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Full time | Birkbeck, University of London | 1 year | OCT-24

Study mode

Full time

Duration

1 year

Start date

OCT-24

Key information
DATA SOURCE : IDP Connect

Qualification type

MA - Master of Arts

Subject areas

Critical Theory

Course type

Taught

Course Summary

COURSE OVERVIEW

This MA Critical Theory gives you the opportunity to explore the provocations of various waves of critical theory in relation to culture. You will examine a multitude of critical theoretical approaches - with an emphasis on the contributions of the German critical tradition from Kant through Marx to the Frankfurt School, and all those thinkers following in its wake. You will also consider the crossings of politics and aesthetics and theory’s acknowledgement of, and resistance to, social injustice.

Culture is understood here in its broadest sense, and you will explore it in relation to contestations around topics such as:

science and technology

materialism

ecological crisis

migrancy

global and planetary forms

sexuality

gender.

You will consider how the insights and analyses of twentieth- and twenty-first-century critique relate to numerous forms, including literature, print culture, painting, film, photography, music and digital formats such as touchscreens, gaming or virtual environments. You will gain confidence in your ability to use constructive, explorative dialogue and debate to seek answers to complex questions.

This MA Critical Theory offers you a selection of option modules which allow you to focus more specifically on such questions raised within the compulsory modules. These option modules also give you the chance to think across a wide range of cognate subjects and build up areas of expertise.

CAREERS AND EMPLOYABILITY

Our graduates are trained to be effective researchers with good communication skills and an ability to critically assess a wide range of textual and other cultural materials.

You will find graduates of the MA Critical Theory following career paths in the following roles or areas:

journalism

arts and filmmaking

arts administration or research

digital technologists

human rights work and the advocacy sector

law and business professions

publishing

Modules

This module considers in some depth the innocuous question, 'What is culture?' We will explore some of the debates and discussions around the term 'culture' and different types of culture: high, low, mass, popular, global, human, non-human. All of these variations will be considered in relation to questions of theory and to important modes of critical thinking, including Enlightenment, Romantic and dialectical criticism.

Tuition fees

UK fees
Course fees for UK students

For this course (per year)

£10,800

International fees
Course fees for EU and international students

For this course (per year)

£19,830

Entry requirements

Our standard postgraduate entry requirement is a second-class honours degree (2:2 or above) from a UK university, or an equivalent international qualification. Your first degree does not have to be in arts or humanities.