MA Cultural Studies

The critique of capitalism has been an important horizon for research and theory in cultural studies since its inception. Beginning with an introduction to this (anti-)disciplinary history, this module introduces and engages with past and contemporary critical approaches to the imbrication of capitalism and culture in cultural studies, cultural theory and philosophy.

We will consider the evolution of cultural studies from its early focus on the role of capitalism in shaping class relations and class culture, through its integration of such critiques into a still-expanding range of areas of concern, including issues around gender, race, sexuality, (post)colonialism, posthumanism and ecology. We will engage with key theoretical concepts and paradigms that have been developed in order to better understand the cultural dimension and functioning of capital, such as commodity fetishism, ‘capitalism-as-religion’, gift-exchange, theories of debt, parasitism, neoliberalism, information capitalism, and post-natural ecology.

We will ask how contemporary global phenomena such as the rise of digital networking, climate change and financial crisis may be transforming the relationship between capitalism and culture, and critically examine currently circulating claims that capitalism is giving way to ‘postcapitalism’.

The dissertation provides you with an opportunity to undertake a research project on a topic of significance to Cultural Studies, drawing on the knowledge, understanding and skills developed through the taught modules studied during the rest of the programme.

General preparation in addressing methodological questions relating to the dissertation, and training on specific research methods, are provided in a 5-week research methods module during the Spring term. This aspect of the module culminates in a 5,000 word essay/report comprised of a critical analysis of research methods.

Students then go on to conduct the research and complete the 10,000-12,000 word dissertation under the guidance of a dedicated supervisor.

This module concentrates on Cultural Studies as a research methodology, a method of engagement and intervention with current debates and practices, and in addition a method of collective working.

The module takes examples from a diverse range of topics in the field of media and cultural studies, such as policing and the military-industrial prison complex; racialised, gender and identity politics and intersectionality; media platforms and technologies; the production and consumption of popular culture; feminist and post-feminism; elites, political power and hegemony; visual and sound arts et al.

Particular interventions in these areas are taken as examples of a range of methodological approaches such as textual and visual analysis, conjunctual analysis, ethnographies and case studies.