Master of Arts in Human Rights, Culture and Social Justice

at Goldsmiths, University of London United Kingdom

Journalism is about the world outside. It’s about the story and the people who make it. It’s about being on top of the zeitgeist. And being on top of the deadlines.

What you will learn

• This MA gives you the practical skills to work as a journalist at the highest level in print and online. We will learn what news means, and where it comes from. We will give you the ability to write compelling features and interviews. We’ll also be focusing on the kinds of questions you need to ask – of the individual, the state or the organs of power. And we address how the new digital world has transformed the way we go about journalism, adding new platforms and new technical skills.

Computation consists of all the changes brought about by digital technology. Art is an open set of ways of acting inventively in culture. Mixing the two together in a systematic way gives us computational art. This is a very open field, and one that is set to expand enormously in the coming years. It is where the most exciting developments in technology and in culture can already be found. This degree will place you in the middle of this fast-evolving context.

What will I learn?

• This degree develops your arts practice through the expressive world of creative computation. Over a year (full-time) or two years (part-time) you will develop your artistic work and thinking through the challenge of developing a series of projects for public exhibition which will explore the technological and cultural ramifications of computation.
• You will learn the fundamentals of programming and how to apply this knowledge expressively. You will work with popular open source programming environments such as Processing, OpenFrameworks, P5.js and Arduino, and will learn how to program in languages such as Java, Javascript and C++.
• Since computational artworks don’t necessarily involve computers and screens, we also encourage students to produce works across a diverse range of media. Supported by studio technicians in state-of-the-art facilities, our students are producing works using tools such as 3D printers, laser cutters, robotics, wearable technologies, paint, sculpture and textiles.

The MA Promotional Media explores the impact of digital platformisation and automation on promotional professions, skills and techniques

You will explore the convergence between public relations, advertising, and marketing roles, as well as hybridised fields such as digital marketing, social media management and UX/UI design. This MA isn’t about studying ads or press coverage, but about becoming a professional who can cross-examine and critique the power dynamics between promotional professions, their client-organisations and today’s platformised media landscape.

At its core, this masters looks at how you can better serve society by improving communications across the promotional disciplines, and how public relations (PR), advertising, and marketing professionals can best develop within a challenging digital world. You’ll learn how to reflect on contemporary intellectual theories – including digital media studies, sociology, feminist theory and algorithmic culture – and apply them to workplace realities so you plan the next decade of your career.

Our MA Culture Industry will allow you to explore the interface between contemporary economics and culture, from the scale of a start-up or artwork, to that of governmental policy, a city, or the global marketplace. It will also provide the approaches in critical and theoretical analysis that will enable you to conduct further academic research in areas ranging from art history, to urban studies and critical theory.

In distinction from postgraduate programmes in the Cultural and Creative Industries, this Master’s programme focuses on the paradoxes and potentials of the relationship between culture and capitalism evoked by the term ‘culture industry’.

Taking full advantage of the UK’s leading role in the creative industries, and London’s status as a world city, this course creates opportunities for you to:

• Make projects
• Go on field trips
• Do placements
• Carry out academic learning and research
• Meet diverse creative practitioners and theorists

This will give you first-hand experience of the fast moving creative economy, as well as giving you indispensable skills in understanding that economy from a cultural, philosophical and political standpoint. By combining theoretical and practical approaches to study, the course will not only help you to prepare for a career in the cultural sector, but also to engage with it imaginatively, critically and tactically.

These practical skills will equip you to lead and deliver the twin ambitions of transformation and sustainability driving the global economy. Our programme focuses on the means of generating economic impact through gains in revenue, competitiveness, productivity, project management, and profitability alongside the means of generating social impact through inclusivity, diversity, social mobility and equality.

The management of innovation is a critical element in ensuring countries, organisations, and individuals encourage speed to impact decision-making, enhanced digital skills and strategies for future-readiness. The focus has shifted from serving and valuing shareholders to serving and valuing stakeholders – customers, workforces, investors, regulators, anyone else impacted by your product, service, or brand.

Studying with is will allow you to participate in a lively guest lecturing schedule. In past years, senior leadership from the following organisations have come to discuss innovation challenges and opportunities with students on this programme:

• Technologists like Microsoft, Tesla, and Apple
• Consultancies, and think tanks like PwC, Ogilvy, and Accenture
• Media organisations like Monocle, the Financial Times, or The Economist
• Movements like the Bitcoin and Black Lives Matter

Are you interested in a career in anthropology, but haven’t studied the subject before? Have you studied anthropology in the past, but need to consolidate this experience before moving into anthropological research?

Why study MA Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths?

• Whatever your disciplinary background, you’ll have the opportunity to build a solid base in social anthropology, its theoretical foundations, methodology and ethnographic diversity.
• You’ll be able to choose from a variety of option modules, which means you can tailor the degree to your own theoretical or regional interests.
• You can choose to study topics including gender, sexuality and the body, religion and symbolism, political economy, psychological perspectives in anthropology, the anthropology of rights, and visual anthropology.
• You’ll join a diverse group of students with a range of educational backgrounds and interests, so you’ll be exposed to many different perspectives.

Explore the nature and social impact of crime and investigate the subject from a critical and sociological perspective. You'll graduate with the skills and experience suitable for a wide range of careers in the policy, legal, criminal justice, academic and civil sectors. You could find a job as a youth worker, counsellor, police or probation officer – or pursue a career in human rights, counter-terrorism or the intelligence services.

Why study BA Criminology at Goldsmiths?

• Issues of social inequality and justice are brought to the foreground in this degree. You’ll learn how race, gender, class and nationality connect to crime and control, taking an international perspective to explore differences across the globe.
• You'll be taught by researchers at the cutting edge of criminological and sociological research on urban crime, control and security, and globalisation and crime. And, as part of a tight-knit group of students, you'll benefit from the support and expertise of your teachers throughout your degree.
• Modules such as Criminal Justice in Context give you the opportunity to meet and learn from leaders in criminal justice, policy and campaigning sectors, offering up to date knowledge.
• You’ll have access to a range of work placements and volunteer opportunities and we’ll help you find an organisation that suits you. You might take part in training to support a victim of crime, attend court, or mentor young people.
• You'll learn how to research. Being able to gather and analyse different types of information from a wide variety of sources is a vital skill in the digital age where there is a lot of information but a shortage of truth.
• You'll be taught by experts in the social sciences, as well as those involved with and who have experience of criminal justice.

The MA Global Political Economy explores the dynamics of our changing world. You will work in small groups with world class experts at the Political Economy Research Centre (PERC), as well as across a number of other Goldsmiths departments, and learn how to hold the world up to scrutiny.

Why study MA Global Political Economy at Goldsmiths?

• Learn about the political economy of ecological break down, the challenge of building a sustainable world, and how to make these issues central to the analysis of politics and economics.
• Learn about the relationship between global financialised capitalism, global inequality, and the possibility of a sustainable future.
• Work closely with academic experts in small-group workshops and seminars.
• Learn in a truly interdisciplinary programme that allows you to see the global political economy from a variety of perspectives.
• Choose from a wide variety of options to build the bespoke degree programme that best suits your interests and ambitions.
• Join the series of job talks from insiders at policy Think Tanks, NGOs and the private sector.

Why study MA Black British Literature at Goldsmiths?

• This degree is a world first. There’s nowhere else you can study black British writing in such an in-depth way – in the actual country where the writing is produced. We trace diasporic and aesthetic routes and draw upon the expertise of literary and drama specialists.
• You’ll analyse an extremely diverse range of texts from novelists, poets, short story writers, essayists, life-writers and playwrights. You’ll also locate these writers in their historical context, gaining an understanding of the history of black people in Britain through how they are represented in literature.

The MA Research Architecture is for graduates from a range of disciplines who want to examine how architecture can engage with questions of contemporary culture, politics, media, ecology and justice and question whether spatial practice can become a form of research.

Why study MA Research Architecture at Goldsmiths?

• You’ll combine studio work with theoretical research. Lectures, seminars and workshops will equip you with a grounding in critical spatial practices and related areas of inquiry.
• The theoretical module provides thorough coverage of the historical, philosophical and technological aspects of the intersection of space, power and conflict in light of changing geopolitical conditions.
• You’ll take part in an annual field trip during the winter break to a site of special interest to Research Architecture, for example, Athens, The Hague, Berlin or Istanbul.
• You’ll join a group of students and practitioners from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and disciplines and have the opportunity to work collaboratively and benefit from peer-to-peer learning under the guidance of a tutor.
• There are several workshops on the programme as part of the Forensic Architecture or Research Architecture Studio Module. These day-long participatory events are led by invited guest speakers with specific expertise in the field.
• Graduates of the MA will be well-suited for doctoral research or to pursue or enhance their career in the areas of architecture, design, law, journalism, filmmaking, art and curating.