This innovative course introduces you to advanced level study of the various aspects of popular culture; principally that produced and consumed in Britain since the late nineteenth century
The programme consists of a broad range of modules from a number of academic disciplines, including History, English, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Religious Studies, and Film Studies
All modules are taught by experts in their respective fields, and informed by research at the forefront of the various disciplines. For your own independent research into popular culture, we can also offer supervision in a wide range of areas and approaches
You will experience a variety of teaching methods with a high level of input from students on the course. Assessment is largely by coursework, essays and presentations
Read more about the School of Humanities to find out further information.
Typical modules may include:
This is the only postgraduate course on Popular Culture in the UK, and the only one in the world to focus principally on the British experience, either as consumers of international culture, or through Britain’s unique contribution to youth and pop culture.
You will bring to your studies a rich and individual experience in the consumption, interpretation, dissemination and – perhaps – the production of popular culture. On the course you will encounter many more varieties of cultural experience, and you will study theories and approaches with which you can make a different kind of sense out of them. On this programme, more than most, where you are when you end the course will depend on what you bring to it, and what you choose to take from it. But you will inevitably encounter materials and analytical methodologies you have not previously had experience of, and you will be given a valuable opportunity to discover and experiment with alternative approaches to the field of popular culture.
The Audiovisual Translation and Popular Culture postgraduate course is for you, if you:
The Masters course aims to make students fit for the market as properly trained and highly qualified translation experts.
This course:
The Audiovisual Translation and Popular Culture degree:
There are no course-based placements on this course. Literary translation does not offer placements, while audiovisual companies offer internships which are competitive.
We support and guide our students through the application process for audiovisual translation internships and have a very good record of achievement. Each year, several of our students win one of these very competitive internships and they tend to be offered full time work on completion.
The course is very industry-oriented and we work closely with the translation industry. Industry professionals teach on the course, supervise students or give guest seminars and lectures.
Academic staff have run Translation Development courses, for example in genre translation for professional translators for the Chartered Institute of Linguists, and they are involved in running Continuing Professional Development courses in specialised translation.
We run a preparatory, distance learning course for the professional Diploma in Translation examined by the Chartered Institute of Linguists.
We organise a Literary Translation Summer School each July which is taught by professional, literary translators and with lectures by prestigious translators, academics or writers.
The Translation department runs the John Dryden Translation Competition for the British Comparative Literature Association. The competition is sponsored by the British Centre for Literary Translation and the Institut Français. We offer one internship per year in working on this Translation Competition, interacting with translators, translation judges, managing competition entries and learning about the judging process.
The course is taught by academics, industry professionals (for example, audiovisual translation project manager) and translation professionals (for example, award winning literary translators, experienced subtitlers).
Teaching is delivered in a combination of lectures, seminars, practical workshops and lab-based sessions for audiovisual translation. In workshop sessions students work individually, in pairs, group work or plenary forum in a multilingual and multicultural environment.
In all translation modules, there is also a translation project prepared in independent guided study under the supervision of a translation professional in the student’s language pair and language directionality. You can expect some on-line learning, supported by seminar sessions, and industry visits to audiovisual translation companies.
In the Translation project management module, students work in project groups performing real-life translation roles and tasks in a collaborative environment.
Assessment is 100% coursework – there are no examinations.
Coursework assignments are a mixture of essays, translation projects, translation commentaries, subtitling and voice over files or project work.
The dissertation is 12,000 to 15,000 words long and can either be a research project on any topic relevant to Audiovisual Translation or Popular Literary Translation / Culture or it can be practice oriented: a translation of an extended text or AV clip with critical introduction to and analysis of the translation.
Coursework assignments: 66.6% (120 credits)
Dissertation: 33.3% (60 credits)
There are five compulsory taught modules plus three elective taught modules, selected by the student from a pool of module choices, plus a dissertation which can be a research dissertation or a practice-oriented dissertation of an extended translation with critical introduction and analysis.
Each taught module is an estimated 150 hours of study. Teaching consists of lectures, seminars and workshops plus independent individually supervised work.
The first part of the translation modules is taught in three-hour sessions (lecture + seminar + practical workshop). In the second part of each translation module, students work on a translation project which is individually supervised by a translation professional who gives written feedback on drafts and provides tailored advice and guidance in individual supervision sessions.
Students can expect between ten and 12 hours of classroom-based study per week, plus time spent on preparatory reading, independent study and research, preparation of assignments.
The dissertation is 60 credits and an estimated 600 hours of study. There are four two-hour research method seminars guiding students through the process of writing a dissertation, plus individual supervision sessions.
All taught modules are in term 1 and term 2 (January – April). Term 3 is dedicated to the dissertation (and completion of assignments from term 2 modules).
Examine the approaches and methods used by historians, and develop your knowledge of historical trends, processes and events of the past 300 years.
You will have the opportunity to explore a range of social and cultural developments in the history of Britain, Europe and the wider world. Whether working in small groups or individually, you will be guided by an expert teaching team throughout your course. Their historical research in areas such as urban history, the history of crime, environmental history, imperialism, sexuality and gender, migration, popular culture and social movements is of an international standing and will feed into your learning.
Your teaching team will give you the platform to reflect on historical interpretations of the past and also the skills and confidence to conduct your own independent research.
Research Excellence Framework 2014
Research Excellence Framework 2014: 38% of our research was judged to be world leading or internationally excellent in the Communication, Culture and Media Studies, Library and Information Management unit.
You will work in small groups or individually with research-active historians throughout your period of study. The School of Cultural Studies & Humanities has strengths in many areas and you will benefit from the expertise of our academic staff in a range of areas, including urban history, the history of crime, environmental history, imperialism, sexuality and gender, migration, popular culture and social movement history.
*These modules rotate on an annual basis. Not all modules listed may be available in your year of entry.
You will develop a range of transferable skills valued by employers in areas such as teaching, local government, administration, management, the civil service, marketing, public relations and the non-profit sector. Your course will also provide you with an excellent grounding should you want to pursue further postgraduate study.
.This interdisciplinary, visual theory-based course is established around the belief that visual literacy and the impact of visual forms of thinking and working play significant roles in our society. On the course, we interrogate visual perception and representation in high and popular culture, explore how these produce meanings, and how such meanings shape societies and individuals.
The course introduces you to a wide range of historical and contemporary debates that inform the theories and practices of visual culture, and supports you in developing a conceptual framework within which to evaluate the role of the visual arts, and other forms of visual production, in contemporary society and culture.
The course gives you a solid grounding for careers in the art and cultural sectors as well as academia, and it is also suitable for practicing artists wishing to further their research.
This MA balances historical and theoretical debates in the field of visual culture studies with a rigorous interrogation of cultural practices across a range of topics, including: activism and popular politics; contemporary visual arts; capitalism and culture; digital culture and new media technologies; theory and practice of archive research; material culture of the city; representation of the cultural ‘other’, among others.
Many of these modules include class visits to leading museums, galleries and archives in London: this provides a fantastic opportunity to engage directly with the city’s cultural institutions and intellectual resources, in doing so providing you with sophisticated critical thinking skills as well as practical knowledge of how the cultural sector operates.
The MA in Art and Visual Culture prepares students for careers in the art and cultural sector as well as academia. The combination of seminars, workshops and field trips that the course offers equips students with sophisticated critical thinking skills as well as practical knowledge of how the cultural sector operates. As a result, many of our students have gone on to pursue successful careers as curators, artists, cultural consultants, events and communications managers, media arts project managers, editors and public relations specialists.
Many others have gone on to MPhil/PhD study in fields such as art history and visual culture, cultural studies and media. As part of the course, students have an opportunity to take a work experience module, which involves placements in art and cultural institutions in London and a chance to build a career profile. We work with the university careers office to help students prepare for entering the job market.
This interdisciplinary, visual theory-based course is established around the belief that visual literacy and the impact of visual forms of thinking and working play significant roles in our society. On the course, we interrogate visual perception and representation in high and popular culture, explore how these produce meanings, and how such meanings shape societies and individuals.
The course introduces you to a wide range of historical and contemporary debates that inform the theories and practices of visual culture, and supports you in developing a conceptual framework within which to evaluate the role of the visual arts, and other forms of visual production, in contemporary society and culture.
The course gives you a solid grounding for careers in the art and cultural sectors as well as academia, and it is also suitable for practicing artists wishing to further their research.
This MA balances historical and theoretical debates in the field of visual culture studies with a rigorous interrogation of cultural practices across a range of topics, including: activism and popular politics; contemporary visual arts; capitalism and culture; digital culture and new media technologies; theory and practice of archive research; material culture of the city; representation of the cultural ‘other’, among others.
Many of these modules include class visits to leading museums, galleries and archives in London: this provides a fantastic opportunity to engage directly with the city’s cultural institutions and intellectual resources, in doing so providing you with sophisticated critical thinking skills as well as practical knowledge of how the cultural sector operates.
The MA in Art and Visual Culture prepares students for careers in the art and cultural sector as well as academia. The combination of seminars, workshops and field trips that the course offers equips students with sophisticated critical thinking skills as well as practical knowledge of how the cultural sector operates. As a result, many of our students have gone on to pursue successful careers as curators, artists, cultural consultants, events and communications managers, media arts project managers, editors and public relations specialists.
Many others have gone on to MPhil/PhD study in fields such as art history and visual culture, cultural studies and media. As part of the course, students have an opportunity to take a work experience module, which involves placements in art and cultural institutions in London and a chance to build a career profile. We work with the university careers office to help students prepare for entering the job market.
Be part of a lively popular-music research community that embraces everything from metal music to film scores and work alongside performers, composers and studio producers.
You will join peers with backgrounds in cultural studies, sociology, music and the creative arts to explore today's local live music scene and its connection to the wider industry. From researching gigs and events to composing scores for film and television, you will discover how a variety of communities fuse together to create this vibrant and expanding scene.
Whether developing your songwriting and music editing techniques in our studios or organising events and liaising with artists at Leeds Festival, you will gain the hands-on experience employers are looking for while gathering evidence to carry through into your major research project.
With its combination of research and practice, your course will provide the perfect springboard to discover the interconnectivity of popular music and culture and engage with the vibrant and varied music scene in Leeds.
As well as having access to modern, professional music studios, you will benefit from being taught by a highly-skilled and experienced teaching team, including Professor Karl Spracklen who is Secretary of the International Society for Metal Music Studies and the Editor of Metal Music Studies.
You will also have the chance to network with industry professionals during our guest lecture series. Previous speakers have included Leeds Festival boss Melvin Benn and chart-toppers Rudimental. We also have fantastic links with local and national music, arts and festival organisations, which help ensure you get the most from your course.
Artist in Residence Programme
The Artist in Residence programme gives our students an opportunity to work with professional artists and gives them a taste of what is it like to work on a professional music project. So far we have welcomed artists Chris T-T, Ian Prowse, I Monster, Tom Williams and Utah Saints.
With more festivals and independent production companies than ever before, understanding the links between popular music, culture and the rapidly changing music industry is increasingly important, whether you are a researcher or practitioner. You could use the course to further your research interests by studying for a PhD or take up employment opportunities in sound engineering, performance, teaching, songwriting, production, music for film and television, music journalism, marketing and PR or events organisation.
Create your own story at the University of Hertfordshire’s School of Creative Arts!
Taught Masters degrees in History, Art History, Philosophy and American Studies at Sussex, a top 20 University
