Media, Communications and Culture MPhil

Keele University

Media, Communications & Culture research at Keele has an inter-disciplinary research focus, with a history of collaboration with disciplines such as Sociology, English and Creative Writing, Politics, Film, and Music as well as subject areas such as Memory Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Science and Technology Studies and the Environmental Humanities. We also have a strong focus on practice-based research, which brings media theory and practice together in creative and critical ways. Facilities Research students are supported through the provision of: shared office space, IT equipment and research funding to support some travel and other expenses. Our facilities include The University Library, which has access in paper and electronic form to a wide range of resources necessary in pursuing research in Media, Communications and Culture at postgraduate level. In addition, the Media Building has its own digital editing suite, exhibition and visual arts work space, and a technician to assist students with their audio-visual projects. We also provide access to industry-standard software for producing video editing, film production, photography and music production. Research Staff and Students Although we have a wide range of interests, the department is especially interested in the following themes: Cultural Politics, with a specific interest in: Cultural memory; digital and social media; news production; globalization; inequalities and exclusions within the media; feminist approaches to science and technology; human-animal relations; and critical cultural theory Social Movements, with a specific interest in: Anti-capitalist, environmental, animal rights and food activism; social movements in India; relationships between on and offline activism; alternative media; and uses of digital media to gain visibility Representation, with a specific interest in: Media representations of religious and ethnic minorities; self-representations of marginalized populations; the production and reception of news; refugee and migrant representation; class politics; and broader questions about audiences We also welcome MRes and PhD applications which engage with these themes, and can support both conceptually-focused and practice-based projects.