Visual Culture MA

Study in a department currently ranked within the world top 75 and 5th in the UK for Communication (Shanghai Global Rankings of Academic Subjects 2025). The programme examines the changes and challenges for visual culture in the twenty-first century, while emphasising the importance of paying close, critical attention to visual artefacts and cultural experiences while situating them in a wider historical context. Beyond considering questions of visuality and examining images, the programme addresses questions of modernity and social change, ranging from experiences of everyday space, time and mobility, to the impacts of media on self and identity; how societies access, 'store' or remember the past; and the broader environmental, infrastructural and social contexts of contemporary visual culture. The programme is widely interdisciplinary in scope, drawing on perspectives from disciplines such as cultural studies, anthropology, Latin American studies, art and cultural history, cultural geography, urban studies, games and memory studies. Students engage with cutting-edge theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches that enable critical analysis of media forms across multiple platforms, from traditional cinema and photography to digital media, social media, and emerging technologies. The curriculum encourages students to develop sophisticated visual literacy skills, alongside the ability to conduct ethnographic research, textual analysis, and digital humanities approaches. Graduates from the programme are equipped with valuable transferable skills including critical thinking, research capabilities, digital literacy, and the ability to communicate complex ideas effectively. These competencies prepare graduates for diverse career pathways in cultural industries, media organisations, education, heritage institutions, policy development, and independent research. The programme fosters an understanding of how visual and media cultures shape contemporary society, making graduates well-positioned to engage meaningfully with pressing cultural and social questions.