MA 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.