MA in Politics, Media and Performance
There can be little doubt that film, creative media and performance do not just reflect but produce particular political realities and can be used for political ends: for example, the recent events of the Arab Spring demonstrated the role that digital media play in the form and conduct of political activism, and the events of 9/11 ten years ago showed how spectacle impacts on politics and may be manipulated for various ends. All this highlights the need for informed and critical scholarship that is not constrained by any disciplinary divide between performance, media and politics, and that goes beyond a framework that equates theatre with politics or sees politics as a performance.
Scholars of politics have recognised the importance of examining, and indeed employing, cultural and media forms in their work. Equally, scholars of film, media and performance are examining the relevance of critical conceptualisations of the political in their practice. This MA taught Masters combines the research strengths and longstanding collaboration of two world-leading departments to allow students from either background to develop an advanced understanding of the place of media, film and performance in contemporary politics, and vice versa. Students from politics and international politics will have the opportunity to develop skills in media analysis and practice, and specialise in film, performance, or creative media, and those from film, performance and media will gain a deeper understanding of contemporary theories and practices of politics, and specialise in a particular area, for example, Latin America, Africa, or the Middle East, or in a particular aspect of international politics, for example, postcolonialism, or critical international relations. Those from other disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, philosophy will have the opportunity to engage with these exciting and intensely political synergies.
The Aberystwyth Masters in Politics, Media and Performance
Aberystwyth University’s Masters in Politics, Media and Performance is the first course in the UK (and one of the few in the world) to study the interrelationships between these crucial areas. Working across disciplines in innovative and invigorating ways, you will examine the means through which film, media and performance do not just reflect but produce particular political realities and how they can be used for political ends.
As a student on Aberystwyth University’s Masters in Politics, Media and Performance, you will benefit from the experience and guidance of two of the world’s leading departments in their respective subject areas. Our Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies will provide you with a thorough theoretical and practical understanding of media and performance. Our Department of International Politics will help you to gain a deeper understanding of contemporary theories and practices of politics and to engage with a range of exciting and intensely political new synergies. Together the departments offer you a comprehensive range of teaching and learning facilities and extensive computing and library resources. Amongst the library resources are those of National Library of Wales, one of the world’s great libraries with over 6 million volumes available to you.
The Aberystwyth University Masters in Politics, Media and Performance provides you with a core module that gives you a firm grounding in the issues that emerge from the intersection of politics, media and performance. In addition, through a number of optional modules, you will have the opportunity to focus on those areas of media, performance and politics which are of most interest to you, through either critical study or practical investigation. You will study alongside some of the major practitioners in the academic study of media, performance and politics. The experts who will work with you are broad ranging in their academic interests and geographic reach. You are given the choice to complete the Masters with a written dissertation or a practice-based project in performance, film or media practice.
Overview
This Masters degree scheme builds on longstanding research collaboration between the Department of International Politics and the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies and develops the synergies that have emerged in the course of that work. It offers graduates in the humanities (Performance Studies, Fine Art, Film, Cultural Studies, Philosophy, Literature or Media) and in the social sciences (Politics, International Politics, Sociology, Anthropology) the opportunity to work together at the intersection of performance, media and politics to develop an advanced understanding of cutting-edge contemporary thinking in critical international and postcolonial politics, performance, film studies and media.
This programme will be jointly taught by International Politics and Theatre, Film and Television Studies staff and administered by the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies within the Faculty of Arts.
There can be little doubt that film, creative media and performance do not just reflect but produce particular political realities and can be used
for political ends. The recent events of the Arab Spring demonstrated the role that digital media play in the form and conduct of political activism, and the events of 9/11 in 2011 showed how spectacle impacts on politics and may be manipulated for various ends. All this highlights the need for informed, critical and creative scholarship that is not constrained by any disciplinary divide between performance, media and politics, and that goes beyond a framework that equates theatre with politics or sees politics as a performance. Scholars of politics have recognised the importance of examining, and indeed employing, cultural and media forms in their work. Equally, scholars of film, media and performance are examining the relevance of critical conceptualisations of the political in their practice.
This taught Masters combines the research strengths and longstanding collaboration of two world-leading departments to allow students from either background to develop an advanced understanding of the place of media, film and performance in contemporary politics, and vice versa. Students from politics and international politics will have the opportunity to develop skills in media analysis and practice, and specialise in film, performance, or creative media, and those from film, performance and media will gain a deeper understanding of contemporary theories and practices of politics, and specialise in a particular area, for example, Latin America, Africa, or the Middle East, or in a particular aspect of international politics, for example, postcolonialism, or critical international relations. Graduates from other disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, cultural studies and philosophy will also have the opportunity to engage with these exciting and intensely political new synergies.
Fact File
| Duration: | Twelve months full-time. The academic year is divided into three semesters, but this course is administered in two parts: Part One runs from September to May; Part Two runs from June to September. |
| Assessment: | The taught part of the course (Part 1) is delivered and assessed through lectures, tutorials and essay projects. Successful completion of your dissertation (Part 2) leads to the award of an MA. |
| English Language Requirements: |
If you have a Bachelor’s degree from a UK University, you do not need to take an English proficiency test. Non-native English speakers who do not meet this requirement must take a University-recognised test of academic English language proficiency. For further information please see our English Language requirements page. |
| Entry Requirements: |
BA honours degree (2:1) or above in a related subject at undergraduate level and accompanying references. The Department will consider applicants with other experience which gives an equivalent basis for entry. |
| Tuition Fees: |
Please see the tuition fee pages for current tuition fees. Please note that all fees are subject to an annual increase. |
Contacts
For further information about this course pleas feel free to contact the Course Director.
Dr Heike Roms (Course Director) - Email: hhp@aber.ac.uk
Departmental information can be found on the Departments website.
Apply
Find out more about this course from: Dr Heike Roms (Course Director) - Email: hhp@aber.ac.uk
You can apply for this course online using UKPASS or offline. Please see our How To Apply section.
Other important information: University Accommodation
About Aberystwyth (external site)
Careers
This degree will suit you...
…If you have a specific interest in Politics, Media and Performance
…If you want a highly innovative masters course
…If you want to develop your research skills
…If you are interested in the theoretical and historical debates behind media, performance and politics
…If you want to develop creative interventions into political debates through the use of media and performance
Employability
The transferable skills you will acquire on the course, such as presentational skills, information building and analysis, critical thinking, writing skills, and practical and creative skills are vital for a broad range of employers. An MA in Politics, Media and Performance shows an in-depth knowledge of these topics which are particularly beneficial if you choose to apply for PhD study. The Aberystwyth MA in Politics, Media and Performance provides you with skills essential in several fields of work. Modules and assessments are aimed towards giving you experiences which will benefit you in the working world. Graduates from the Departments of International Politics and Theatre, Film and Television Studies have entered careers in the creative industries, administration and the public and private sectors.
Key Skills and Competencies
Study Skills
You will learn how to gain access to the relevant literature and materials in these fields and how to use them in critical discussion of the issues covered by this subject and in relation to your own specific needs. Practical advice is given in research methods and sources.
Self-Motivation and discipline
Studying at Masters Level is a very independent process. You will be guided and aided by University staff, but you will also be expected to conduct your own scholarly and/ or creative research work. The final dissertation in particular, teaches you how to employ your own skills and knowledge to produce high standards of work. The practice of self-motivation and discipline will prepare you for what will be expected of you in the working world.
Transferable Skills
The MA in Politics, Media and Performance provides you with key skills which are transferable to several fields, thus increasing your employability. Upon graduation from this Masters course, you will be able to structure and communicate ideas efficiently, write for and speak to a range of audiences, evaluate and organize information, develop practical initiatives, work effectively with others, work within timeframes and to specific deadlines.
This link will take you to Prospects for general information about careers in in performance.
Modules
Core Module: Politics, Media and Performance: Making Connections
Optional Modules from a wide range of choices, including:
In Performance Studies: Compositional Practice, Production Project; in Film Studies: Film Culture, Film and Representation; in International Politics: Postcolonial Politics; Protest, Power and Resistance in Africa; Women and Warfare; Islam and Modernity; Sovereignty, Community, Life; Politics of Difference; Gender and Race in Latin America
Further modules currently in development, especially in the area of documentary film-making.
Dissertation: practice-based or written research project
In addition there will be a range of research events, reading groups etc devoted to Politics, Media and Performance.
|
Semester 1 |
Semester 2 |
Semester 3 |
|
Core Module [30 credits] TPM0730 Politics, Media and Performance: Making Connections
|
Research Project Forum [not assessed] |
[60 credits] TPM0860 Research Project: Dissertation |
|
Optional module [30 credits]: |
Two Optional modules [30 credits each]: |
|
|
Students are required to take a minimum of one optional module from each department over the two semesters 1 and 2 |
||
|
1. TPM0230 Compositional Practices 2. TFM1330: Film Culture 3. TFM3530 Case Studies in Film History 4. IPM1330 Postcolonial Politics
|
1. TPM0530 Production Project 2. TFM3430 Film and Representation 3. IPM2930 Protest, Power and Resistance in Africa 4. IPM6430 Women and Warfare 5. IPM8430 Islam and Modernity 6. IPM8930 Beyond Westphalia: Sovereignty, Community, Life 7. IPM3630 Politics of Difference 8. IPM8630 Gender and Race in Latin America
[further optional modules in film and media practice are in development]
|
|
Staff
Professor Jenny Edkins, MA (Oxon) St Anne’s College, University of Oxford, MSc The City University, London, BA (Hons) The Open University, PhD University of Wales, Aberystwyth
Personhood and political community; the workings of sovereign power, the instrumentalisation of life, and the possibility of alternatives through detailed studies of famine, security, humanitarian crises, traumatic memory, missing persons, the photograph and the face. and political community.
Dr Karoline Gritzner, MagPhil (Graz), MA, PhD (Wales)
Contemporary British and Irish drama; modern European theatre; gender and sexuality; aesthetics; Critical Theory; Continental Philosophy
Prof Adrian Kear, BA (Manchester), MSocSc (Birmingham), PhD (Surrey)
Theories of event, mimesis and representation; contemporary European theatre; avant-garde performance; performance ethics and cultural politics; theatre as an intellectual practice; performance, citizenship and social practice
Dr Carl Lavery, BA (Wales), MA, PhD (East Anglia)
Landscape and environmental performance; contemporary French performance; performance and space; theatre and the political; walking as performance; European theatre and performance; theatre and ecology; British performance and live art
Prof Mike Pearson, BA, MA, PhD (Wales)
Performance and landscape; performance and archaeology; biography, personal narrative and memory in performance; folklore and traditional performance practices; the archaeology of antarctic exploration; devising performance
Dr Simona Rentea, BA University of Cluj, MA University of Manchester, PhD University of Manchester
intersection between continental political theory and International Relations (IR); International Relations theory; Philosophy of International Relations; Theories of modernity and theories of the state; German debates on sovereignty; Biopolitics and Bioethics
Dr Heike Roms, MA (Hamburg), PhD (Wales)
Histories of performance art (especially in Wales and the UK generally); performance, archiving, documentation and historiography; disciplinary histories and genealogies of performance studies; teaching the avant-garde – performance’s pedagogical histories; performance and ecology; performance, landscape and environment
www.performance-wales.org