The 21st century has witnessed a profound shift in the way we view the world and ourselves in it. A key part of this shift is the rise of ‘The Creatives’ – individuals, institutions, cities, and regions that examine contemporary issues and ideas through creativity and innovation. This has led to the formation of the rapidly growing field of Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI).
CCI has its roots in the arts and humanities and explores industries such as fashion, film and television, music, museums, performing arts, publishing, and tourism. With the rise of the digital economy, CCI has grown to encompass video games, influencer culture and digital storytelling. Beyond specific industries, CCI investigates the principle of creativity, including how creative thinking is used to solve problems, communicate complex ideas, and explore new ways of working.
The study of CCI at Chapman is globally connected and locally engaged. We explore how the Creative and Cultural Industries respond to major issues such as social justice movements and the climate crisis, while considering how creativity can help improve our cities and benefit our emotional wellbeing. We partner with cultural and educational institutions in Southern California to pursue hands-on research and teaching.
Dr. Patrick Fuery is a graduate of Murdoch University, Australia, with a BA (Hons), MPhil and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature. He has held posts at the University of London (Royal Holloway College), Sussex University, and the University of Newcastle (Australia). He is the author of eight books and has been translated into Chinese, Italian, French, and Korean. His most recent book is Madness and Cinema. His research interests include psychoanalysis, semiotics, literary and cultural theory, gender studies, film and visual studies, medicine and the arts. He is currently completing two books: a study on cultural disturbance and the sublime; and an edited collection on medicine, culture, and the arts.
Dr. Kelli Fuery completed her B.A. (Hons) at Macquarie University in Critical and Cultural Studies, graduating in 1995 with First Class Honors. Before joining Chapman University, she held posts in contemporary film, media and cultural studies at Monash University; the University of Newcastle, Australia; and in the (now) School of Film, Media and Cultural Studies, Birkbeck College, University of London. She completed her PhD (2005) at Murdoch University in Critical Theory, Film and Visual Culture. Her research explores why we mediate the world around us in the ways that we do, examining how our inner worlds influence the social and cultural contexts which influence our choices. Focusing on various modes within visual culture, Fuery is interested in the poisoning and mechanics of power and knowledge, the assembly and dismantling of structures, and the role ethics plays in the exchange of aesthesis. She is the author of five books, including 
Catherine Acosta is an archivist, educator, and historian in Los Angeles, CA. She is currently the Product Archivist and Historian for the iconic Southern California footwear and action sports brand Vans, a VF Company. Previously, she was a Teaching Assistant at Parsons School of Design and a Curatorial Fellow at Cooper Hewit, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City. She holds an MA in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies from Parsons School of Design (2019) and a BFA in Video Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2006). Catherine specializes in 20th-century American Design and Popular Culture. 
John Blaylock holds an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is currently a resident writer and literary manager for Broadway On Tour Youth Theatre (BOT) in Santa Ana, CA, and and in 2017 helped open California School of the Arts – San Gabriel Valley (CSArts-SGV) and served as the Director of Creative Writing there for six years. He now continues to teach creative writing at CSArts-SGV and serves as a Guest Musical Director at McCoy Rigby Arts in Yorba Linda, CA. He has had work produced by La Jolla Playhouse, Blindspot Collective, Surflight Theatre, Sesame Street Live, Common Man Musicals, Orange County School of the Arts, and Phoenix Theatre Company.
Ali (Alicia) Boyce (she/her) tends to Tongva land in Anaheim, California. She is a cis-Queer, Black/biracial abolitionist, wife, mom, plant mom, writer, artist, dance lover, sci-fi nerd, intersectional feminist, and rootworker. Ali holds an MSW, from USC, as well as an MA and PhD in Cultural Studies from Claremont Graduate University. In 2024 Ali completed her dissertation on Black diaspora and a theory she coined called the foster care diaspora (FCD). This project mapped and explored how each diaspora correlates with the reproductive health, social representations and constructions of Black women figures throughout the Black diaspora, who are consistently impacted by global foster care and transnational adoption systems. Ali’s writing and pedagogy places an emphasis on Black feminist theory, abolitionist frameworks, Black diaspora, geography, historiography, Marxist and Black Marxist theories, and concepts of radical rootworking and healing from the root.
Ms. Halverson has been with Chapman University for 17 years, 15 of which have been with Wilkinson College, and has been working with the Creative and Cultural Studies Initiative here at Chapman from its beginning. A graduate of the University of San Francisco with a BA in History, she also holds a Certificate in Arts Management from UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business and Claire Trevor School of the Arts. Ms. Halverson is always happy to meet and discuss the Center or the Minor, the easiest way to reach her is via email to make an appointment.