Arts education can boost Kiwi economy

10 August 2015

Arts education can boost Kiwi economy

The purpose of a university education and the value of an Arts degree will be explored at a free public lecture at the University of Canterbury (UC) at 7pm on Wednesday 12 August.

The What if…..studying arts were the best thing for the economy? lecture will be delivered by Professor Jonathan Le Cocq, who is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor of UC’s College of Arts.

Questions about the value of degrees are often posed in economic terms, such as how does education relate to income and wealth, or what is its return on investment?

Professor Le Cocq says these questions apply to all degrees that link education to research, but in recent years they have been most strongly directed at ‘the Arts’. The collective title of ‘the Arts’ includes creative and performing arts, social sciences and humanities.

“The notion that any one thing is ‘best for the economy’ is problematic at best, but mooting and unpicking it will be a way of asking what it is we should want or expect from an arts education,” explains Professor Le Cocq.

“In the lecture, I’ll be exploring the evidence for what it delivers, and understanding why arguments in support of the arts have so far failed to gain political traction,” says Professor Le Cocq.

In the UK especially, where the discussion has been amplified by a government retreat from arts funding after the global financial crisis, responses have ranged from highlighting the economic value of transferrable skills, to a return to the more traditional emphasis on personal growth, good citizenship, and the creation of a good society.

Professor Le Cocq’s talk is the latest in UC’s ‘What if Wednesdays’ series of twice-monthly free public lectures that contribute to the community by taking a thought leadership role.

The lecture will be held in the C2 Lecture Theatre, Central Lecture Block, University of Canterbury, Arts Road, Christchurch, at 7pm onWednesday 12 August. Register online for this free event at http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/wiw/.

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