Study Programme

The Research MA programme in Media Studies focuses on the cultural construction of old and new media, both diachronically (‘emerging media’) and synchronically (‘comparative media studies’). From ancient theatre to cinema, from interactive television to You Tube, from multi-media dance performances to computer games, media shape, and are shaped by, various historical and contemporary audiences and contexts (‘media cultures’). Media are the means by and through which identity, culture, meaning and memory are constructed and performed; they cater to our desires, give space to our imagination and show us reality by producing it. In this programme, media thus are also studied in relation to performance, understood both as practice and as a perspective. This approach stands in contrast to, on the one hand, definitions of media studies based solely upon a supposition of the technological, semiotic or aesthetic specificity of individual media, and, on the other hand, to abstract conceptions of media neglecting their formal and cultural concreteness.

The faculty combines a strong interest in historical research in local and regional media practices (in the Netherlands and in the global context) with theoretical interests in intermediality, embodiment and visuality. Media and Performance Studies in Utrecht is also known for research into recent developments in the field of audiovisual and digital media and their impact on the arts, culture and society. Students are invited to participate in these research activities.

The MA programme in Media Studies is made up of three components: