Produce an applied case-study, focusing on one event, which:

• Provides a critical analysis of the context and setting in which the event operates (for example will you focus on the political context? The cultural or social context? Will you be examining an event within a community setting, mega event, hallmark event?);
• Critically analyses the different stakeholders (for instance local community members, visitors/attendees/tourists, event organisers, public bodies) that affect and are affected by the event, including their different  interests and perspectives;
• Evaluates the impact(s) of the event on society and stakeholders (i.e. social, political, economic and environmental impacts)
• Uses one or more specific theoretical perspectives in your analysis.

It is important that you identify the setting  in which the event operates through size and scale (i.e. private events, local or community events, major events, hallmark events, mega events), form and content (i.e. cultural events, festivals, heritage commemoration, parades and processions, religious events, political and state events, arts and entertainment, performing arts, literature and visual arts events, meetings and conventions, trade and consumer shows,  sports events, business events, fairs, non-for-profit events).

Stakeholders may be any individual, organisation or group that has a relationship with the event (Bowdin et al., 2001). You may choose from a variety of stakeholder groups, for instance a host organisation, host community, media, sponsors, co-workers or event participants and spectators. You are allowed to examine as many stakeholder groups as you want (although remember that you must be able to provide a detailed discussion of how each stakeholder group is affected by the event) but you must include a minimum of 2 stakeholder groups. However it is essential to identify stakeholder groups you a) are interested in exploring, and b) can research using published material.

Examples of topics you can pick for the case study may be as varied as: “”; “ The Notting Hill Carnival and its impact on the Caribbean diaspora”; “The socio-economic legacy of the 2004 Summer Olympics on the city of Athens”, “The impact of Liverpool’s city of culture on host residents”, “The contribution of wine festivals to the Champagne region’s economy”, “The socio-political impact of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade on the LGBT community”. You need to decide the scope and focus of your case study!

Successful candidates will:

• Provide a detailed discussion of the context of the event and the stakeholders being examined. You should state whether you will focus your analysis on the political, cultural or social context of the event. Particular emphasis should be put on how issues such as culture, ethnicity, class or gender are relevant to the production or consumption of the event (note: you can decide to focus on one or two areas e.g. class and ethnicity, you do not have to cover everything we touch on in the module);

• Consider the historical and/or contemporary issues affecting the stakeholders’ relationship with the production and/or consumption of events;

• Discuss critically the particular impacts of the event at hand (which could be social, cultural, health, environmental, economic etc., and may be positive, negative or neutral);

• Use a clear, well-researched and understood theoretical perspective (or perspectives) (e.g. class, gender, ethnicity, culture, habitus, authenticity) to analyse stakeholders and their relationship with the event;

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the relationship between theoretical perspectives and social practices;

• Incorporate a wide range of references from academic and non-academic sources;

• Structure the argument clearly, making effective use of headings/subheadings where appropriate;

• Follow the Harvard referencing system;

• Where appropriate, use a range of diagrams and other illustrations to support the argument.