BA (Hons) in Media & Cultural Studies
What is Media & Cultural Studies?
The BA (Hons) in Media & Cultural Studies is an exciting new degree that combines two increasingly popular fields of study. Cultural Studies began in Britain in the 1950s and later had an enormous impact on the United States and Europe. As a focus of study, it broke historically with elite conceptions of culture and focused, instead, on popular cultural forms and the whole life-ways of individuals in contemporary society. Cultural Studies combines elements of sociology, literary and film studies with qualitative and ethnographic research methods to allow students to critically engage with such topics as globalisation, ethnicity and race, the body, sexuality, religion and politics, to name but a few. Uniquely, this programme also allows students to engage with themes such as the origin of culture, language and violence.
The mass media, including cinema, television, radio, the printed media and the Internet have a pervasive influence on contemporary society. Consequently, Media Studies examines the global expansion of the mass media and investigates the way it shapes our understanding of world around us. The contemporary world is subject to major cultural shifts related to globalisation, the evolution of consumer culture, and the changing relationships between state and media institutions. It is precisely this rapidly evolving relationship in today’s global culture that the twinning of Media & Cultural Studies seeks to interrogate, examine and explain. Aims and Objectives
The programme seeks to introduce students to culture and media as a way of thinking about culture and the role of social structures in governing human action. With these goals and philosophical issues in mind, we have developed a curriculum in which a wide range of complementary courses serve to endow the student with a broad understanding of issues facing contemporary society in general, and European society specifically. The student is led through a track that encompasses media and culture studies in a manner that is designed to foster critical thinking and action. Practical Applications and Career Prospects
Students with a degree in Media & Cultural Studies will go on to academic work in disciplines such as English, History, Anthropology, Political Science, or Sociology, as well as in interdisciplinary fields such as Gender and Media Studies and also in Journalism and the communication industries. Graduates will be able to apply their scholarly training in applied settings: some with cultural institutions of various kinds, such as museums, others in advocacy groups, service groups or non-government organisations. Successful graduates from the Media & Cultural Studies programme will possess a wide and diverse range of skills which will qualify them to work within a number of disciplines, including the Humanities, the Arts, Politics, Business and Non-Governmental Organisations to name but a few. Programme Content
The following is an outline of the proposed course structure. The degree is divided into three years, while each year is divided into two twelve-week semesters. The programme consists of modules from each stream (Culture & Media), and realised via literature, ethnography, social theory, language, history and film, popular media (TV, radio, film, art).
| Year 1 |
- Introducing Media, Culture and Society
- Culture and Violence/Material Culture and Consumption
- Exploring Cultural Differences
- Understanding Popular Culture
- Understanding the Image
- Media and Cultural Studies Learning Lab
| | Year 2 |
- Media and the Modern World
- Culture and Colonialism
- Exploring the Body
- Documentary Filmmaking
- Documentary and Non-Fiction Film & Television/Avant-Garde and Experimental Film & Video
| | Year 3 | - Gender and Sexuality
- Contemporary Cybercultures
- Social Theory I/Social Theory II
- The City
- Final Year Projects
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Learner protection for this programme is provided in accordance with Section 43 of the Qualifications (Education and Training ) Act 1999.
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