Loader
Course Image

Gender, Media & Culture MA Gender, Media & Culture MA Goldsmiths, University of London

Goldsmiths, University of London

Masters Degree , Gender Studies

View More

Course Description

This MA introduces you to recent debates on gender in the disciplines of sociology and media and communications studies, and to the interdisciplinary domains of feminist social and cultural theory.

  • You'll be taught by experts in the Department of Sociology and Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies, as well as the Centre for Feminist Research (CFR).
  • You’ll develop cutting-edge critical skills in relation to cultural approaches to gender formation and gender theory.
  • The degree will provide you with a solid understanding of the importance of epistemology and methodology for the evaluation of empirical investigations of gender formations.
  • You’ll be introduced to, and trained in, the key socio-cultural methods for the study of gender in the contemporary world, including methods for the study of visual culture, the body and affect, and memory.
  • You’ll benefit from tailored supervision in the development of a research project on a specific topic.
  • As an interdisciplinary degree, this programme draws from a range of areas, including sociology, media and communications, humanities, science and technology studies, and philosophy.
  • You’ll become part of a lively research environment in a politically active university.

Course Content

Core components of the programme will familiarise you with the wide range of debates integral to the fields of gender studies, feminist theory, and cultural studies. These include:

  • questions about sexual difference and the performativity of gender
  • gender, science, debates on affect and emotion
  • gender and migration and the new international division of labour
  • feminism

You complete one core module and one option module each term, as well as a dissertation module in the spring term. The first core module introduces key debates and developments in feminist theory, cultural theory and, in particular, feminist cultural theory. It introduces both early debates which defined these fields and contemporary developments and departures. More specifically, you will be introduced to social constructivist and post-structuralist perspectives, to ‘new materialism’, to debates on feminism and the critique of universalism; to key questions in relation to feminism and biology; to debates on psycho-analysis and the emergence of queer theory and its intersection with feminist theory.

The second core module examines the place of gender, affect and the body in feminist theory and feminist practice. The course offers you different angles on what has become known as “the affective turn,” placing a strong emphasis on the history of feminist contributions to the study of affect and emotion as well as the body. We ask how bodies are constructed, experienced and lived from a variety of feminist perspectives, attending to questions of corporeal difference, as well as the intimacy of bodies, spaces, objects and technologies. We also reflect on the significance of affect and the body for feminist and queer cultural practices, as well feminist and queer activisms. This module therefore offers instruction in some of the most cutting edge issues in contemporary feminist theory. A team of leading feminist scholars based in the departments of Sociology and Media Communications at Goldsmiths teach this module on the basis of their research specialisms. 

There will be a series of dissertation workshops to help you plan and develop your dissertation, especially in regard to issues of methodology and method. Each student will be assigned a supervisor who will work with you to develop your proposal and undertake independent research.

 

Entry Requirements

You should have (or expect to be awarded) an undergraduate degree of at least upper second class standard in a relevant/related subject. 

You might also be considered for some programmes if you aren’t a graduate or your degree is in an unrelated field, but have relevant experience and can show that you have the ability to work at postgraduate level.

International qualifications

We accept a wide range of international qualifications. Find out more about the qualifications we accept from around the world.

If English isn’t your first language, you will need an IELTS score (or equivalent English language qualification) of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing and no element lower than 6.0 to study this programme. If you need assistance with your English language, we offer a range of courses that can help prepare you for postgraduate-level study.

Assessment Methods

Assessment consists of coursework, extended essays, reports, presentations, practice-based projects or essays/logs, group projects, reflective essays, and seen and unseen written examinations.

Reviews

Similar Subjects

Criminology Disability Studies Ethnicity Gender Studies Gerontology Political Sociology Religion in Society Social Theory Sociology Women'S Studies

RELATED COURSES