Course information
Department
Sociology
Media and Communications
Length
1 year full-time or 2 years part-time
Course overview
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.
Drawing on the internationally recognised and pioneering expertise of staff in the Department of Sociology and Department of Media and Communications, as well as the Centre for Feminist Research (CFR), the programme offers you the opportunity to develop cutting-edge critical skills in relation to cultural approaches to gender formation and gender theory.
As well as these theoretical and analytical points of orientation, the MA in Gender, Media and Culture aims to help you grasp the importance of epistemology and methodology for the evaluation of empirical investigations of gender formations.
The programme therefore introduces you to, and offers training 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.
These two elements of the programme are brought together in a dissertation study, which involves tailored supervision in the application of research methods to a specific topic.
This programme relates to the following disciplines:
- Sociology
- Media and Communications
- Humanities
- Science and Technology Studies
- Philosophy
Overall the programme has the following interrelated aims
- to provide in-depth interdisciplinary knowledge of contemporary gender formations
- to provide theoretical, analytical and methodological points of orientation for understanding gender and culture transnationally and across different societies and geo-political regions
- to offer skilled supervision in the development and completion of a small research project which tests thoroughly a range of research skills
- to expose students to a lively research environment and the relevant expertise of the research-led Departments of Sociology and Media and Communications
Convenor- Nirmal Puwar
Contact the department
If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Dr Nirmal Puwar
What you'll study
Overview
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.
Core modules
| Module title | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| Gender Affect and the Body | 30 credits |
Option modules
You have 60 credits at your disposal, you can choose any 30 credit modules related to gender from postgraduate modules across the University. You can choose either a regular option (30 credits) or two ‘mini-options’ (2 x 15 credits).
For your other options, you can choose modules from either the Department of Sociology or the Department of Media and Communications as they co-convene the programme.
Please note that not all modules are suitable for students from all academic backgrounds; you will discuss your choices with the Programme Convenor at the start of your degree.
Assessment
Assessment consists of coursework, extended essays, reports, presentations, practice-based projects or essays/logs, group projects, reflective essays, and seen and unseen written examinations.
Download the programme specification for the 2018-19 intake. If you would like an earlier version of the programme specification, please contact the Quality Office.
Please note that due to staff research commitments not all of these modules may be available every year.
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 of 6.5 with a 6.5 in writing 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.
Fees, funding & scholarships
Find out more about tuition fees.
Find out more about funding opportunities for home/EU applicants, or funding for international applicants. If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an application deadline.
How to apply
You apply directly to Goldsmiths using our online application system.
Before submitting your application you’ll need to have:
- Details of your education history, including the dates of all exams/assessments
- An electronic copy of your reference on letter headed paper, or alternatively the email address of your referee who we can request a reference from. It is preferred that you use an academic reference, however in cases where applicants are unable to provide one, a professional reference is acceptable.
- A personal statement – this can either be uploaded as a Word Document or PDF, or completed online
Please see our guidance on writing a postgraduate statement
- If available, an electronic copy of your educational transcript (this is particularly important if you have studied outside of the UK, but isn’t mandatory)
You'll be able to save your progress at any point and return to your application by logging in using your username/email and password.
When to apply
We accept applications from October for students wanting to start the following September.
We encourage you to complete your application as early as possible, even if you haven't finished your current programme of study. It's very common to be offered a place that is conditional on you achieving a particular qualification.
Late applications will only be considered if there are spaces available.
If you're applying for funding, you may be subject to an earlier application deadline.
Find out more about applying.
Staff
Staff who teach on this programme include:
- Nirmal Puwar, Programe Convenor, Lecturer in Sociology
- Vikki Bell, Professor of Sociology
- Lisa Blackman, Senior Lecturer in Communications
- Yasmin Gunaratnam, Lecturer in Sociology
- Sarah Kember, Reader in New Technologies of Communications
- Angela McRobbie, Professor of Communications
- Kate Nash, Reader in Sociology
- Marsha Rosengarten, Lecturer in Sociology
- Bev Skeggs, Professor of Sociology
- Rebecca Coleman, Lecturer
- Abby Day, Lecturer - Race, Faith & Culture
- Joanna Zylinkska, Reader - Media and Communications
Research
The Centre for Feminist Research (CFR) offers a symbolic and intellectual home for the MA in Gender, Media and Culture, co-convened by the Departments of Media and Communications and Sociology. It provides a coordinating hub for feminist work at Goldsmiths, organising seminars and conferences.
The MA programme is supported by the wide variety of international events, talks and screenings organised by the Centre. Students are encouraged to become involved in these activites. You can find out about upcoming events and activites here.
There are a number of off-site visits organised throughout the year, including trips to art galleries, the London Film Festival and a feminist tour of Westminster.
Suggested reading
Suggested preliminary readings
Braidotti, R. 2002. Metamorphoses: Towards a Materialist Theory of Becoming. Polity.
Butler, J. 1990. Gender Trouble. Routledge.
Colebrook, C. 2004. Gender. Palgrave.
Fraser, M. and Greco, M. 2005. The Body Reader. Routledge.
Gill, R. 2007. Gender and the Media. Polity.
Grosz, E. 1994. Volatile Bodies: Towards a Corporeal Feminism. Indiana University Press.
Haraway, D. 1991. Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. Routledge.
Lash, S. and Lury, C. 2007. Global Culture Industry. Polity.
Marshall, B. and Witz, A. 2004. Engendering Social Theory. Open University Press.
Massumi, B. 2002. Parables of the Virtual: Movement, Affect, Sensation. Duke University Press.
McRobbie, A. 2008. The Aftermath of Feminism. Sage.
Mohanty, C.T. 2003. Feminism Without Border. Duke University Press.
Probyn, E. 1990. Sexing the Self: Gendered Positions in Cultural Studies. Routledge.
Publications
Relevant journals
European Journal of Women’s Studies (Sage)
European Journal of Cultural Studies (Sage)
European Journal of Social Theory (Sage)
Feminist Economics (Routledge)
Feminist Media Studies (Routledge)
Feminist Review (Routledge)
Feminist Theory (Sage)
Feminism & Psychology (Sage)
Feminist Studies (Jstor)
Gender & Society (Sage)
Gender, Technology and Development (Sage)
Journal of Gender Studies (Routledge)
Media, Culture and Society (Sage)
Sexualities (Sage)
Signs (Jstor)
Sociological Methods & Research (Sage)
Sociology (Sage)
Subjectivities (Palgrave)
Theory, Culture & Society (Sage)
Staff publications (PDF format)
- Adkins, Lisa - From Retroactivation to Futurity: The End of the Sexual Contract?
- Ahmed, Sarah - Multiculturalism and the Promise of Happiness
- Bell, Vikki - The Phone, the Father and Other Becomings: On Households (and Theories) that no longer Hold
- Bell, Vikki - The Vigilant(e) Parent and the Paedophile: The News of the World Campaign 2000 and the Contemporary Governmentality of Child Sexual Abuse
- Blackman, Lisa - Affect, Relationality and the 'Problem of Personality'
- Campbell, Kirsten - The Gender of Transitional Justice: Law, Sexual Violence and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
- Campbell, Kristen - Book Review: Jacques Lacan and Feminist Epistemology
- Fraser, Mariam - A work in progress
- Greco, Monica - On the Vitality of Vitalism Theory, Culture & Society
- McRobbie, Angela - Four technologies of young womanhood, Pornographic Permutations
- Nash, Kate - Human rights for women: an argument for ‘deconstructive equality’
- Nash, Kate - Global citizenship as showbusiness : the cultural politics of Make Poverty History
- Odih, Pam - odih1
- Skeggs, Bev - Formation. The Making of Class and Gender through Visualizing Moral Subject
Careers
Skills
Graduates from this programme gain conceptual and methodological knowledge of the key concepts and debates in the study of gender and culture; the skills of critical analysis; the ability to distinguish and appraise a range of socio-cultural research methodologies; the skills to design and develop a research project; and the ability to recognise and account for sensitive ethical issues relating to research and representation.
The two core courses provide you with the necessary skills to understand the relationships between early debates in the fields of gender studies, feminist theory and feminist cultural theory, and the ability to critically engage with new developments in these fields. Furthermore, you will gain a critical appreciation of the role and place of the body and affect in the development of feminist cultural theory and gender theory, and the challenges that contemporary socio-cultural changes bring to the theorisation of the body.
Careers
Previous graduates have embarked on professional careers in social research, think tanks, the arts and cultural sectors, government and public administration, development, human rights, NGOs, and in media and communications globally. They have also progressed to PhD study.
Find out more about employability at Goldsmiths.
