Hynek Halakuc

A fresh perspective

I was somewhat disillusioned with academia before applying to study MA Political Communications at Goldsmiths.

Its focus on individual learning needs, coupled with a student body whose diversity is not just a mere tokenised marketing gimmick but is achieved by a deep commitment to creating a learning space that is safe, radical, and emancipatory in equal measure.

This space is strongly co-created by our lecturers who bring to the table an amazing variety of political and professional experiences.

Learning from experts

The teaching team on the course had an impressive breadth of political experience, ranging from Stop the War Coalition, The World Transformed, Hacked Off to London Renter’s Union, Media Reform Coalition and the UCU. One can therefore be sure that every page of theory presented in MA Political Communications is strongly grounded in years of political practice.

Life after Goldsmiths

I am currently working as the secretary of a left-wing political party in the Czech Republic and a project manager at the Czech Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions.

Studying MA in Political Communications at Goldsmiths has given me not only the confidence to navigate political and media spaces but most importantly a hope that could be paraphrased by a quote from Mark Fisher on a wall in one of the campus courtyards:

A hope that a truly emancipatory politics can “reveal what is presented as necessary to be a mere contingency” and in doing so “make what was previously deemed impossible seem attainable”.

Advice for future students

Go for it! As the neon sign on the front of the Amersham Arms on New Cross Road (the best pub around!) says: Take Courage!