Masters Degrees (Cultural Mediation)

The MA in Digital Media is unique in its combination of practical and theoretical approaches to contemporary media and technology- http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/ma-digital-media-technology-cultural-form/

The established and exciting degree is designed to help you understand digital transformations in media, culture and society and apply this understanding in practice, in the media and creative industries and in further research. You will be equipped with skills that can be applied to current and future developments in digital media, social media, computing and other aspects of technology.

The MA in Digital Media educates aspiring media practitioners and academics as well as early and mid-career professionals who seek to reflect on their roles in a structured and stimulating learning environment designed to give all students up-to-the-minute knowledge of digital media and the skills to apply that knowledge to future developments.

The MA offers two pathways:

-Pathway 1 is a theory programme where you learn about developments in digital media and technology from a wide range of perspectives

-Pathway 2 is a theory and practice programme where you improve your skills, understanding and experience in one of the following areas:

Documentary
Image making
Journalism
Writing

Acclaimed academics and practitioners

Benefit from the experience and expertise of one of the world’s leading media and communications departments. You'll be taught by theorists and practitioners of international standing: Sarah Kember, Joanna Zylinska, Graham Young, Tony Dowmunt, Angela Phillips, Julian Henriques and David Morley.

Work placements and internships

The MA in Digital Media regularly attracts offers of work placements and internships. Recently these have come from Google, The Science Museum and N1creative.com.

Facilities

Our students have access to state-of-the-art facilities including well-equipped lecture and seminar rooms, exhibition spaces, computer facilities and digital media suites.

The department is also currently host to the renowned philosopher of media and technology, Bernard Stiegler and students will have access to his modulein Media Philosophy as well as priority access to the innovative and popular option After New Media. Designed to complement the MA in Digital Media, this course provides a framework for thinking about the current media environment as well as future forms of human and computer interaction.

An established record

The MA in Digital Media has been redefining media theory and practice since 2004. Our students become proficient in:

the history, sociology and philosophy of digital media
the application of critical conceptual skills to specialist areas and future forms of media
multimedia skills in image making (photography, video, animation, graphic art) script writing, journalism and documentary
MA Digital Media students have access the pioneering option ‘After New Media’, a non-assessed online module which explores the themes of self mediation, ethical mediation and intelligent mediation, and develops a framework for thinking about 'life' after new media. As befits a course of this kind we will be combining media, and exploring their pedagogic potential – uniting digital-online technologies with more traditional teaching formats, such as reading groups, seminars and an end of year symposium.

Contact the department

If you have specific questions about the degree, contact Dr Sarah Kember.

Modules & Structure

The programme consists of:

Two compulsory core modules
Pathway 1 - between two and four option modules (worth 60 credits) OR
Pathway 2 - a two-term practice block (worth 30 credits) and either one or two option modules (worth 30 credits)
The dissertation or the practice/theory project

Assessment

Seen take-home paper; essays; dissertation or practice/theory project and other production work in the area of documentary, image-making, journalism or fiction.

Programme overview

This is an exciting programme which offers a critical, contextual and practical approach to digital media and technology. It problematises approaches to the 'new' media in academic and professional debate, especially those which overemphasise the potential for radical social change led by a homogenised technology itself.

The programme is defined by its resistance to technological determinism and its insistence on the importance of addressing the social and historical contexts within which a range of media technologies are employed. In order to provide a contextual framework and facilitate the conceptualisation of digital media and technologies as fully cultural forms and processes, the programme will draw on a range of disciplines including: media and cultural studies, sociology, anthropology and philosophy. However, the programme will remain focused on key contemporary concerns about the potential role of digital media in society and on refiguring the contours of the 'new' media debate.

The programme offers two pathways. Pathway 1 addresses central theoretical and conceptual concerns relating to digital media. Pathway 2 combines theoretical analysis and practical work, offering students the opportunity to explore new media theories and concepts in practice. Pathway 2 is primarily aimed at students who already have some experience in one of the areas on offer: documentary; digital photography and image making; journalism; writing. It is meant to appeal to media industry professionals who are keen to reflect critically on their practice within a structured learning environment, graduates of practice-based courses but also those who have gained their practical experience in documentary; digital photography and image making; journalism or writing in informal settings.

Programme structure

The first compulsory core course is Digital Media - critical perspectives and this is taught in a small workshop format in the Autumn term. This course functions as a foundation for the second core course and offers students a map of the key debates in digital media. The course is taught in ten two hour workshop sessions and is supported by the provision of one-to-one tutorials.

The second compulsory core course is Technology and Cultural Form - debates, models, dialogues and this develops questions of technology, power, politics and subjectivity which were introduced in the first core course. The first part of this course highlights the key conceptual concerns of a contextualised approach to digital media plus the relevant debates and models formulated by key figures in the field. The second part of this course aims to generate a dialogue between theoreticians and practitioners around some of the most intellectually stimulating, contentious and contemporary ideas in the field without necessarily seeking a resolution. This course is taught in ten two hour workshop sessions during the Spring term and is supported by the weekly provision of one-to-one tutorials.

Students are required to take options from the lists provided by the Media and Communications, Anthropology, Comparative Literature and Sociology Departments as well as the Centre for Cultural Studies. Examples might include: After New Media, Nature and Culture, Cultural Theory, Globalisation, Risk and Control, Embodiment and Experience, Political Communications. Options are taught primarily through lectures and seminars and take place in the Autumn or Spring terms.

Each student's option profile is discussed with the programme convenor in order to ensure that the balance of subject-specific topics is appropriate for the individual concerned. Option courses are taught primarily through lectures, seminars and tutorials and take place in the Autumn or Spring terms.

All students are required to produce either a 12,000 word dissertation on a topic agreed by the student and supervisor or a practice/theory project in the area of documentary, photography and image making, journalism or fiction. The length of the practical element is dependent on the media and the form used and will be agreed in advance with the supervisor. It will, however, be comparable with practical projects undertaken in practice MA programmes in the relevant field. Students undertaking the practice/theory project will also be expected to submit a 3-4000 word analysis of their practice which locates it within the theoretical debates explored in the MA as a whole. This essay may be presented as a separate document or as an integral part of the project depending on the nature of the project and by a agreement with both theory and practice supervisors.

Programme outcomes

The programme's subject specific learning outcomes require students to analyse and contextualise developments in digital media and technology with reference to key debates in the history, sociology, anthropology and philosophy of the media. Students who opt for the practice/theory pathway will also be required to produce material of publishable or broadcast standard and to evaluate the ways in which theoretical and practical insights intersect. All students will develop a wide range of transferable qualities and skills necessary for employment in related or unrelated areas. These are described by the Quality Assurance Agency as: 'the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility, decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations, and the independent learning ability required for continuing professional development'.

By the end of the programme students will be able to:

-Map and critically evaluate key debates in the field of new media
-Analyse and contextualise current and future developments in digital media and technology
-Evaluate and articulate key historical, sociological, anthropological and philosophical approaches to the study of digital media and technology
-Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of at least four differing areas of inquiry
-Demonstrate an advanced level of conceptual knowledge and (where relevant) practical skill appropriate for a sustained piece of work in the field
-Prepare and deliver clearly argued and informed work
-Locate, retrieve and present relevant information for a specific project
-Manage a complex array of competing demands and work effectively to a deadline
-Work resourcefully and independently
-Think critically and/or work practically within a given context

Skills

We provide graduates with skills that are cutting edge: in the critical analysis and/or creative production of digital media; in the disciplinary knowledge and conceptual frameworks necessary for current and future forms of media and technology; in the awareness of how digital media and technologies are re-shaping society from the ways we communicate (through social media and web 2.0) to the increasingly ‘smart’ environments in which we live.

Careers

Our programme provides a theory and practice pathway and prepares students for work in the following areas:

-media and creative industries; advertising, marketing and PR (graduates of the MA Digital Media have found work with Virgin Media, Google, the BBC and other leading organisations worldwide)
-research and academia (graduates from this programme have gone on to study for PhD degrees in higher education institutions around the world and also here with us)
-media production and new media art (graduates have exhibited, published and produced work in photography, journalism, TV, documentary, film and multimedia)

Graduate Ekaterina discusses her career:

"I work for a company, called Visual DNA, which already sounds like life happening After New Media. The company is the largest data provider in Europe and is totally multinational. We actually try to analyse human visual DNA, you memories, feelings, thoughts about the future, anticipations, etc by creating personality quizzes where instead of verbal answers we tend to use images.

My role is as Creative Developer. It involves working with images from concept to finding/shooting and post-production. My qualifications perfectly matched what they’ve been looking for, Digital Media rocks!

My tip for the new-to-be-graduates is this: physically go to places and companies and talk to people. It really opens up loads of possibilities, and when I tell someone where I’ve graduated from they look impressed, and there is some sort of respect coming from them."

Funding

Please visit http://www.gold.ac.uk/pg/fees-funding/ for details.

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Most undergraduate psychology programmes around the world teach a set of ‘basic psychological findings’. Such findings are usually based on samples of undergraduate students in the US and Northern Europe, and give us few clues as to how psychological processes vary across the world. Many societies have an increasingly multi-cultural nature, which is compounded by the growing contact and interaction between societies with very different cultural traditions.

These changes are raising profound sets of issues about how we, as individuals, understand each other, and how we act in relation to each other in different cultural settings. This course considers the way in which psychological findings may differ across societies, and explores some reasons for this variation. It also aims to provide course participants with the skills necessary to conduct their own research with different ethnic groups and in different cultures.

The programme is designed for those with undergraduate degrees in Psychology (and related subjects) who wish to gain a greater understanding of the role of culture in psychology, and for those already working in professions where psychology is of importance. We also welcome graduates in related subjects who are interested in learning more about culture and psychology, as well as students who might ultimately want to continue on to a PhD programme.

By including materials from across the social sciences, the course aims to utilise the complementary disciplines within the School in order to offer a truly inter-disciplinary perspective.

Course Content
Modules are subject to variation and students are advised to check with the School on whether a particular module of interest will be running in their year of entry. At the time of printing modules are likely to be drawn from the following areas:
Core modules: Methods for Cross-Cultural Research; Cross-Cultural Variations in Psychological Findings I & II
Optional modules: Foundations of Psychoanalytic; Evolutionary Psychology; Media and Popular Culture; Media and Globalization. Check the web for the latest updates.

Recent dissertation topics include:
Attitudes Towards Mental Illness: A Comparison Between Japan and the UK; Mediation Strategies amongst Jews and Arabs in Israel and the UK; Cultural Predictors of Loneliness and Life; Satisfaction in Canada: a Comparison Between Canadian and Chinese; A Validation Study of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems in Korean University Students; Psychological Problems faced by Arab Students in the UK; Partner Preferences amongst Hindu Gujaratis in Britain.

Assessment
Assessment is by coursework, through the completion of term papers, seen examinations (given out at least a month before the examinations) and poster presentations. A dissertation of approximately 15,000 words is then required.

Careers
Graduates from this course will have gained considerable knowledge and expertise in cross-cultural psychology which will enhance their employability in a number of careers. Previous students are now working in major international organisations such as the WHO. Others are continuing their studies, taking PhDs at leading international universities.

This course will prove especially useful to those wishing to deploy their skills in international government and non-governmental agencies. In addition, other major issues, for example that of cross-cultural attitudes and behaviours in relation to health and health care, are considered increasingly important by both local and national governments, as well as international agencies, in implementing desirable policies and practice

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Description:
The MA in Cross‐Cultural Communication will help students learn about the essential aspects of contacts between cultures while developing strong intercultural communication competences with critical and independent analysis.

Methodology:
The courses will focus on the impact of cultural differences in today’s economic and social spheres and on the necessity to develop communication skills to bridge those differences.

Career Prospects:
The Master in Cross-Cultural Communication at Horizons University prepares students for an international career, rooted in international affairs and culture by enhancing cross-cultural communication and interpersonal skills. These assets enable students to secure positions in international companies, consulting practices and international education as well as positions where intercultural mediation and understanding of multiple cultures and communication schemes are a top requirement.

Credit Value: 90ECTS/36US
Languages: English
Study Options: Online

Earn a degree fully online, and at your pace. Our innovative personalized approach gives you the opportunity to accelerate your studies, and increase your employability potential. Start your degree any day of the year!

Courses:
- Communication and Human Relations
- Cross/Cultural Communication
- Language Isuues in Communication
- Virtual Communication
- World Cultures
- Foreign Language Fluency
- Global Issues
- The International Business Environment
- Thesis

Specialized courses:
- Global Issues
- Virtual Communication
- Language Issues in Communication
- Communication and Human Relations
- Producing 1
- World Cultures

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Good communication can change the world. Are you interested in becoming an adept communicator between different nations, seeking a course which combines theoretical study with active translation work and creative writing?

This innovative and interdisciplinary programme examines translation between English and either German, French or Italian in a cultural context. You will cover a range of translation theory and practice, language and writing in your core and optional modules.

You will develop excellent communication and critical skills, and will be well qualified to seek out work in the field of linguistic and cultural mediation, such as translation, publishing, or the media. You’ll also be strongly positioned to take on further study and applied research.

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About the course

The MA in English Literature at Brunel University London offers a combination of various approaches to the study of literary texts, including the historical, author-oriented readings, periodization and a postmillennial focus. It is underpinned by certain core issues: identity, culture and literary engagement; historical contexts; the ideological and social function of literature; exploring self and others through literary forms and genres; how we might more effectively read texts and the world.

The course offers the opportunity to study a range of topics and periods including the contemporary, and it is designed to appeal to you if: you are preparing to undertake further research in literary studies; wishing to take your general studies in English literature to the next level; or, hoping to enhance your career prospects.

The introductory module, Reading, Research & Writing, reinforces and further develops all the required skills and competencies relevant to literary studies, ensuring that from the third term you will be able to pursue self-directed research on an agreed topic of your choice and submit a 15,000 word dissertation.

Aims

You will explore the diversity of literary and cultural production through innovative modules designed to cross disciplinary, historical, and geographical boundaries, thereby offering a wide scope within which students of the master’s can develop their own interests.

The MA in English Literature will equip you with a detailed and sophisticated understanding of English and related literatures. It will support your critical and creative engagement with issues central to and at the cutting edge of English literary studies.

If, following the completion of the postgraduate English MA course, you wish to continue your studies at doctoral level, you will have essential research skills, and the opportunity to join a flourishing research culture at Brunel.

Course Content

You will take five core modules, four of which study a range of texts and a fifth which involves preparing a 15,000 word dissertation on an agreed topic of your choice.

All five compulsory modules have been designed to meet the requirements of the Arts and Humanities Research Council in terms of preparation of graduate students for advanced level study and doctoral research.

Reading, Writing and Research
Postmillennial Literature
A British Literary Decade: A Historical Approach
Author(s) Study
Advanced Project: 15,000 word dissertation

Special Features

This master’s degree is taught by world-leading specialists in post-1789 literature and theory, each with an international reputation for publication, their work informing the content of our programme.

The course offers innovative approaches and module topics which combine different periods, author-studies, and both a contemporary and a historical focus.

The location of Brunel University in West London places it in the heart of contemporary literary and cultural life in the UK.

Access to various Brunel archives, including the Fiction and Cultural Mediation of Ageing (FCMAP) archive, the Burnett Archive of Working Class Autobiographies and South Asian Diaspora Arts Archive (SADAA).

Our staff have expertise in a wide range of literatures, and you will benefit from events and activities organised by the Brunel Centre for Contemporary Writing.

There are financial benefits offered to alumni of the Brunel MA programmes to help you on your way.

Teaching

The English Literature MA is taught through workshops and seminars, led by distinguished research-active staff working in the field. English students will be expected to contribute to discussions, present your own interpretations and raise new questions for debate.

Assessment

This English Literature Master's course is taught through workshops and seminars, moderated by distinguished research-active staff working in the field. You will be expected to contribute to discussions, present your own interpretations and raise new questions for debate.

You will be assessed using a variety of methods including written work (essays and dissertation), oral presentations, seminar attendance and performance, and organisation and planning of the dissertation. Some assessments will be formative, i.e you will be given feedback but not graded; this will enable you to improve and work towards graded assessments.

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About the course

The two-year full-time study programme (120 ECTS) studies multilingualism and multiculturalism and the issues raised by these themes in a society characterised by increased mobility, migration and diversity.

The programme focuses on linguistic and cultural diversity issues in the fields of education, communication and in different institutional and professional contexts.

In courses and seminars, multilingualism is an integral part of the forms of exchange between the students. In the philosophy of the programme, multilingualism is considered to be of added value in the building of knowledge.

Aims

As a student, you will

• get familiarised with scientific literature dealing with multilingualism and multiculturalism in fields such as sociolinguistics, applied linguistics, education, epistemology, sociology, digital literacy, etc
• develop detailed knowledge of the necessary methodological tools, with special emphasis on qualitative research in these areas
• develop your independent research competences

Course modules

• Research approaches
• Language and Education
• Organisational discourse and business communication
• Globalisation, Digital Media and Migration
• Languages

Career

The programme prepares students for further PhD studies in disciplines such as sociolinguistics, education, anthropology or sociology.

The interdisciplinary programme will open up career possibilites in domains such as education, journalism, new media, cultural and diversity management, cultural mediation, business and professional communication, tourism, translation, etc.

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Program Structure

The program is structured in in two different blocks: core requirements and majors.
In the first block student will develop advanced knowledge and competencies in the areas of intellectual property rights, data analysis, strategic management and corporate governance, comparative cultural policies and fundraising, project and event management, consumer relationship management and cultural mediation, performance management and evaluation,
In the second block, the student will choose one of the following major including compulsory and elective courses and workshops which aim at better defining and specializing students’ skills and professional orientation in different fields and subsector in the creative economy:

- Arts Markets, Heritage and Culture;
- Cities, Tourism and Events;
- Fashion and Design;
- Media;
- Performing Arts and Enterteinment.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The Master of Science in Economics and Management in Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment has the following educational objectives:

- provide a business preparation (management control, planning management, marketing, government and strategy) taking into account the different business functions in order to work in the areas of contemporary arts, cultural heritage, media, tourism, show business and fashion; and to understand the evolution in the arts and culture;
- provide a unitary understanding in the various sectors of arts, culture, the media and entertainment, especially in the choice of strategy, governance and economic character of companies belonging to the same field;
- complete the business and juridical studies providing competences in subjects as economics and quantitative and juridical, so as to develop interdisciplinary problem analysis skills;
- develop competences via educational activities inside and outside the classroom which promote student-teacher interaction and interaction between the students themselves as well as complex problem analysis and problem solving skills, ability to present and discuss the results of one’s work;
- promote competence (in the business area) in the use of English and of a second EU language to work effectively and efficiently in one’s profession.

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First taught in 2007, the Master’s Degree in Foreign Language Teaching (SFL/EFL) has now split into its two component specialities: English and Spanish. The resulting Master’s Degree in English Language Teaching aims to train professionals to teach English for both general and specific purposes. The degree is a combination of professional and research tracks, and it is designed for national and international graduates, with or without experience, who wish to work professionally in the field of English language teaching.

Student Profile

The Master’s Degree is designed mainly for students with a background in English studies, and such related fields as modern languages, culture and communication, translation and interpretation, or schoolteachers specializing in foreign languages. Nevertheless, the Master’s Degree is also open to people holding some sort of official university degree (bachelor’s degree, pre-Bologna bachelor’s degree or 3-year diploma), or an equivalent that may not be directly related. In the latter case, students will be required to take a bridging course (see the specific regulations).

Career opportunities

The obvious area in which the graduates from this programme can work is English language teaching at all levels. In general, language teaching provides students with multidisciplinary training in the humanities which prepares them for all sorts of activities involving the transmission of cultural knowledge. The future master’s degree graduates will be qualified to work in the following fields:
-Language teaching
-English teachers in private and state-run language teaching institutions in Spain (Official School of Languages, language services, language academies, adult education, etc.)
-English teachers abroad in both private and state-run institutions
-English teachers for specific purposes in private companies, multinationals and international agencies
-Teachers of other subjects in English for bilingual institutions
-Heads or heads of studies in schools
-English language assistants in foreign universities
-English language teachers in secondary schools
-Language advisors for schools, publishers, or other public and private companies
-University lecturers at graduate or postgraduate level
-Researcher into teaching– learning English
-Author of text books for learning English in publishers and similar companies
-Author of teaching materials – online language learning for publishers and similar companies
-Educational advisor in schools, publishers and other public or private institutions
-Research and knowledge transfer in interdisciplinary research groups
-Language and cultural mediation in public or private institutions
-Tourism
-Translation
-Publishing

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The main aim of the Master's Degree in Spanish as a Foreign Language is to train students to teach Spanish to speakers of other languages. It provides students with the theory and practical tools they need to teach Spanish as a foreign language at home or abroad. The programme guarantees that students will have a thorough knowledge of Spanish and will be familiar with the most suitable techniques and methods for satisfactory teaching.

The subjects are taught entirely in Spanish, as is the training programme, but this may not be the case of the optional subjects.

In addition to the professional track, the course also offers a research track for those who are interested in pursuing any theoretical or practical aspects of foreign language teaching with a view to taking a doctorate.

Student Profile

The master programme is aimed at future language teachers who wish to work in Spain and abroad.

Student profile is in general graduates in Spanish Filology or similar (Translation, Foreign Language Teacher, etc). However, it may also be admited othe candidate profiles if a teaching vocation does extist.

Career Opportunities

Graduates in the University Master's degree in Teaching languages: Spanish as a Foreign Language are capable of working in:
-Teaching Spanish in language schools in Spain or abroad
-Teaching Spanish in foreign universities
-Teaching Spanish in civic centres
-Posts as Spanish language assistants at foreign universities
-Cultural mediation in official refugees centres and immigrant services
-Tourism field
-Translation field
-Correction of media texts

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This master's degree enables students to understand, analyse and intervene in the social and cultural life of a plural and constantly changing urban society, with special emphasis on migrations and cultural diversity.

The theory and methodology is largely taken from the fields of social anthropology and social work. The students receive training in urban anthropology; migrations and cultural diversity; and social intervention. The focus of the programme is interdisciplinary and it is designed to lead to a professional or research career.

Student Profile

This master's degree is designed for graduates of the degree in Anthropology and Social Work, but is also offered to graduates of humanities and social sciences (sociology, political science, geography, social education, etc.) and graduates in architecture and urbanism who are interested in training in urban studies from a social and humanistic viewpoint.

Career Opportunities

Graduates in University Master's Degree in Urban Anthropology, Migrations and Social Intervention are enabled to work in:
-Social and cultural research
-Social diagnosis and urban planning
-Social intervention
-Equality management
-Immigration and integration management
-Socio-cultural mediation
-Social marketing
-Cooperation
-Socio-cultural leadership

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This 36-credit program is designed for self-starters and independent thinkers; students who want to further their career in intercultural or international communication, including Strategic Communication, Health Communication, and Communication for Development. The program is delivered by faculty with professional and practitioner industry insight, providing a functional, real-world understanding of the fundamental and advanced concepts related to intercultural and international communication issues.

The MA in Intercultural and International Communication program will give graduates the skills necessary to communicate effectively in complex circumstances, through the use of diverse media and communication genres and engaging different audiences across multiple cultural settings.

Graduates will be familiar with non-governmental, civic, and business organizations and will have an understanding of how the making and shaping of meaning is fundamental to the reproduction of culture.

Course themes include:
-Intercultural and International Communication
-Intercultural Competence
-Media Relations in a Global Context
-Public Affairs and Advocacy
-Social Marketing
-Sport for Society
-Communication for Health and Well-Being

This program is delivered in two formats: an 18-month on-campus program, or a two-year blended program incorporating online learning with one on-campus residency, with the opportunity for an internship or research course. As well, this program features an intercultural field study experience to ensure you have opportunities to apply your learning in both intercultural and international contexts.

This program is recognized as full-time by StudentAid BC, meaning B.C. residents on this program are eligible for full-time government student loan assistance.

Who It’s For

The MA in Intercultural and International Communication program is for strategic and independent-thinking communication managers looking to improve their ability to assist organizations respond to the rapidly changing global environment, as well as individuals with an arts or science undergraduate degree who want to pursue or advance their career in professional communication in the intercultural or international sphere. This program is designed to balance Intercultural Communication with International Communication to better integrate theory and practice.

There are two learning models available for this program, with each model traditionally attracting slightly different students:
-Two-Year Blended Model – The students that lean towards this option tend to have significant professional experience, and have a background as communication managers and leaders.
-18-Month On-Campus Model – Shortly after completing their bachelor degree, the students that tend to take up this model have a solid understanding of the theoretical aspects of communication, with some relevant work experience as communication specialists and liaisons.

Through our Flexible Admission process, significant professional experience in lieu of academic requirements is also considered.

Outcomes

The MA in Intercultural and International Communication prepares individuals for work in:
-International or multicultural governmental or non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
-International journalism and documentary-reporting
-Multi-ethnic and multicultural communities
-International media
-Intercultural conflict management
-International communication enterprises
-Social marketing and development aid
-International relations
-Community activism
-Sustainable international and intercultural development
-Cultural interpretation and mediation
-Further studies in any of these fields

Graduates will gain:
-Knowledge of both the fundamental and advanced concepts related to intercultural and international communication and an ability to communicate successfully through multiple modes (e.g. through written and oral discourse, visual language, multimodal media) across culturally diverse settings.
-The ability to use computer-mediated technology to manage the processes required for the production and reproduction of culture.
-Knowledge of traditional and new media and their operation across diverse audiences.
-Knowledge of government, non-government, civic, and business organizations and an understanding of how meaning-making is fundamental to the operation of these.
-An understanding of the social forces shaping the globalization of the world, combined with a practical understanding of how processes such as transnationalism, travel and tourism, global commerce, migration, diaspora, refugee movement, global identity politics, information flows, postcolonial governmental relations, and much more, shape communities worldwide.
-An understanding of the cultural dynamics underpinning the formation of local, regional and national communities with regard to issues such as the formation of cultural identities, the shaping of gender inclusion, racialization, multicultural policy and education, ritualization, language protection and cultural revival, multicultural health communication campaigns, environmental culture, political culture, indigenous governance, sustainable development, and all forms of cross-cultural interaction.
-An understanding of culture, international and intercultural communication, negotiation and conflict management. An ability to communicate ethically in diverse and difficult circumstances.

Upon successful completion of the MA Intercultural and International Communication program at Royal Roads University, you will have demonstrated your competency at a professional and international level, and that you are prepared to meet the challenges facing communication managers in today’s fast-changing cultural, socio-economic, and political environments.

Flexible Admission

Applicants who do not meet the Standard Admission requirements will be considered for Flexible Admission and assessed as follows:
-All applicants must show evidence of having sufficient knowledge, skills and abilities to complete a demanding academic course of study at a master's level and have significant professional communication experience.
-Applicants without an undergraduate degree, but more than three years (90 credits) of relevant post-secondary education, should have at least two years of relevant work experience, preferably in a leadership capacity.
-Applicants with 2-3 years (60-90 credits) of relevant post-secondary education should have at least five years of relevant international/intercultural work experience in a leadership capacity.
-Applicants with less than two years of relevant post-secondary education should have at least ten years of high-level, professional communication experience in a leadership capacity.

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The MA in International Communication and Cultures aims to provide you with a theoretical and practical understanding of communication as a cultural process.

You will discover how cultural meanings are carried within every message and what their effects are at an international level – how they are mediated, interpreted and translated. You will gain the skills required to critically explore the (trans)formation and effects of messages and their meanings in a globalised world. You will also learn how to translate and interpret the delivery of these messages to international audiences and markets, and develop the ability to negotiate and promote intended meaning.

The programme is ideal for those who have studied culture or communication (history, education, communication, social sciences, linguistics or languages) and wish to gain a more practical element with a focus on international markets, or those who have worked in the industry and would like to get a more thorough understanding of transcultural communication, which is linked to their experience.

In the first semester, you will take modules in global studies of communication and culture and in relevant research methods (textual and image analysis). You will be introduced to a range of optional modules for further specialisation, such as, Negotiation and Business Strategies, Documentary Film-making or Intercultural Rhetoric, Translation and Mediation. In the second semester, you will consolidate the knowledge, understanding and skills acquired in the previous semester in the field of international media and intercultural communication. New aspects of your learning in semester two will be an introduction to cultural practices (cultural management, innovation and creativity), but also to the role and use of languages across different cultures. You will be introduced to a range of optional modules for further specialisation, such as World literature, Global Media Events and Latin-America Cinema.

Core modules:
•Analysing transnational and intercultural meaning: Images and film/Language, texts and discourses
•Negotiation in international contexts: The use of language across cultures
•Representing intercultural meaning: Exhibition project or film festival (alternate years)
•Transnational flows, mediascapes and global meaning-making in intercultural contexts

Optional modules:
•Global cultural cities: The visual representation of Barcelona – tourism, football, architecture, festivals
•Global media events: Spectacles, festivals and conferences
•Global online communication: Self-expression and identity
•Intercultural rhetoric, translation and mediation: Promotional, educational and public communication
•Mediating distant suffering: Pity, trauma and victimhood in a transnational context
•Memory beyond borders: The transnational politics of memory and remembering
•Cinematic Representations of Latin America: Local versus global
•Representing intercultural meaning: Film project
•Theories of culture and communication
•Transcultural and transnational aesthetic practices: Cinema, magazines, fashion and museums
•Understanding multilingual contexts: Ethnic minorities and the glocal level
•World literature: Narratives, genres and networks

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Birkbeck is a leading centre for the study of the origins, history and cultural context of psychoanalysis. Our approach is distinctive and highly interdisciplinary. The MA Psychoanalytic Studies is jointly run by the Departments of Psychosocial Studies and of History, Classics and Archaeology, which allows you to study the origins of psychoanalysis, its history over its first 120 years of life, its main ideas and their applications, both within and outside the therapeutic context, and in particular how it has been taken up and contested in different social and cultural situations.

Taught by a wide range of leading academics and psychoanalytic practitioners, the programme explores how psychoanalytic thought has been used to illuminate pressing social and political concerns, and examines the controversies that have always surrounded it. It focuses on the interface between psychoanalysis as an evolving clinical practice, as a form of knowledge, and as a mode of critique. The programme examines key psychoanalytic concepts in detail and places those concepts in context. It will enable you to closely study the numerous modern developments within psychoanalysis, from Freud through to contemporary psychoanalytic theory and practice. You will also explore the methodological, epistemological and ethical issues that have resulted from diverse elaboration and extension of psychoanalytic ideas, not only in a clinical setting, but also in social and cultural inquiries, and in the interpretation of the historical past.

The MA asks how far modern thought on war and other forms of violent conflict, fascism, terrorism, racism and xenophobia has had an influence on the way we think about the unconscious mind, and vice versa. It also investigates how psychoanalytic accounts of inter-personal and intra-psychic relationships have shaped - or been shaped by - wider cultural attitudes to love, intimacy and destructiveness, and about the place of these accounts in discussions of gender and sexuality, racism and postcolonialism.

This programme has good links with the British Psycho-Analytical Society through its teaching staff and also because the Society's Foundation Course in Psychoanalysis can be taken as an option module by students on the MA. For students with strong clinical interests, this arrangement provides an exceptional opportunity to be taught psychoanalytic theory by some of the most senior and eminent psychoanalysts in the country.

Teaching staff on this programme include Lisa Baraitser, Stephen Frosh, Daniel Pick and Jacqueline Rose. This group of academics brings together world-leading researchers in psychosocial studies, history, literary studies and clinical practice.

Why study this course at Birkbeck?

Interdisciplinary programme stretching across the social sciences, arts and humanities.
Explores the relationship of psychoanalysis to historical and cultural issues.
Provides an opportunity to engage critically with key psychoanalytic concepts and to understand them in their historical and cultural context.
The Department of Psychosocial Studies has a formal link with the University of São Paulo, Brazil. This link enables students on this programme to undertake an optional module at the university as part of their programme of study at Birkbeck.
Birkbeck Library is very well stocked with material relevant to psychoanalysis, history and culture. There are many events relevant to psychoanalysis put on by the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities and the Birkbeck Institute for Social Research. The link with the British Psychoanalytical Society ensures connections with practising psychoanalysts.
As well as the core programme staff, lectures on our summer programme are likely to be given by internationally renowned Birkbeck associates.

Our research

Birkbeck is one of the world’s leading research-intensive institutions. Our cutting-edge scholarship informs public policy, achieves scientific advances, supports the economy, promotes culture and the arts, and makes a positive difference to society.

Birkbeck’s research excellence was confirmed in the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, which placed Birkbeck 30th in the UK for research, with 73% of our research rated world-leading or internationally excellent.

In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF), Sociology at Birkbeck was ranked 13th in the UK.

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The International Summer School at the Rouen Business School is an intensive 2 or 4-week program open to undergraduates and Master’s level students of all disciplines who wish to experience France and French culture, develop cross-cultural skills and in depth understanding of Business Ethics and International Negotiation skills while at the same time earning up to 10 ECTs credits.
The program is divided into 2 sessions of 2 weeks which can be taken separately or together. The first session focuses on Business Ethics in a Changing World while the second focuses on Global Management Practices and an intensive International Negotiation Workshop. In addition, participants will have the chance to participate in several workshops on French culture and European history, including:
• Wine tastings,
• Gastronomic meals
• Workshops on French language
• Cinema
• Art and music
• Excursions to Monet’s Garden and the impressionist museum in Giverny
• A tour of the Normandy Landing Beaches
Finally the historic city of Rouen provides an excellent location from which to explore Paris and the rest of Europe.

Programme

SESSION 1: week
Business Ethics in a Changing World
In a time of financial crisis and corporate abuse, this course explores the complex and often confusing ethical landscape of modern business. It looks at the very real ethical and moral dilemmas faced by business people in a globalized and rapidly changing world. It examines why ethics are important in business, what level of social responsibility we can expect from business leaders, what fosters an ethical culture in businesses and organizations, what contemporary forces in international business are corrupting the fragile and delicatet issue of ethical principle, value-based action, and moral constraint in the global economy as well as examining the complications caused by rapid technological innovation.

SESSION 2: 2 weeks
Global Leadership & International Negotiation – Embracing diversity in the workplace and doing business across borders
Effective global management requires excellent cross-cultural
management skills as well as a good grounding in negotiation fundamentals. Therefore, the first part of the course aims to provide students with practical tools which will enable them to effectively analyze and respond to cross-cultural conflicts that they will encounter in their professional lives by looking at the effect of culture on global business plans, human resource managerial strategies, and social & business gatherings. In the second part of the class, students go beyond theories, and through a series of practical case studies, will have the opportunity to improve their interpersonal skills in intercultural negotiation situations including preparing for negotiations, effective negotiation strategy, responding to arguments and overcoming cognitive, emotional, cultural and institutional obstacles as well as touching briefly on multi-party and agent negotiations and overcoming conflict through mediation.

Tuition fees (include courses, lunches, visits and accommodation)
SESSION 1 Business Ethics in a Changing World, 2 weeks: € 1,600
SESSION 2 Global Leadership & International Negotiation, 2 weeks: € 1,600
Special rates apply to our partner universities or group
bookings. Contact us for more information.

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The focus of governments and humanitarian NGOs has progressively shifted towards conflict prevention and building sustainable peace. Yet to prevent conflict or to build a secure and inclusive state and society after conflict involves a complex set of skills straddling conflict analysis, conflict mediation and negotiation, peace processes, state stabilisation, post-conflict reconstruction, peace building and early warning.

This inter-disciplinary, custom-designed MSc offers the opportunity to develop operational and vocational skills for conflict prevention and peacebuilding within the context of the latest theories on conflict and conflict prevention. Students will acquire the analytical skills to map conflict dynamics, design conflict sensitive projects and develop early warning mechanisms, enabling them to better predict, and so avoid, the outbreak of violent conflicts. They will also gain the skills necessary to assess and evaluate the impact and outcomes of interventions.

The MSc is designed for practitioners looking to enhance their existing skills, as well as graduates with a career in conflict prevention, conflict mediation, or post-conflict reconstruction in mind. It is particularly aimed at those seeking to work or already working in the (I)NGO sector, governmental departments or inter-governmental organisations.

While rooted in peace and conflict studies, the MSc draws on strategic and security studies as well as development studies, enabling much needed cross-fertilisation between these traditionally divergent perspectives. It draws on real-life case studies as well as interactive role plays, and exposes students to both cutting-edge academic developments and the latest practitioner experience, with a particular focus on bottom-up approaches.

Courses are taught by a mixture of academics and practitioners, and cover both critical and problem-solving approaches. Conflict dynamics are analysed drawing on multiple disciplines, including security studies, peace studies, anthropology, law, archaeology, history and political theory. Modules include both traditional, term-long modules and short, usually more skills-oriented continuing professional development courses as well as fieldtrips (e.g. fieldtrips have been organised to Nepal, Kenya, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and Kosovo).

Student Profiles

"What I really like about DGSi programs is that they are able to match a great theoretical understanding of the issues I am interested in with a clear focus on the practical skills that are required for working in the field." Lianne Vostermans, 2013/14

“Having co-sponsorship from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK and Durham University, I was able to accomplish my Chevening scholarship doing MSc Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding (CPP) at Durham Global Security Institute (DGSi). Although it was found to be quite intensive and intellectually challenging, I have no doubt that this master programme will equip junior diplomats like me with necessary knowledge and skills, especially in security and peacebuilding domains, so that we can contribute our best capacities in the making of the world a more peaceful home to the whole mankind.” Chan Aye, 2015/16

“I chose the Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Master because of its interdisciplinary character, topics and the combination between theory and practice. During the course I have had the opportunity to meet very many interesting scholars, practitioners and very intelligent and diverse fellow students, from different cultural and academic backgrounds. The course gave me insight in things I had only read about in books before by confronting us with people who have actually been in the field, and by taking us there ourselves through the study trip and fieldwork opportunities for our dissertations. I have learned to look at conflict situations from new perspectives, something I hope to use in future employment in order to help create a more peaceful world.” Marit Jansen, 2014/15

Course Structure

The MSc will provide students with advanced knowledge of the complex and specialised areas of peacebuilding, among it conflict analysis, conflict prevention, conflict resolution and conflict transformation, community driven reconstruction, peace processes within the context of contemporary conflicts and in the context of broader international (humanitarian) interventions. Integrated into the MSc structure are opportunities to develop operational and vocational skills for example in negotiations, conflict mediation, conflict sensitive programme design and programme management, or urban peacebuilding. Students are provided with theoretical and empirical knowledge and with practical skills that are helpful for current and future employment opportunities. The courses are thus attractive to both graduates and mid-career practitioners. Whilst the academic and applied focus of the MSc comes through a peace and conflict studies analytic lens, course material will also draw from traditional strategic/security and development studies, enabling cross fertilisation between different perspectives. It allows the exploration of unique and new paradigms and practices in the fields of conflict, peace, security, defence, diplomacy, development and humanitarian intervention.

Five core modules worth 75 credits plus a Dissertation worth 60 credits plus three optional modules to the value of 45 credits.

Core Modules
-Defence, Development and Diplomacy in Conflict: Evolving Actors, Factors and Paradigms
-Conflict Prevention and Sustainable Peace
-Responses: Peace Processes and Political Negotiation
-Recovery and Reconstruction: Consolidating Peace after Violence
-Capstone Exercise: Humanitarian Intervention Simulation (in MSc-specific roles)

Dissertation.
Optional Modules - Optional modules in previous years have included:
-Religion, Culture and Conflict
-Conflict Mediation
-Fieldtrip
-Conflict Sensitive Programme Management
-Re-thinking Counter Terrorism
-Urban Violence - Urban Peacebuilding
-International Negotiation as Instrument in Conflict Management
-Policing Post-Conflict Cities
-Conflict Analysis

Learning and Teaching

At the beginning of the academic year, as well as the general induction programme offered by the School and the university, Durham Global Security Institute (DGSi) students are invited to a programme specific induction. This induction provides an overview of the programme an opportunity to meet members of the team and an opportunity to discuss optional module choices.

The 180 credits one-year MSc degree programme is divided into five core and three optional modules of 15 credits each. Students also have to submit a dissertation (60 credits) of not more than15,000 words. Practitioners have the option of writing an in-depth policy document as their dissertation.

Most of the modules are delivered during the first two terms and students spend the remaining time to write the dissertation. Assessment methods include: an examination, essays, presentations, reflective journal, reports, article reviews and policy briefs.

Although all modules have 18/19 contact hours, the core modules are spread over 9/10 weeks and 132 hours of self-directed learning. The modules are mainly delivered through weekly 2-hour sessions which take the form of a one hour lecture and a one hour tutorial. The form in which seminars are conducted can differ from one module to another. Typically modules would have elements of lectures, discussions, and presentations from students—the extent of each of these components would differ from one module to another. The optional modules of the programme are either delivered over two full days, through a mixture of lectures, Q&A sessions, seminar discussions, and role plays or over a single term in 2-hour seminar sessions. There is also the opportunity to participate in a study visit which provides an opportunity to investigate issues ‘in the field’ concerned with conflict prevention, conflict resolution, state and peace-building. Of particular interest is the theory-practice linkage

Students can also meet their module coordinators or programme coordinator during their weekly contact hours or by making an appointment. When students are working on their dissertations during the latter half of the year, they are required to attend two 4-hour workshops. In addition, they have the opportunity to meet their assigned supervisors for an average of 6 meetings. Students also have access to the MSc Programme Director and the School’s Director of Taught Post Graduate Studies whenever there is a need.

The School hosts events throughout the year which all postgraduate students are invited to attend. Students are also fully integrated into the Durham Global Security Institute which also hosts guest lectures and seminars throughout the year. These events provide students with the opportunity to engage with, and debate, the most important issues in current political and international studies, and in conflict, peace and security studies.

Towards the end of the programme students can contact the Careers Office of the University to get advice on available job prospects and get assistance on applying for these.

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