Also, the emergence of people's review sites on the Internet challenges established paradigms of critical practice. Ways of responding to such challenges require development. The course aims to play a pro-active role in the cultural community by seeking opportunities to nurture new critical cultures. It will chart unexplored critical territory and provide a forum for visiting practitioners. The controversies that regularly arise over the awarding of cultural prizes should benefit from the pool of informed commentary available through the teaching core.
Critics share issues across the range of subject areas.
These include not only legal and ethical matters, but also issues of the day, such as 'political correctness' and use of jargon. A serious consideration of these issues better prepares writers for the life of a critic. Besides overall funding allocation, individual assessment is the most public activity of arts bureaucracies. The controversy about peer review in the Australia Council demonstrates this. A formalised introduction to the business of artistic evaluation provides useful equipment for work in arts bureaucracy.