that didn’t dissuade me. My parents saw what

Understanding the Impacts of What You Watch

When you sit down to watch a new movie or enjoy your favorite sitcom series, do you ever stop to think about what you’re learning? Nathan Walter, an assistant professor for the MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises program, has spent years evaluating strategic messages, media psychology, communication ecologies, and the correction of misinformation. Whether

Taking on Digital Innovation and Social Justice with Expanded Curriculum

When Pablo Boczkowski, MS in Leadership for Creative Enterprises director, launched this School of Communication degree program in 2014, he envisioned curriculum that would help students connect their creative expertise with the business knowledge, strategic skills, and entrepreneurial mindset necessary to successfully lead projects and teams in entertainment, media, and the arts. He served as

Self-Awareness Results in Better Leadership

As a certified executive coach, guiding organizations like the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Public Schools, and the U.S. Intelligence Community, Professor Brenda Ellington Booth is a teacher, coach, and mentor who knows there isn’t one right way to lead. Through her Personal Leadership Insights course this quarter, she’s sharing her knowledge with MS in Leadership for

At the Intersection of Communication and Activism

Activism has always been at the heart of Northwestern Assistant Professor TJ Billard’s work. While studying as an undergraduate at George Washington University from 2010 to 2014, Billard focused on political communication and became increasingly involved in transgender political activism. “It was a politically optimistic time, but, for many reasons, it was also a frustrating

How Data is Permeating the Media Marketplace

When Jim Webster, professor at Northwestern University’s School of Communication, went to college for the first time in Fall 1969, it was a tumultuous time. The country was in the throes of the Vietnam War and President Nixon had moved U.S. troops into Cambodia. In Spring 1970, many college campuses simply shut down and canceled

A Little Bit of Creative History: Understanding the Creative Industries with Jake Smith

by Samantha Sartori  When signing up for a master’s program focused on business knowledge for the creative world, the last thing I thought I would be taking was a history course. However, after our first lecture, I knew Professor Smith’s Understanding the Creative Industries would be integral to knowing how the arts, media and entertainment