Masters In Liberal Studies – U of MN. – 2004
Ironically, many people do not know what “Liberal Studies” entails, and yet, the work I did in my Masters work at the University of Minnesota formed the core of everything venture and adventure I’ve engaged since. Like my undergrad BS in Songwriting, the Masters in Liberal Studies degree was essentially self-designed and project-based.
Liberal Studies is very much a spin-off from what is understood to be a “liberal education.” Essentially, it’s a cross-disciplinary approach. Some might call it a “jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none” but that is most certainly a limited view. More on the significance of a cross-disciplinary approach to study is found below under the Background sub-heading.
My degree adviser, and also head of the Liberal Studies department, Dr. Arthur Harkins, doesn’t know it but to this day remains one of the strongest influences on my career and especially my worldview (see his BIO below).
At the time, Dr. Harkins was working on the University approving a specialized certificate in Innovation Studies, an off-shoot of Futures-based Studies, now popular in many colleges and Universities. I left the program before the certificate was approved. More about his influence is found below under the Background sub-heading.
Below are the major sections of a portfolio summarizing the work I did in the program.
In the Celestial Age – 11.11.04
Background
The years during the pursuit of my Masters in Liberal Studies–following on the heals of a unique self-designed BS in Songwriting–were some of the most profound of my life.
While pursuing the degree full-time, I also served on two University Senate Research Committees, started my career as a journalist/freelance writer at the Minnesota Daily, and worked in coverbands.
A criticism of the degree program–and a valid one–was how it allowed me to avoid having to fulfill any math requirements. My undergrad degree allowed me to escape the same ordeal. This was a practical choice, not a desired one. My weakness, to this day (2011), is not having any kind of math background. To earn the degree and advance forward with my education and career, it was practical to not have to start at square one in math.
The concept of “cross-disciplinary” became the dominant theme of all my writing, the creation of an eBook, and the underlying theme for the formation of my first company, Entertainment Cyberscope, Inc.. Instead of “cross-disciplinary,” the concept morphed into “Convergence.”
The first place I grappled with “Convergence” was in my eBook, Convergence In Entertainment. The initial drafts of the book started as a project for the Masters work.
Appreciating the significance of Convergence doesn’t require any specialized training or skill: It’s as obvious as anyone’s Smart Phone. Convergence is the force behind the Digital Age with the Internet in the driver’s seat.
Specifically where I was concerned as a Songwriter and Writer was how Convergence changed the Entertainment content landscape–or cyber-scape, to be more accurate. Music–and all other forms of “content”–is now created, produced, marketed and distributed all within the Digital Domain. All traditional forms of media–print, TV, Radio and Film–are morphing from analog to digital forms.
The Future of Convergence remains the driving theme behind my ventures in 2011 and no doubt will continue well beyond the Digital Age.
In fact, my major project for the program was a screenplay called, Time Travelers In The Celestial Age. As of 2011, the screenplay is now being revised. In the story, I had to create the “Future.” In doing so, I needed to determine what the “Age” would be after the Digital Age. Hence, The Celestial Age.
The Celestial Age is also the name of one of my primary blogs. The blog focuses on finding solutions to both Global and Personal Issues across a wide range of topics, and of course, many of those solutions lie somewhere in the future.
Working as an Ops/Ed editor and writer at the Minnesota Daily served as the seedbed for my blogging ventures. Although being a Performer/Songwriter was and remains the heart of who I am, pursuing writing as a part-time job turned out to have a life of its own. The idea of a multi-disciplinary approach to study also applies to having multiple careers.
Being both a Performer/Songwriter and Writer–as well as Screenwriter–has created tremendous conflict in terms of my identity, branding, and success in the marketplace.
Most people see the job titles as separate careers, and tradition most certainly indicates songwriters, performers, writers and screenwriters focus on one thing, and one thing only.
This, of course, is a myth, since there are plenty of examples to prove the crossing over of one career path into another, from Writer/Directors to Songwriters who sing and Singers who write songs. A handful of songwriters have gone on to score Hollywood films. And Madonna proves you can achieve success in all areas.
But the trick, they say, it to achieve success in one area before venturing into another. This is most certainly wise advice to help prevent one from spreading yourself too thin.
In my case, it’s a question of a race to see which area will net me the fastest income. While I’m involved in recording my catalog of Songs at master-quality level–that is, ready for Commercial Release–I work as a writer to provide income. Creating commercial-ready recordings is an expensive venture. Somehow working a “normal” job would find greater acceptance since the “Day job” is not considered a career venture.
The view that one cannot turn a job that is designed to provide income into a career while pursuing another career is terribly short-sighted. It seems far more wasteful to work jobs you’d just as soon forget about than to work a job that will become more meaningful in your career and life in general.
There are many other examples where people pursue multiple ventures before or after their careers take off. If being a Songwriter and Writer creates confusion, imagine running a Global Conglomerate. CEO’s and presidents come from multi-varied backgrounds and go on to run companies that venture into a wide variety of products and services. In most cases, such high level occupations consist of Convergent backgrounds and endeavors.
Convergence proves critical beyond technological Convergence. The Social Sciences are a blending of one into another and becoming increasingly more so in a dramatically changing world. It’s common sense in knowing a Psychologist must know something about Society and Culture. In fact, many individuals with focused careers will gladly attach Philosopher onto their list of job titles.
Because of the conundrum created by Specialization vs. Jack-of-all-Trades conflict, I jokingly created MCPD: Multiple Creative Personality Disorder. It will never be included in the classic DMS-IV book on personality and emotional disorders, but it certainly addresses the challenges musicians face in the music business under the umbrella of the “New Economy.”
Musicians–or Songwriters and Bands–must now wear the multiple hats of creator, performer, producer, engineer and even web designer, marketer and distributor when it comes to selling music on the Internet in the Digital Age.
While justifying a cross-displinary approach–or, Convergence–the very notion of a “Renaissance” man or woman is based on being well-versed in many areas of human endeavor.
I am certainly not belittling Specialization. I’m only illustrating that Specialization of any kind does not exist in a vacuum.
The last example I’ll use to illustrate a Convergent worldview is in medicine. Holistic Medicine is revolutionizing the way we view illness and disease. In the “Age of Specialization,” medicine focused on the symptoms as isolated incidences rather than on “Well-Being.” Cause and cure is never the result of a single direct influence and the best approach to Well Being is one that views mind, body, emotion and spirituality from a Holistic perspective.
Dr. Arthur Harkins Bio as of 2010
Arthur Harkins: Education and Human Development, Innovation Studies, Liberal Studies Department, University of Minnesota
Arthur Harkins has a Ph.D. in sociology, University of Kansas. He is an associate professor with the College of Education and Human Development and is the faculty director for Innovation Studies. Dr. Harkins was co-director of the Graduate Concentration in Future Cultural and Educational Systems and recently co-wrote The Future as Culture, a monograph for the journal Futurics.
MLS seminars: Designing Professional Futures, Strategic Thinking, Plaid Collar: Knowledge Workers and Their Organizational Support, Backcasting and Forecasting the Innovation Society, Innovative Responses to Terrorism, Introduction to Innovation Studies, Future Studies I: New Directions in American Society, and Creating Brand Me: Self Development Through Personalized Knowledge, plus numerous one-credit workshops for Innovation Studies.
